Hot Cares and Silverstar Pay it Forward with Important Help for Forest Farm Centre


Woodside Sanctuary is a rather special place.

It’s a registered public benefit and non-profit organisation founded nearly 70 years ago and it’s a ‘home away from home’ for people with special needs.

Woodside provides care for 84 people with ‘severe’ to ‘profound’ intellectual disabilities on a full-time basis and also subsidises many of their other residents.

Their holistic approach includes 24-hour nursing care, various forms of therapy, residential care, and rehabilitation and stimulation programmes.

Woodside Sanctuary popped up on the Hot Cares radar some time back, so we popped in for a visit and were completely blown away by the love the staff have for all their residents. We also met their longest living resident – ‘The Matron’ – who moved in when she was a baby and is now 62-years-old!

Unfortunately, like many similar organisations, Woodside Sanctuary relies on the support of donors, particularly with regards the maintenance of their facility.

No surprise, then, to hear that their main DB board is in dire need of repair and has been causing the centre’s power to trip continuously, whilst loadshedding has obviously not helped the situation. In fact, electricians have recommended replacing the DB board to ensure safety and compliance, and thereafter will be able to look into alternative electricity supply. Incidentally, that compliance certificate looks set to cost approximately R100 000!

Woodside Sanctuary’s other pressing need is nappies, which the majority of their residents wear. As you can imagine, that’s a lot of nappies to either clean or dispose of every day. In fact, the home pretty much runs an industrial laundry full time, washing up to 1300 towelling nappies a day!

Fortunately, Hot Cares has wonderful partners, like The Dis-Chem Foundation, and when we contacted them about Woodside Sanctuary, they didn’t hesitate to help.

The HOT 1027 Breakfast team quickly got Jackie from The Dis-Chem Foundation on the phone, putting her live on air with Lone Lourens, the Head of Marketing & Fundraising at Woodside Sanctuary, to break the good news.

The Dis-Chem Foundation, together with Hot Cares, will be paying for the contractor to sort out the home’s electrical issues, covering the entire R100 000 cost!

But, that’s not all. The Dis-Chem Foundation has also put up a R5000 monthly Dis-Chem account for Woodside Sanctuary’s staff, so they can better care for the 84 people who depend on them.

“Oh my goodness!” said Lone. “Thank you so much, that’s amazing! I’m actually speechless. Thank you!”

Similarly, if you are a prospective partner of Hot Cares, or if you are in a position to donate towards making a meaningful difference, or have a story to alert us to, or a programme you’d like to partner with Hot Cares on, please get in touch with us by emailing info@hotcares.co.za.