By Staff Reporter
news@alexreporter.co.za
Just days after Mandela Day, the Moti Cares Foundation continued its 2025 Winter Blanket Drive with a heartfelt handover at the Itlhokomeleng Association for the Aged and Disabled in Alexandra on Sunday, 20 July.
Working in collaboration with the Dr Sophie Bethiwe Msiza Foundation, more than 1,000 blankets, 2,220 loaves of bread, and 2,500 sweet packs were shared with elderly residents and members of the community, bringing widespread warmth, cheer, and laughter to all. The Dr Sophie Bethiwe Msiza Foundation played an essential role in facilitating access to residents and supporting the day’s logistics.
The event marked one of the final stops in this year’s campaign, which has reached over 19,000 people across South Africa to date. Now in its third year, the Winter Blanket Drive has become Moti Cares’ flagship initiative, and one of the country’s largest privately funded winter outreach efforts.
Each activation is supported by local volunteers and community organisations to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most. By the start of the handover in Alexandra, hundreds had already begun queuing at the gates – a powerful reminder of how great the need remains in many parts of the country. So, with just one handover left to go, the Foundation is on track to achieve its extraordinary goal of distributing 20,000 blankets to vulnerable communities before the end of winter.
“Moti Cares is about having a mindset of service, which is why we work to make every rand count by reaching as many people as possible through the annual blanket drive,” says Zunaid Moti, Founder of the Moti Cares Foundation.
“These are South Africans who are too often forgotten – elders, children, patients, the disabled and the unemployed. To those facing real hardship, something as simple as a warm blanket and a loaf of bread can make a world of difference, so that’s what we’ll keep doing.”
This latest handover followed closely on the heels of a major Mandela Day activation at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where Moti Cares donated 3,500 blankets and 2,000 loaves of bread to admitted and out patients. Moti Cares has also taken its winter drive to communities in Soweto, Turffontein, Brakpan, Langlaagte, and Vrededorp, as well as to flood victims in the Eastern Cape, offering comfort and warmth to those in crisis.
For many in Alexandra, the visit brought hope as much as help. “Moti Cares has given our community blankets, bread, and everything,” shared one resident. “We are very happy. Tonight, my family and I get to go to sleep warm – this is the first time in weeks and for that I am forever grateful.”
While the 2025 Blanket Drive is gradually drawing to a close, the message from Moti Cares remains the same: kindness matters, dignity matters, and no one should be left behind in the cold.
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