By Lone Lourens | Marketing and Fundraising Manager
The last few months at Woodside have been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, drawbacks, and successes. However, through it all, we have and will continue to strive to provide the best care possible for our angels.
Devastating news
On the 13th of October, Woodside received the devastating news that an emphasis on matter opinion was being raised by our auditors, JD Hill & Company Chartered Accountants SA, regarding Woodside’s ability to remain a going concern. We were facing a situation where we owed our biggest creditors at the time R1.8 million and did not have enough cash on hand in our reserves to cover that expense. This meant that if our creditors had called on us for payment, Woodside would have been left with no choice but to close our doors.
Our biggest concerns were that our residents would simply not be able to survive in other institutions; many of them have been at Woodside for most of their lives and would just not be able to adjust to that sort of drastic change. So, we knew that while this would be incredibly challenging, we needed to do everything in our power to overcome this situation.
Save Our Sanctuary Campaign
After receiving the news from our auditors, Woodside's management and fundraising team decided to put together a campaign to help bring in the needed funding. We worked hard to put together a comprehensive appeal for assistance that explained our situation and the challenges that we were facing.
We began sending out our appeal for assistance and reaching out to our donors and supporters for help. We are exceptionally grateful to all those who answered the call and have been assisting us to Save Our Sanctuary.
Progress and successes
Shared Stories: On the 17th of October, we had a meeting with some staff members from Deloitte Capital to discuss our situation and to see if they might be willing to assist us. After our discussion, they recommended that we put together a shared stories campaign to share our residents stories with the community. We compiled a number of stories and began sharing them on our social media platforms. We shared our stories throughout the month of November and will continue to share the stories of each of our angels. These stories have been a huge help in raising awareness for our cause.
Radio interviews:
Trolley Dash: On the 3rd of November, we attended the Jacaranda Trolley Dash. Our nursing services manager did an incredible job and managed to fill Woodside's trolley with R21 000.00 worth of items! Nandos generously doubled up, giving R42 000.00, and Superspar Polofields gave an incredible R80 000.00, making a jaw-dropping grand total of R122 000.00. Thus, Woodside received R122 000.00 worth of vouchers that will be kept at Superspar Polofields. We will be able to purchase what we need from Superspar Polofields monthly, and they have also kindly said that they will deliver our orders to us free of charge.
Newspaper and online articles: we have been privilaged to have our story published in three newspapers as well as one online platform.
These articles have been instrumental in bringing support to our cause, and we are incredibly grateful to the journalists involved who took the time to hear our story. (See links below.)
Fundraising Events: We will be having a number of fundraising events in the New Year in order to further raise awareness for Woodside and our cause.
We are greatly looking forward to all these events.
Latest Update Regarding Our Fundraising Efforts
Since we received the news from our auditors, Woodside has been doing all that we can to try and raise awareness for our situation and bring the necessary funding into our Sanctuary. We have achieved some notable successes, but we are by no means out of the woods yet. Woodside has reduced the initial deficit from R3.6 million to around R1.7 million as it stands today.
To date, we have managed to bring in R1.9 million in cash on hand, as well as R122 000.00 worth of vouchers for SUPERSPAR Polofields from a trolley dash event. The vouchers will be used to purchase needed items, such as toiletries, and will help reduce our operating expenses. In addition we have also received a number of large gift in kind donations which have also helped hugely in reducing expenses for items such as toiletries, medical supplies and non-perishable foods. All our efforts since October have resulted in us once again being a going concern, and we cannot express our gratitude enough to those who have helped us to get this far.
The last few months have been incredibly challenging for us, but we are more determined than ever to keep fighting to achieve our goals and ensure that Woodside is still around to provide our essential services to those in need for many years to come.
Woodside's 68th Annual General Meeting
On the 28th of October, Woodside Sanctuary hosted its 68th Annual General Meeting. This was different than previous AGMs, as we needed to discuss the financial situation at Woodside and how we all needed to do our part in order to ensure our survival. Ms. Williams, Woodside's General Manager had the following to say: "This bittersweet moment was a testament to our resilience and determination for organisational survival. For an NPO to have successfully operated for 68 years is no small feat. It speaks to our courage over adversity, our commitment to our vision, and our unwavering service to those with profound intellectual disabilities. Woodside Sanctuary faces an unprecedented situation, and so much hangs in the balance if we cannot keep our doors open. For Woodside, failure is not an option. Our will is unshakable in our efforts to keep this home operational and to continue our excellence in the care and treatment of those dependent on us for their every need. We will persevere and humbly thank every individual, supporter, and patron working with Woodside to ensure our survival. Together, we are stronger, and where there is hope, there is always a way!"
Visit from the Santa Shoebox Project
Woodside received a visit from the Santa Shoebox Project the 22nd of November to spread some early Christmas cheer to Woodside's residents. It was truly heartwarming to see all the smiling faces! We are incredibly grateful for their generosity and support.
Christmas at Woodside
We always try to make Christmas special for our residents, and thanks to the exceptional generosity and kindness of our donors and supporters, Woodside was still able to have a beautiful Christmas celebration for our residents on the 14th of December. Each resident received two gifts from Santa, and they had a yummy and nutritious meal. We are infinitely grateful to all those who made this possible.
Heritage Day 2023
On the 24th of September we celebrated Heritage Day, where our dedicated and hard-working staff were able to dress in traditional clothing and honour their heritage. This is always a highlight on our yearly calendar, but this year the outfits were even more stunning than usual.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our 85 profoundly intellectually disabled residents, 23 of whom are either orphaned or have no means of financial support (our Angels). The adults and children in our care require lifelong assistance and will never be able to care for themselves or filter into normal society; therefore, this is an ongoing project that will require constant funding to help us ensure that all our residents receive the very best care possible. Woodside Sanctuary is a special place where passion and purposefulness come together to help ensure that those who have been placed in our care are able to grow and develop to reach their full potential.
The GlobalGiving community has helped us raise $12,455.48 towards the Woodside’s Angels project, and we simply cannot thank you enough for your incredible support and generosity. Your generous assistance has helped us to be able to continue to keep Woodside’s residents healthy and cared for by enabling us to provide food, medications, toiletries, a place of safety, holistic care, and stimulation for the 23 profoundly intellectually disabled orphans and vulnerable angels in our care.
Like many non-profit organisations, Woodside Sanctuary is greatly dependent on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters. It is only thanks to their kind support that we are able to uphold the highest standards of care and offer all of our residents first-rate nursing, medical, and residential care. We extend our sincere gratitude to our donors and supporters for their exceptional generosity and kindness on behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and, in particular, the angels in our care. We will always be grateful to you for all that you have done to support and help us because of your kindness and compassion, which is what keeps us going. Thank you very much!
Links:
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