News Bulletin of 19 December 2025, 3pm

The Lonehill Senior Citizens Coffee Club brought smiles to four-legged friends, delivering their annual Christmas dog food collection to Dog’s Trust in Diepsloot.
After weeks of donations from club members, a trolley full of dog food was delivered, marking the end of their yearly animal outreach initiative. Club co-founder Lorna Kurz said the project has become a meaningful tradition, focusing on animals at Christmas while supporting an orphanage throughout the year.
Dog’s Trust provides food, veterinary care, and education to help dogs stay with their families, particularly in under-resourced communities.
The club’s efforts not only fight loneliness among seniors but also make a positive impact on the wider community.

Missionvale Care Centre is providing nutritious food to families in Nelson Mandela Bay through the Buckets of Nutrition campaign.
In partnership with Daily Maverick and SA Harvest, the initiative supports children, families in holiday programmes, and households affected by gender-based violence.
The parcels help children concentrate, allow patients to take medication, and enable young people to take part in skills training and job programmes.
The centre also runs food gardens and a token system that lets recipients select the items they need.
The campaign runs until early January and addresses urgent food needs for families during the festive season.

An anonymous donor paid off R132,500 in outstanding lay-bys at a PEP store in Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, allowing 260 families to collect essential items ahead of the holiday season.
The payments covered goods including school supplies, baby clothing, and other everyday necessities.
Beyers van der Merwe, PEP’s Chief Marketing Executive, said the gesture gave families the dignity of taking home items when they needed them most.
The initiative forms part of PEP’s Lay-by Buddy programme, which has assisted around 150,000 families since 2020, with Pepkor contributing R1 million to support it this year.