Pick n Pay supports Nelson Mandela International Day with book drive

[Cape Town, June 28] Pick n Pay and the Nelson Mandela Foundation have joined arms to help South Africans answer Nelson Mandela’s call to ‘Take Action and Inspire Change’.

From July 1-17, Pick n Pay Hypermarkets and stores will have collection points for the public to drop off books for the Mandela Day Book Drive, which will be handed over to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory on July 18.

The books will be donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s 94+ School project, an initiative that supports Mandela’s 94th birthday and legacy by giving hope and dignity to 94+ disadvantaged learners, and the Container Libraries project which promotes a reading culture.

The Pick n Pay “Donate a book and build a future that’s full of goodness” campaign is aimed at the general public to encourage them to donate books in stores that will be given to underprivileged children.

Bronwen Rohland, Pick n Pay’s Director of Marketing and Sustainability said it was vitally important that all children have access to books from a young age.

“Books open a door to a whole new world – through reading, children not only improve their grammar and vocabulary but also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern for all people,” Rohland said.

“It is a privilege for Pick n Pay to be working together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation – let us not forget that Tata Mandela has spoken about how reading sustained and kept him and his fellow prisoners up to date with the real world while they were imprisoned on Robben Island. Pick n Pay has always believed that doing good is good business and through our Goodness campaign is investing in helping emerging business people and communities to develop their full potential.