This time, stitch by stitch, with a few considerable extras thrown in!
Those extras amounted to over R1m in airtime dedicated to 67 Blankets in the lead-up to the Johannesburg leg of the initiative’s ‘Local Blankets is Lekka’ campaign, for which Hot 102.7FM was named the media partner.
Hot Cares also dedicated R67,000 of wool, hooks and needles to the knitting of blankets for those less fortunate this winter – the central theme behind the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day initiative.
67 Blankets has been on a country-wide tour, taking in Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Bloemfontein, Daantjie in Mpumalanga, White River, Joburg, Durban and Gqeberha, with the Johannesburg leg staged at Jeppe High School for Girls in Kensington on 3 June.
Hot 102.7FM’s head of news, Tara Penny, interviewed a host of 67 Blankets ambassadors in the lead-up to the event, crafting content pieces that ran in the station’s news bulletins to drive awareness, whilst Hot Cares transported and hosted a group of 60 ladies – or ‘KnitWits’ – who have been knitting blankets all year long, in advance of the big blanket handover at Jeppe Girls.
“Those ladies are the real heroes,” said Carmen Rocha, managing director of Hot Cares. “They’ve put countless hours into knitting so many beautiful blankets that I know will find their way to those who really need them this winter, which, as we know in Joburg, can get pretty cold. 67 Blankets really is a campaign that warms the heart – and, ideally, some cold bodies – and Hot Cares is really proud to get behind it and help out where we can.”
67 Blankets started nearly 10 years ago, with South Africans encouraged to come together to knit blankets and distribute to those who really need help keeping warm in winter.
There’s a big blanket reveal in each centre and some time back Hot Cares put out a call for people to knit or crochet blankets to contribute to the greater cause. Hot 102.7FM also put their presenters to work, with the 67 Blankets ambassadors coming into the studio to teach some of them to knit, resulting in some rather funny videos being distributed on social media!
“67 Blankets resonates strongly with us at Hot 102.7FM, as it speaks directly to the purpose of Hot Cares, and we’re in a fortunate position to be able to use the power of radio to amplify its objectives, which was certainly the case with this year’s campaign,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of Hot 102.7FM.
The Johannesburg stop on the 67 Blankets tour saw thousands of blankets collected and handed over to organisations that distribute to the vulnerable, making a significant difference to a number of lives this winter.
