Following an article published in the Daily Voice, a Mitchells Plain teacher says they have been overwhelmed by support received from the public to ensure their learners get the matric ball of their dreams.
Shariefa Gabriels, a teacher at Beacon Hill Secondary School, said since May, they have received all sorts of donations to make the ball, taking place at the school this Friday, a magical night.
“The amount of support we have gotten from people has been amazing and I want to thank the Daily Voice,” she says.
“My classroom already looked like a boutique before, with all the clothes that were donated, but now it has just doubled in size while we were also able to raise just over R30 000 through fundraisers and donations.
“On the night, there will be a convoy of cars from two car clubs that will transport the children to the school.”
Initially, Shariefa said they wanted to assist about 30 students, but that number has since grown to 50.
“Since Covid, the school has not had a matric ball, so we wanted to do something special for the students and we did the drive because many of them come from homes that were affected by the pandemic in a way that they could not afford the costs.
“There are no partners and each ticket costs R800, which includes everything from food to photos.”
Shariefa said the students’ excitement has reached fever pitch, while the staff are still overwhelmed at the amount of support.
“It is touching how so many people have come out to help the students during this drive and I cannot thank everybody enough.
“From the people who donated clothes, money, time, it has been truly appreciated.”