Chris Hani Crossing

Every school girl dreams of the perfect matric dance and of course, the perfect matric dance dress! Chris Hani Crossing sponsored learners from disadvantaged backgrounds that were achieving academic excellence with items needed for their matric dance.

Pizza Friday started out as an opportunity to engage with the community by providing entertainment at the mall. Kids from remote, disadvantaged areas were invited to a free afternoon of pizza at the mall.

Thanks to generous tenant sponsorship, the event has become an entertainment highlight for the kids and has generated interest in the community. Day care centres use the day out as a way to teach basic counting and purchasing skills.

Chris Hani Crossing donated 100 pairs of shoes and socks to residents of Vosloorus old Age Home. Groceries were also donated to the Home.

Chris Hani Crossing embarked on a back to school shoe drive in January 2019.

We believe shoes are symbolic of pride and give confidence to young learners knowing that they can walk to school in comfort, as opposed to barefoot.

Funds were raised through our kids play area hosted in December as part of the Christmas activities as well as a donation from the Mall itself.

152 pairs of school shoes were donated in total.

Chris Hani Crossing sponsored the NPO with exhibition space in order for them to collect school shoes and sanitary pads. The foundation uses public spaces to get donations and spread advocacy for getting learners from disadvantaged areas these basic necessities. 100 packs of sanitary pads and 4 pairs of school shoes were secured over the three day activation.

In partnership with #MasksforGood, Chris Hani Crossing distributed 5 000 free washable masks to the community of Kathorus. The distribution co-incided with the April grant pay-out dates to prioritize distribution to the elderly and most vulnerable members of the community. The masks were sewn by a collection of local cooperatives from different communities .This insured that even with the closure of most factories, local women could still generate an income.

In addition, the Mall provided a platform for local small enterprises to sell their masks on site at no cost.This allowed four local enterprises to generate revenue of approximately R55 000. One of the enterprises signed a deal to mass produce masks for a local school as a direct result of the platform provided by the Mall.

One of the most devastating effects of COVID-19 was on the informal employment market and the families who lost out on income as a result of this. Working with the One People Fund, Chris Hani Crossing was able to secure food parcels for over 2 000 families in May and June.

Chris Hani Crossing took the decision to provide exclusive trading hours for people living with disabilities as well as the elderly living within our community. This was in an effort to protect those most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Seating arrangements with strict hygiene measures were provided while grant recipients waited in line. Refreshments and energy bars were also provided.

To assist the community of Chris Hani Crossing against the fight against COVID-19, the centre made hand washing basins that were placed at the entrance to the Mall. Free soap was also provided so that each person that entered the mall was able to sanitise effectively.

To assist the community of Chris Hani Crossing in the fight against COVID-19, two hand-sanitising stands were made and placed at the entrance of the mall to ensure customers were able to sanitise effectively before entering the centre.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic under level 5 restrictions, the community of Chris Hani Crossing was faced with the pressure of not being able to access their income streams. In partnership with One People Fund, Chris Hani Crossing embarked on the distribution of food parcels to its customers. Communities such as Flak Plass Informal Settlement received boxed food essentials for 100 households. Each box contained food essentials to feed a family of four.

Chris Hani Crossing also distributed over 6 000 reusable face masks to elderly grant recipients at the Centre.

In addition, 3 000 bags of maize meal were distributed around the Kathorus area in settlements as far as Thula Sizwe.

Despite the challeges faced as a result of COVID-19, Chris Hani Crossing donated over 300 care packs, a warm meal and a blanket to the elderly community of Chris Hani in honour of Mandela Day.

To bring attention to World Food Day Chris Hani Crossing distributed maize meal to 500 household’s. This was aimed at increasing awareness around food security and was an outreach activity that formed part of the malls 10^th Birthday celebrations. Three locations namely Vosloorus Dindela Section, Thulasizwe Zonke Section and Emazuluni Section Vosloorus recieved the donations.

Reaching out to those who are less fortunate is an embedded culture of Chris Hani Crossing. To spread the Christmas spirit Chris Hani Crossing set up a gift wrapping station at the mall in an effort to raise funds towards making a donation to the home. A generous donation of grocery and meat vouchers was made to celebrate the spirit of Christmas.

In partnership with the Hope for Africa Foundation, Chris Hani Crossing donated 87 pairs of school shoes to three schools in Ekurhuleni. Disadvantaged learners each received a pair of school shoes for the winter season. This initiative helped restore the learners confidence and resulted in increased school attendance.

As part of the 2022 Back to School Campaign, Chris Hani Crossing donated school shoes to various learners in the surrounding community.

Despite the riots that impacted Chris Hani Crossing in July 2021 and impacted the normal Mandela Day activities, winter blankets were donated to community members to assist them in dealing with the cold winter months.