Little Box Charitable Corp

Overview

Little Box Charitable Corp looks to empower youth, families and communities in Southern Africa. Little Box Charitable Corp was formed early 2008 and received it's 501(c)(3) status in September 2008.

Little Box Charitable Corp has teamed with the White House to become a Certifying Organization for the PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD, a national program recognizing Americans who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to volunteer service.

Mission

Little Box Charitable Corp is a registered charity that seeks to empower youth, families and communities in Africa.

Little Box Charitable Corp helps the youth, families and communities around them realize their full potential. It's about offering a helping hand to the people to uplift their communities and help them to become self-sustainable.

History

Started in 2008.

Program

Our main projects are:

Project Stationery: Aimed at children starting school for the first time.

Many parents in rural and under-privileged areas simply cannot afford stationery costs for their youngsters.

Within each stationery box is included:

- 2 pencils, 12 color pencils, 1 sharpener, 1 eraser, 1 stubnosed pair of scissors, 1 ruler, 1 pencil bag, 1 glue stick, 2 A5 writing books

Each set costs $6 per child. We are aiming to provide a minimum of 3500 children with stationery for the school year 2009.

Project Survivor: Aimed at survivors of sexual assault.

On average there are 80 woman raped each day in South Africa. The South African Police Services are not able to cope with or fund any initiatives for these women. Often these women are the sole breadwinners of the home, and with them in a vulnerable state of mind, there is a real risk that the family will not be provided for, and also that the culprit will stay on the loose due to inadequate evidence.

Most of the evidence is contained on the woman's clothing, many of these women simply do not have other clothes to wear and therefore the Police Service cannot take the clothes into evidence. Little Box Charitable Corp are looking to provide a survival box, with a set of underwear, t-shirt, small booklet on getting help (in all 11 official languages) a small fruit juice for shock and small travel sized toiletry items the woman may require.

Each survivor box costs $50 and we aim to provide at least 150 boxes for the year 2008/2009.

Project Market: Aimed at communities supported by migrant labor.

Through assistance and support, local markets are established resulting in capital deepening, and the creation of opportunities at home.

This lessens the requirement for family heads to work away from home (often for 11 months at a time) and is in line with the Department of Mineral and Energy’s mandate to reduce reliance on migrant workforces.

Each box costs $40 and we aim to provide a minimum of 100 families with these boxes and training for year 2008.

Impact

For the financial year 2009:

Project Stationery: 3500 children and families
Project Survivor: 150 women and families
Project Market: 100 families

Goals This Year

Raise $25 000 for Project Stationery
Raise $10 000 for Project Survivor
Raise $10 000 for Project Market

Chief Executive

Astra Bester

Chief Executive Profile

Astra was born and raised in South Africa and educated at Sans Souci Girls High in Cape Town and University of Free State in Bloemfontein.

Astra has been involved in volunteerism in South Africa for over 15 years. She has experienced first hand the levels of poverty and poverty induced violence in Africa. She is also involved in an innovation and entrepreneurship venture, g12i.

Astra has also sat on the Board of Directors for three Section 21 companies (not for profit) in South Africa.

Board

Astra Bester
Grant Collier
Hugo du Rand
James Philip
Ferdi Zittlau - CFO

Countries of Operation

Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, United Republic of, Zimbabwe