ANT KATZ

When Gerald and Theresa Sobel opened their Jewish Report last week and saw the insert promoting our community involvement in the “67 Blankets” project, they had an eureka moment.

Gerald drove from Randburg to the Jewish Report offices to drop off 13 blankets and quilts Theresa had made some time back for an orphanage in Pretoria which never happened – so they donated them to the “67 Blankets” project.

RIGHT, FROM LEFT: Gerald Sobel, Karen Knowles and SAJR editor in chief Geoff Sifrin with the blankets and quilts made by Theresa Sobel of Randburg

SA Jewish Report together with 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela day is bringing all knitters in the community together from young to old. “So many individuals and organisations have become involved by knitting squares or blankets,” says SAJR general manager Karen Knowles.

“It’s a Mitzvah” said Gerald

Gerald said that his neighbour, an interior decorator, had provided all the sample and offcut pieces of material to make the quilts, and that Theresa made them while watching TV.

“It’s a mitvah,” said Gerald when he heard that photographer Ilan Ossendryver would be taking them to donate to crèche he cares for in the shack-town of Chicken City in Soweto.

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ABOVE: The kids at Torah Academy couldn’t hold back their excitement when giving their squares to SA Jewish Report

“This has been one of the most successful community projects that SA Jewish Report has been involved in,” said Knowles. “The SAJR would like to make the difference to our country by helping the underprivileged to keep warm this winter.”

Karen orchestrated a ‘knit-athon’ at KosherWorld on Monday, which she says was “a great success with lots of chatter and popcorn.”