Footprints 4 Sam started a food bucket initiative a few years back, each bucket contains 168 meals and helps a family caring for a child facing.
South Africa (23 April 2024) – In a gesture of compassion and hope, the Footprints 4 Sam Trust recently delivered 180 Super Sam Hero Buckets to underprivileged families, navigating the challenges of caring for a child with a life-limiting disease.
As one of the Trust’s six key initiatives, the Sam Super Hero Buckets consist of Food buckets, filled to the brim with basic food supplies as well as Care buckets with much-needed essential toiletries for mom and baby. These buckets represent a beacon of hope and practical support for families enduring immense emotional and financial strain. It is estimated that one food bucket can give a family of four 168 meals. Since the Trust’s inception in 2017 it has provided up to 152 000 meals to families around the country.
When their son Sam passed away in 2016 at just 15 and a half months, after spending his short life in hospital, Melissa and Fred Platt turned a personal tragedy into a way to touch and change lives in a positive way. The Footprints 4 Sam Trust has impacted the lives of countless underprivileged children their families and the healthcare workers in the palliative paediatric space, leaving indelible footprints within healthcare in South Africa.
“The impact of the buckets are profound,” explains Melissa, “they allow parents to focus on caring for their sick child without the added stress of food insecurity. Moms often come into the hospitals with nothing and also have nothing to go home with in terms of both toiletries and food. These parents are incredible and if we are able to provide a small gesture of comfort and assistance to them in their time of greatest need, and hopefully make their journey a little lighter, that’s what Sam’s legacy is all about,” she says.
The buckets were distributed to five sites that included the Paediatric Oncology Department at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital and Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg. The Trust also expansed its reach this year to include Dr Josef Dadoo Hospital in Krugersdorp as well as Queen Nandi Regional Hospital in KZN.
Paedspal, an organisation in Cape Town that the Trust works with as a support to their Super Sam Hero Vehicle Initiative also received buckets for their young beneficiaries and families who are transported by Super Sam Hero vehicles to Red Cross, Groote Schuur and other Paedspal’s Clinics.
“We are so grateful to our partners, Triton Express, who has generously delivered the buckets free of charge since the Trust’s inception, as well as the amazing team at Checkers who pack all the buckets,” says Melissa. “These collaborations have allowed us to leverage resources, expertise, and networks, amplifying the impact of our initiatives and associated programmes.”
The Super Sam Hero Buckets provide a continuity of care and empower families to navigate their challenges with resilience and hope.
How can you help? Contribute towards the Footprints 4 Sam Love Buckets by knitting a jersey or blanket or donating a soft cuddly toy. You can also donate your time, your skills, your money and even your sporting abilities to lay footprints for Sam.
“Each footprint is an imprint of change in precious lives and we encourage and appeal to all donors and suppliers to choose a project that speaks to their hearts and to consider allocating their financial contributions or time to a selected project,” concludes Melissa.
For more information visit footprints4sam.org and click HERE to donate.
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