Twitter Blanket Drive South Africa

Twitter Blanket Drive: Why I No Longer Support Them

ByRamon Thomas

For many years I supported Twitter Blanket Drive across South Africa. While I lived in Joburg, I joined people on Twitter by encouraging people to donate blankets. Many of the people I had meet at various Tweetups over the years. The community was strong and committed. And in 2016, I hosted the first Twitter Blanket Drive in the Eastern Cape, and more specifically in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage.

Twitter Blanket Drive for Nelson Mandela Bay 2016

Melanie Minnaar, the founder of the what she now calls TBDAfrica, also spoke at one of my Tweetups in Soweto once. She is a very smart and passionate marketing professional, originally from East London, living in Johannesburg. In recent years she appointed a national co-ordinator for this annual blanket drive campaign, Merentia van der Vent, from Cape Town.

Since I moved back to South Africa after two years in Beijing, I offered once again to host Twitter Blanket Drive in Nelson Mandela Bay. Since my new company helps people register companies and trademarks with the CIPC, I also offered to register their trademark, as well as a non-profit company and host their website for the next 3 years as a sponsor. The website had been neglected for some time due to some dispute with someone called Attie van der Linde. Apparently he refuses to “give up” control of the domain or website or both.

Email Transcript from National Co-Ordinator of TBDAfrica

From Merentia Van Der Vent
Date: 12 May 2018
 
Thanks for hosting in the E Cape.
 
I have joined Melanie in the burn out/fatigue/breakdown/adrenal fatigue/body breakdown club. That’s why I had to leave my previous job where I was literally doing the jobs of 4 people and this year they wanted to add a 5th job (TV channel Christian news) to my workload and if I had stayed I was going to end up in a mental institution I felt. That work excluded the TBD and my social media events which also added more to my life load.
 
Attie owns the TBD website and he won’t relinquish it so you should rather contact him directly. I’m not having that conversation with him but if you can that would be great.
 
#TBD2018 kicks off in this week. Logo’s are being finalised this weekend and will be sent out soonest I have it. I can’t find hosts for Joburg and Pretoria and the Protea Hotels up there last year were giving the hosts too much flak that I don’t think they’ll be involved this year. I’ve asked no responses as of yet. The hosts also during the campaign either withdrew due to the hotels behaviour/attitude or hosted in their own venues.
 
Durban and the West Coast are on board again this year.
 
The Cape Town event will happen but vastly scaled down. Collections by our local #TBDChampions (collecting over at least 50) started last month already behind the scenes.
 
My number is 074 181 7899. I don’t pick up a lot of calls as life really gave me a battering. If I could I would run away for a year and go live on an island alone and no contact with the world but I can’t so I’ve started a rebuilding the body  program with a doctor/homeopath and apparently this is a long-term thing.
 
Thank goodness my new job understands and I just go in to work and leave on time, no overtime (most days at least)
  • I respond to all Whatsapps in time as soon as I can.
  • I “gave up” social media-ing 2 years ago so only making a small comeback now.
  • #TBD2018 concludes end of June. Last Thursday for events. Last weekend if having no event.
  • Any other questions holler at me on Whatsapp.
  • It’s great to have you on board again 🙂

— Transcript Ends —