21 October 2020
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Making small, local businesses stronger
Pat van Schoor 21.08.1937 – 11.10.2020 A beloved resident of Hermanus for more than 20 years, Pat van Schoor passed away on 11 October at the age of 83 years. Pat was a woman of many talents, but I reckon her stand-out gift was her ability to spark friendships between strangers. Pat taught most of Hermanus to play bridge. She had bridge schools a couple of days a week and arranged annual Bridge Drives for charity. She was tireless in her efforts to lend a helping hand to her community by volunteering for several charities, including Overstrand Hospice, Hermanus Child Welfare and SANTA, which she served as chairperson for 10 years. As a volunteer of the Hermanus Botanical Society she could often be found working in the kitchen at their annual Flower Show. She also started a woman’s club called Quest in 2003, arranging interesting speakers each month and various outings to places of interest in our beautiful region. Described by Sue Holmes, the current chairperson of SANTA, as “a Duracell Bunny”, Pat was known as “a wonderful hostess who could get a dinner party going in no time – always with great food, wine and, above all, laughter”.
2020 has taught us to look at our own place in the world differently. Not only have we been challenged to think about our families, neighbours, communities and countrymen differently, but also our place on the African continent and our place on the globe. Grootbos Foundation has, in the past, empowered people to become entrepreneurial small business owners in the local economy through providing free training and dispersing seed funding. But lockdown regulations threatened to collapse these small enterprises, many of which were trained to source locally, strive towards sustainability and contribute to the green economy. Rebuilding small businesses, many of which are female-owned, allows communities to re-root so that new growth and recovery can take place. Emerging from lockdown seems to have made us all look differently at how we can contribute towards recovery in our own communities. Responding to the needs of micro-businesses,
Grootbos Foundation has been able to direct funds towards 21 Small Business Relief packages to help these essential small businesses survive, and to provide 27 small businesses with Covid-19 Compliance PPE packs so that they could safely open their doors and resume operation and trading. Thank you to the funders whose donations have been passed directly on to young entrepreneurs to rescue their businesses. Thank you for the donations that enabled the daily feeding of children and families throughout the strictest phase of lockdown, the provision of over 13 000 individual face masks, PPE to 10 schools, and the EduSupport of township children who struggled to access data and learning tools during school closures. Thank you to everyone who buys and sources locally. The recovery process starts at home. Phil Murray Grootbos Foundation
Pat was always very active and her other interests (where did she find the time and energy?)
Mercia Teubes, a 75-year-old Hermanus resident and supporter of the Lighthouse 2 Lighthouse Ladies Charity Walk recently heard the announcement that Hermanus Child & Family Services (HCFS) is the chosen beneficiary for the main walk in 2021. Mercia wanted to make a contribution to HCFS in the form of soft toys and books which was collected by the L2L committee and given to the charity on Mercia’s behalf. L2L would like to thank Mercia and the other businesses and individuals in the Overstrand community for their constant support. This year they are supporting a main charity, a secondary charity (Overstrand Hospice) and 11 other local charities that applied for funding. To get involved or to make a donation, visit www.lighthouse2lighthouse.co.za.
included hiking, birding and book clubs. During her school days at Rustenburg Girls High School, Pat had excellent role models in her parents. Her father, Buck Ryan, was the Head of English at Rondebosch Boys, whilst her mother produced plays and was involved in community work. She met John van Schoor when she was 18 years old and married him in 1959. They were married for 51 years until John’s untimely passing in 2010. He was a peacemaker with a dry sense of humour and very active in his retirement years – playing tennis twice a week and golf four times a week. During his career with Standard Bank, John was transferred 19 times and they lived in places as diverse as London and Kokstad. Pat was a devoted mother to four children and four grandchildren. When I once asked Pat what motivated her to live such a full, energetic life – one that has enriched the lives of so many in Hermanus – she said: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and proclaiming, Wow, what a ride!” Pat, we salute you and thank you for all the hard work you did for our community. You were truly inspirational. – Clyde Manson
