This month we’ll once again celebrate Mandela Day, a day where people around the world are encouraged to spend at least 67 minutes doing something positive for their communities.
Don’t fret if you’ve left it to the last minute and haven’t got anything planned for the day, that’s what we’re here for! Here are just a few easy ways that you can give back on Mandela Day (July 18), and on every day from here on out.
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1. The easiest way to volunteer, donate or offer your services from anywhere
Forgood.co.za is a GENIUS portal that connects charities with people who have time, money or specific services to offer. It’s basically designed for those of us who want to help charities and causes all over South Africa, but really have no idea where to start.
You’ll find at least a 100 different opportunities (across SA) for you to give back on Mandela Day and it’s broken down into different provinces making it easier for you to find a cause in your community.
2. Dance for charity
By now we’re quite familiar with the Secret Sunrise events where you’re equipped with dance instructors, silent headphones and some sick beats so you can dancercise at a secret location.
Both Secret Sunrise Joburg and Cape Town have jumped on board the Mandela Day train, along with other locations from around the world, and will be hosting events on the 21st where people can dance, have fun AND do their bit for charity.
Jozi’s Dance for Madiba will be taking place at Afrika Tikkun Uthando Centre in Braamfontein while an amazing array of local DJ’s will keep you grooving non-stop throughout the day. All tickets are R105 and you can join at any time during the day. All proceeds will go to the Dance For Madiba campaign – the Nelson Mandela Foundation and No Danger Diaries are both beneficiaries. Click here to buy tickets.
Head to Langa to join Cape Town’s Dance for Madiba – for a guided session that will apparently blend a silent disco and a yoga class into one big party. The entry fee is R55 for adults and R35 for kids, or donate an additional R125 to the Dance For Madiba campaign. Click here to buy tickets.
3. Cape Town beach clean-up
CleanC help keep Cape Town’s beaches clean and free of litter. Beach clean-ups run on the first Saturday of every month starting at 10am and Capetonians are encouraged to give of their time to help clean up the beaches. Gloves and bags are provided and it’s a great way to soak up the sun while doing some good in the world.
On 25 July, the NGO is holding a Full Moon Beach Walk for Mandela Day at Eden on the Bay at 6.45pm where adults, children and even four-legged friends are invited to help clean up the beach. There’s no entry fee but they do ask that you bring along a packet of flour or sugar or a 2-litre bottle of oil.
Visit Clean C on Facebook and get your clean on!
4. Help our four-legged friends
This Mandela Day, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA is calling on you to help them build 67 kennels which will be delivered to local communities in need of shelter for their pets this winter. To lend a hand at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA in Grassy Park, email [email protected] so that you can be added to the list. Or, if you’re not great with craft projects, you can donate R500 which will help fund a kennel.
If you can’t get to an SPCA, here some of their suggestions of how you can help South Africa’s fur babies:
- Offer to take a dog or two for a walk
- Drop off dog or cat food at your animal care centres near you
- Buy cosy blankets and donate to dogs in need
- Sign up for a monthly donation of R167 to the SPCA. For more info, call 021 700 4168
- Unable to give time or money right now but love animals? Adding a donation to your will could help the SPCA in the future!
If you’re not in Cape Town and want to help the SPCA in your area, here are some more details about what SPCAs around the countries are doing. Click on each link to find out more.
- SPCA Randburg – Has come up with a 100 things their SPCA is in need of. To find out what you need you can help with, and which department requires that donation, click here to visit their Facebook page.
- National SPCA – Join the 67Give campaign which will be raising funds to support the excellent work of the SPCA as well as crime prevention and intervention in SA. Click here to find out how you can sign up and donate.
- SPCA Tshwane – There isn’t a specific Mandela Day campaign but there is an ongoing drive to raise money to replace old inspectorate vehicles. Help them reach their goal!
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5. Keep a girl in school
The Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Trek4Mandela is a fundraising initiative that will see many inspiring South Africans summit Kilimanjaro on Mandela Day. Don’t worry – we’re not expecting you to climb a giant mountain, but if you really want to, you can join the 2019 trek here – the initiative is a fundraising one that hopes to raise enough money to ensure that 500 000 schoolgirls won’t miss a day of school by providing adequate access to sanitary pads.
All you need to do to get involved is to pledge R30 to support the girls by sms’ing ‘GIRLCHILD’ and your name to 42513. Donations can also be made online at trek4mandela.com.
6. Help save sick kids
The Children’s Hospital Trust is a non-profit organisation that looks after sick kids at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital – most of whom come from exceptionally poor communities. They do amazing work and the donations received are used towards the projects and programs that the hospital funds. Spend some time reading the stories about the children, parents and families that they help and you can’t help but feel a lump in your throat.
They are celebrating Mandela’s love for children by encouraging people to donate R100 to the Children’s Hospital Trust in honour of Madiba’s 100-year legacy. All you need is an internet connection and you can make this small donation via their website; childrenshospitaltrust.org.
7. Help create and fill care packages for rape survivors
Join the Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust this Mandela Day by helping them create care packages for survivors of rape. The packages contain toiletries and other personal items that are given to victims who come in to report rape offences.
Volunteers will come together on Wednesday 18 July from 10am – 1 pm to assist with assembling the packages at Mowbray Town Hall. The aim is to create 1 300 care packs which will be distributed at different Thuthuzela Care Centres around South Africa.
Visit rapecrisis.org.za to find out more or to make a monetary donation.
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8. Paint homes in Khayelitsha
The Khusela Ikhaya Project is an NGO whose primary goal is using a specially formulated intumescent paint that deters the rapid spread of fires in informal settlements. The paint protects exterior surfaces from fire and adds colour to homes.
This Mandela Day, the NGO is joining forces with the Pebbles Project and will be painting two of their after-school clubs on 21 July in Helderberg, Western Cape. For information on how you can get involved, take a look at Khusela Ikhaya Project’s Facebook event.
9. Donate to animal rescue
Woodrock Animal Rescue is a non-profit, rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing facility in Gauteng. The organisation is a safe haven for homeless, abused, stray, injured, sick, geriatric and unwanted animals.
This Mandela Day they need your help in the form of donations to sterilise 100 animals. The funds will help make their goal of a township sterilisation drive possible – where they’ll head to Atteridgeville and Olivienhout Bos in August to offer sterilisations at their clinic premises. Visit woodrockanimalrescue.com to find out how you can donate. If you can’t get there, you can also donate money or food or, even better, adopt a rescue dog – click here to find out more.
11. Help save a life
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) provide crucial mental health support to hundreds of South Africans on a daily basis. Did you know that every day South Africa sees 23 completed suicides and 460 attempted suicides? It is truly heartbreaking to think about. But SADAG is giving you a way to help this Mandela Day by asking for small donations. The raised funds will go towards call costs, a speaking book for the youth as well as training of community members in rural areas. Here’s a breakdown of the kind of donations you can make:
- R67 pays for 14 Suicide Helpline keyrings to be given out to students so that they’ll have the number on hand to call for help.
- R100 will cover the call costs for 5 people trying to get hold of the Toll-Free Crisis Helpline.
- R167 will give over a 100 young people the chance to read a Teen Suicide Prevention Speaking book. The book contains illustrations, text as well as audio to make it easier for all students to follow.
- R1 670 will pay for 25 community members from rural areas in Gauteng, Limpopo or Mpumalanga to receive training on how to respond to (and treat) depression and trauma, and how to start support groups for struggling community members.
12. Add something small to your Woolworths trolley
On your next trip to Woolies, look for the following items to add to your basket – a Mandela Day reusable shopping bag, a Mandela centenary T-shirt, or a Mandela Centenary Relate bracelet. These small purchases will go towards good causes. If you want to choose to support a specific cause, here’s how the donations will be split up:
For every reusable shopping that’s bought, Woolworths will donate R10 to the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Caring4Girls programme. Woolworths is hoping that it will be able to donate R1 million in total.
All profits from of the Mandela centenary T-shirt sales will go to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. While the proceeds raised with the Mandela Centenary Relate bracelet will help support the Nelson Mandela Literacy Project.
