67 ways to make everyday a Mandela Day... making us better people.

Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest South Africans, he inspired a nation to be better. And even though we’re asked to do something on his birthday… why not make every day a Mandela day… making us better!

The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park in 2008 when he said:

“It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.”

The United Nations officially declared 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009, recognising Mandela’s “values and his dedication to the service of humanity” and acknowledging his contribution “to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world”.

The celebration of Mandela Day aims to serve as a global call to action for people to “recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better”, says the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

“Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to campaign for the human rights of every South African. His life has been an inspiration to the world,” the foundation said.

By devoting 67 minutes of their time – one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service – people can make a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a global movement for good.

With that, comes the annual 67 minutes but more so, it is now our responsibility to continue his dream of making South Africa & the world… a better place.

If you’re looking for a reason to make a difference… then here are 67 little things that can create massive change… its changing one thing, to change everything.

Donate blood, especially if you are group O, as the blood bank is dangerously short of blood at this time. If you are over 16 and weigh more than 50kg, go to their website or sms your name and postal code to 31454 to get details on your closest blood bank.
Put a tin money box in your house or office to collect small change for a local soup kitchen.
Support Sparrow schools: Sparrow is a non-profit outfit that educates children with learning difficulties to grade 9 and then puts them through a tertiary program to develop skills so that they are employable, like floor laying and hotel schooling. Karen Lancaster, fund-raising manager, invites corporates in particular to partner with them in development programs. “It enables the company to reach their BEE score and our kids get jobs!” Call them on 011 673 4410.
Fish out old prams and baby cots and donate them to an infant home.
Buy a Madiba bangle and support container libraries. Log on to their website to see where these have been placed so far.
Sign up at an old age home to read the newspaper or play an instrument to the elderly once a month for the next year.
When shopping, buy extra female hygiene products and drop off packs, with a personalised message on each, to a women’s shelter for the abused. Visit their website here.
Sign up with a Saturday school and commit a few afternoons a month to improving the marks of underprivileged matrics.
Provide back-up support for volunteer workers by serving tea or generating food packs on a monthly basis.
There are many animal shelters who are in need of volunteers, contact the SPCA, FORA or Erwins for more info.
Sign up with Generation Earth and help your child start up a “Gen earth” committee at their school. They focus on carrying out green projects and educating their peers on environmental issues. Here’s their website.
Walk around your neighbourhood. Pick up litter in the area
Drop off scrapbooking supplies and scraps of fabric at a retirement home for use in creating crafts for end-of-year markets.
Download the Sassi card to check that the fish you order in a restaurant is not endangered. Here’s the website.
Redeem points earned on a shopper’s card for gift vouchers for your domestic worker to take home.
Make a point of meeting all your neighbours and set up a “whatsapp” group so you can report suspicious activity directly to each other.
Jacaranda children’s home is a non-profit shelter for abused and abandoned kids which is caring for 350 children. They also run a home for pregnant women and take in financially affected children. Ancha Smuts says they would welcome donations of non-perishable food, toiletries and cleaning equipment. You can also pledge money via SMS or website or 012 800 4700
Set up a community garden in your neighbourhood where residents can share the water and weeding.
Ashoka is a volunteer portal for individuals to sign up with their skills set and wait for opportunities to give back. Here is their website.
Take a can of Q20 or a weed-eater to your local park and tidy up or fix rusty joints of the equipment.
Pledge to unplug your chargers from now on.
Sponsor a guide dog by paying for the puppy training via their website or call 011 705 3512.
Sign up as an organ donor – your body can save up to seven lives and many more with tissues like heart valves. Here’s their website.
Living seeds organisation, an organic seed company, is calling for volunteers to help their charities plant the gardens. They say time and expertise are needed as many of the beneficiaries are “soil illiterate”. Check out their website.
Bake something for the local police station night shift to encourage them in their difficult work.
Donate platelets or bone-marrow. Visit the website for more details.
Sign up as a regular donor to the Star’s Seaside fund. The charity gives underprivileged children the opportunity to have a fun-filled holiday at the sea – many of them have never seen the beach and the 10 days spent are a treasured time for them. Maggie Mosiane, who accompanies the groups to KZN, says: “Some of the kids hide because they don’t want to leave when the 10-day stay comes to an end.” Call Maggie on 011 633 2304.
Drop off a soft toy at the Johannesburg central police station – the toys are kept at the victim empowerment centre to hand out to abandoned and abused children when they come in for counselling.
It’s the coldest time of the year – collect blankets and give them to homeless shelters. Contact the Salvation Army on 011 718 6746.
Sign up for the 94.7 Momentum Cycle Challenge and begin collecting sponsorships for a charity of your choice.
Take a pack of seeds to a rural school and help the children plant them.
Print a booklet of lessons for your domestic worker’s kids. There are a number of sites that let you reproduce their worksheets for free.
Offer to feed a neighbour’s pet or house-sit while they are away.
Log into to Back a Buddy and sign up to follow a cause. Better still, begin a new one and get fund-raising.
Drop off a bag of pet food or a blanket at your local Animal Shelter.
Talk to your suburban shopping centre about recycling and encourage them to manage their trash.
Pledge to have more showers and fewer baths.
Qhubeka encourages rural residents to plant food gardens and trees and in return earn a bicycle, which provides a great amount of freedom for the children as they use them to travel the long distances to school. “We support it because it empowers the people rather than simply handing out help,” says Eleanor Mitrovitch, general manager of MTN Branded, the major sponsor of the initiative. Check out their work on their website.
Get inspired by going to For Good… they are incredible!
Make a meal count. Invite a needy family for dinner, cook a meal for them or just buy an extra sandwich at lunch time & give it to someone less fortunate.
Read for Tape Aids for The Blind – if your voice passes the audition, you get to record a book. Call 011 786 6130 or visit their website.
Go to your local library and ask them how you can help to keep them going – providing cake when people from the local old age home visit or reading to kids.
Plant a tree at home and give a twin plant to someone in an informal settlement. Compare their growth over the years.
Clean out your shelves and get a bag of books ready to deliver to a school that needs extra reading books.
Pledge to use your next “party” for fund-raising by creating a ‘cause’. That way, you’ll encourage your friends to think about charitable socialising.
Swap your usual take-out paper cups for a ceramic one to ease the impact on landfills.
Pledge to drink tap water instead of buying bottled water all the time (South Africa has some of the best water in the world!)… more info on their website.
Buy balls of wool for an old age home or donate a chess set that you don’t use.
Switch the TV off in the evening and talk to your children about starting a family charity – something you can all fund-raise toward that is important to all of you. If you register on their website, you could win money for the cause.
Take a new soccer ball to a local school for the kids.
Go to the local hospital and see if you can get on a standby list to help out in the trauma waiting area when they are under pressure.
Donate old magazines to a home or a needy nursery school.
“Like” the homecoming revolution and show overseas friends that SA is still the best!
Hold a garage/jumble sale for charity.
Get a My School card and register a rural school as the beneficiary: Check out their website or call 0860 100 445.
Instead of spending on a meal at a restaurant, put together a food parcel for someone at work who has fallen on hard times.
Start buying food in minimal packaging to save on throw-away items.
Do some research into the products you usually buy – find alternatives that are better for our planet.
Register with greater good and create a “giver” profile.
Offer your services to the Highveld Horse Unit. See them on Facebook to see how you can help.
Commit to sorting your trash at source to make life easier for the informal recyclers who rummage through the garbage.
Sort out your cupboard and give someone your old clothing to sell to boost their income.
Donate reading glasses to TheEyeMakers who are distributing over a thousand pairs this year.
Switch off one geyser for the month, to help ease the pressure on the country’s electricity supplies.
Soccer outreach ambassadors in soccer (AIS-SA) welcome soccer enthusiasts to help them engage poorer societies throughout SA using the vehicle of soccer. Contact them on 012 348 0025.
Cheese kids, who describe themselves as a “broad-based volunteer program”, are seeking volunteers on Mandela Day. Log on to their website and RSVP to their “Nelson Mandela day revolution” or donate by sms.
Tweet, Facebook, Blog. Tell the world about Madiba. Make every day a Mandela Day!

Since our beloved Mandela is no longer around to anchor the incredible occasion, it’s more important than ever to uphold the values for which he struggled and to share his message for peace and humanity with future generations.

It’s in our hands to make a difference.