South Africa fell in love with Jason Vanporppal during his epic skateboarding adventure. Now he’s coming back, and this time he’s on a mission to make Christmas special for disadvantaged children.
South Africa (12 October 2026) – South Africa, remember Jason Vanporppal? How could you not? The American skateboarder who made headlines across the country in May this year, capturing the hearts of an entire nation as he travelled thousands of kilometres across Africa to do some good.
Well, he’s coming back! And this time, he’s bringing a whole lot of Christmas magic with him.
In a beautiful new partnership between Jason, the Winnie Mabaso Foundation and Good Things Guy, the adventurer will return to South Africa in mid-November to revisit some of the towns that welcomed him during his incredible skateboarding journey. But this isn’t just a reunion. It’s an opportunity to give back to those communities by bringing Christmas joy to disadvantaged children.
And it all started with social media doing what we love seeing it do best… bringing people together for something good!
Earlier this year, Jason travelled over 5,500 kilometres from Uganda to Cape Town on his skateboard. Along the way, South Africans began following his adventure online, sharing his videos, cheering him on and turning up in their numbers to welcome him. Schools let kids out of classes so they could cheer him on. Families stood next to roads waving South African flags. Communities organised meetups. Farmers, bikers, runners and skaters joined sections of the route. People drove hours just to spend five minutes encouraging him. What began as one man’s adventure became a viral celebration of South African kindness.
And Jason hasn’t forgotten any of it… so he is coming back to do some good things!
Before returning to South Africa, Jason has taken on another enormous challenge. This time, he’s swapping his skateboard for running shoes and tackling a 200-mile journey (approximately 322 kilometres) from Manchester to London. The run is raising funds for the Winnie Mabaso Foundation’s Christmas Appeal, which provides gifts to disadvantaged children. And this year’s appeal is incredibly special. For the first time in the Foundation’s 22-year history, its Christmas outreach will extend beyond Gauteng, reaching communities in towns that supported Jason during his skateboarding adventure.
Lisa Ashton, from the Winnie Mabaso Foundation, shared her excitement as Jason began his latest challenge, “Today’s the day!! Jason’s 200-mile run from Manchester to London has begun! He will be raising funds for the Winnie Mabaso Foundation’s Christmas Appeal to buy Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children in South Africa.. and for the first time in the Foundation’s 22 year history we will be supporting communities outside of Gauteng as we revisit the towns who welcomed Jason with open arms when he skated across Africa!”
Lisa also celebrated the new partnership, encouraging people to support the appeal.
Related Stories
Cape Town’s Firefighters Show Pure Heart and Grit to Bring Home 21 Medals
Tin Collector's Love for His Dog Got a Helping Hand From a Stranger Who Stopped!“We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with our friend Brent, The Good Things Guy for this exciting initiative! I know it’s a bit early to be thinking about Xmas but it’s going to take a lot of organising to make this happen so your contributions would be really appreciated! We really can’t do this without you so please donate if you can! Every single penny will make a difference!”
For the Good Things Guy team, being part of this initiative is an opportunity to turn the incredible positivity surrounding Jason’s journey into something meaningful for South African children.
“We are SO excited about this! We watched South Africa fall in love with Jason earlier this year and now we get to help bring that love full circle. This is exactly why we believe in sharing good news. One incredible story brought thousands of strangers together… and now that same story is going to help put smiles on children’s faces this Christmas. We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Jason and the Winnie Mabaso Foundation. We cannot wait to meet these communities!”
Jason’s 200-mile fundraising run began today. Every donation to the Winnie Mabaso Foundation’s Christmas Appeal will help make this initiative possible. There’s a lot to organise before November, and the team is hoping South Africans will get behind the campaign just as enthusiastically as they got behind Jason.
Jason could have finished his adventure in Cape Town, flown home and carried on with his life. But he didn’t. He remembered the people, the towns and the kindness he experienced along the way.
And now he’s coming back. We think this is a VERY good thing!
To donate to the cause, please click here.
by 
