Wondering what to do for Mandela Day?
Below are a few ideas - projects which you could assist, either as an individual or a business.
Individuals, companies and organisations are planning a variety of activities for Mandela Day on July 18. Nelson Mandela’s internationally celebrated birthday has become a symbol of active citizenry and community service after his call to the nation to serve every day.
This year’s focus is on food security and we can all play our part by volunteering about an hour of our time in honour of Madiba.
Here are ways to get involved:
Reach for a Dream is holding its Reach for Your Slippers campaign on August 1. Citizens can buy stickers at Wimpy or Makro for R10, to wear slippers on the day. Proceeds go toward Reach for a Dream.
Let your kid’s footie kit goes to a worthy recipient. Boots for Dreams facilitates donations of soccer kits to underprivileged kids. Go to www.bootsfordreams.co.za
Viva SA is holding a day of volunteerism at its village in Mamelodi. Artists will be turning shacks into works of art and they need help with cleaning, paint-mixing and maintenance of the jungle gym. Go to www.viva-sa.co.za. Get involved with the LeadSA food garden activities and learn to plant and tend food gardens and start allotments for the community.
Cycle for a purpose by signing up for the 94.7 Cycle Challenge on November 16. New routes include mountain-bike challenges of 30km and 55km on November 9. Go to www.cyclechallenge.co.za.
Visit HospiceWits in Houghton on Mandela Day and have your car washed for R67. Proceeds go to the palliative care facility.
Spend your 67 minutes teaching a child how to ride a bike or getting on your bike and picking up litter. If you prefer the couch, donate R67 towards sponsoring bikes for kids in rural areas aimed at increasing school attendance. See www.qhubeka.org.za
Make sure you have registered for the MySchool card. Consider signing up for a rural school or organisation that looks after abandoned or abused children. That way, your shopping at Woolies will mean someone less fortunate benefits, too.
Sign up to pack comfort packs for rape victims at the EPIC foundation Mandela Drive in Steeledale between 9.30am and 3.30pm.
Compass organisation cares for more than 100 babies and children who come from impoverished backgrounds and abusive circumstances. A R2 100 donation will ensure a child is looked after for three months. Contact Natasha at 079 323 3217 or [email protected].
Go back to school for a day. www.adoptaschool.org.za can set you up with a school, allowing your company to help improve facilities or beautify schoolgrounds.
Sign up for the CHOC walk on September 14. Proceeds go to the Childhood Cancer Foundation. E-mail [email protected] for an entry form. The 8km walk (R80) starts at 8am and the 4km (R70) starts at 8.45am.
Help spread the word about rape by being an ambassador for the anti-rape cause. StopRape was a successful awareness campaign run by LeadSA. Posters can be bought from Viva for R15 for display. Buy a dozen and spend your 67 minutes posting them at schools, canteens or community centres. Phone Meleney at 079 635 2964 to order your batch.
Place a money tin in the kitchen and collect coins for the Phuthadichaba community hall in Snake Park, Soweto. The hall, made from corrugated iron, hosts more than 50 pensioners every day for a meal, prayers and exercise. They desperately need a new building. Contact Wilson Lekgetho at 071 502 6494.
Arrange a blood drive at work and bake a cake for the people who donate blood. If you can get 20 donors together, The South African National Blood Service will come to you. Call 0800 11 90 31 for forms.
Sponsor a guide dog through the SA Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind. If you can’t foster the pooch, donate money for the training of the puppy to become a companion to a blind person. www.guidedog.co.za or call 011 705 3512.
Ride for Mandela in the Jozi Freedom Ride while also helping the bicycling empowerment network raise funds for a bike empowerment centre in Orlando. The 35km race to Soweto and back starts at 8am from the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Register at www.freedomride.org.za (free, but a donation is requested).
Ask colleagues to bring in donations for Jacaranda Children’s Home in Pretoria, which caters for abused and abandoned children and pregnant women. E-mail [email protected].
Food Bank SA is running a corporate food drive in Meadowdale. Company teams can sign up to pack hampers by sponsoring the packs. Call Ashleigh at 021 531 4811.
Meals on Wheels is holding a mass cook-off in City Deep at 8.30am. Corporate teams have signed up to slice, dice and peel their way through thousands of meals. Contact Michelle at 08600 000 700.
FeedSA helps set up feeding schemes in townships. It will hold a winter warmer at the community centre in Thembisa. Donate blankets, scarves and tinned food. Call Candice at 083 556 0998.
Stop Hunger will be aiming to pack 670 000 meals at the Sandton Convention Centre. Open to companies who want to send volunteers or sponsor a line of packers. Contact Jean van Wyk at 011 872 2498.
Donate your skills for 67 minutes at a local school. Engage with people you work with who may know a township school or community centre that requires maintenance.
Miles of Smiles specialise in corporate CSI events and the charity arm, Family Africa, will be holding a music and drama day tomorrow. The public are invited to assist in handing out 500 pairs of shoes at its day-care centre in Diepsloot or to plan a charity day in future. Call Chris at 072 143 4003.
Help Toys for Africa hand out stationery and interact with the children of Herberg Creche in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria. They will be handing out pens and puzzles. toys [email protected].
Book a corporate “giving-back” day in Hillbrow. Mould, Empower, Share is involved in many ways and can arrange an educational and beneficial day for employees who wish to make a change in the city.
Xpedia and Feed a Child are aiming to break a Guinness World record by feeding 3 000 children in 67 minutes at Supersport Park. [email protected].
