“Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”
Today is the 95th birthday of a man that people across the
world know and love. It has also become a day where people across the world
dedicate 67 minutes to making a positive change in our world (to honour the 67
years of his life that he dedicated to the struggle for human rights and social
justice).
The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire
individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in
doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower
communities everywhere. Change has been a continuing thread throughout Nelson Mandela’s
life. He said: “We can change the world and make of it a better place. It is in
your hands to make a difference” -- Nelson Mandela (2009)
Think of others
1. Make a new friend. Get to know someone from a different
cultural background. Only through mutual understanding can we rid our
communities of intolerance and xenophobia.
2. Read to someone who can’t. Visit a local home for the
blind and open up a new world for someone else.
3. Fix the potholes in your street or neighbourhood.
4. Help out at the local animal shelter. Dogs without homes
still need a walk and a bit of love.
5. Find out from your local library if it has a story hour
and offer to read during it.
6. Offer to take an elderly neighbour who can’t drive to do
their shopping/chores.
7. Organise a litter cleanup day in your area.
8. Get a group of people to each knit a square and make a
blanket for someone in need.
9. Volunteer at your police station or local faith-based
organisation.
10. Donate your skills!
11. If you’re a builder, help build or improve someone’s
home.
12. Help someone to get his/her business off the ground.
13. Build a website for someone who needs one, or for a
cause you think needs the support.
14. Help someone get a job. Put together and print a CV for
them, or help them with their interview skills.
15. If you’re a lawyer, do some pro bono work for a
worthwhile cause or person.
16. Write to your area councillor about a problem in the
area that requires attention, which you, in your personal capacity, are unable
to attend to.
17. Sponsor a group of learners to go to the theatre/zoo.
Help out for good health
18. Get in touch with your local HIV organisations and find
out how you can help.
19. Help out at your local hospice, as staff members often
need as much support as the patients.
20. Many terminally ill people have no one to speak to. Take
a little time to have a chat and bring some sunshine into their lives.
21. Talk to your friends and family about HIV.
22. Get tested for HIV and encourage your partner to do so
too.
23. Take a bag full of toys to a local hospital that has a
children’s ward.
24. Take younger members of your family for a walk in the
park.
25. Donate some medical supplies to a local community
clinic.
26. Take someone you know, who can’t afford it, to get their
eyes tested or their teeth checked.
27. Bake something for a support group of your choice.
28. Start a community garden to encourage healthy eating in
your community.
29. Donate a wheelchair or guide dog, to someone in need.
30. Create a food parcel and give it to someone in need.
Become an educator
31. Offer to help out at your local school.
32. Mentor a school leaver or student in your field of
expertise.
33. Coach one of the extramural activities the school
offers. You can also volunteer to coach an extramural activity the school
doesn’t offer.
34. Offer to provide tutoring in a school subject you are
good at.
35. Donate your old computer.
36. Help maintain the sports fields.
37. Fix up a classroom by replacing broken windows, doors
and light bulbs.
38. Donate a bag of art supplies.
39. Teach an adult literacy class.
40. Paint classrooms and school buildings.
41. Donate your old textbooks, or any other good books, to a
school library.
Help those living in poverty
42. Buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer need
from home and give them to someone in need.
43. Clean out your cupboard and donate the clothes you no
longer wear to someone who needs them.
44. Put together food parcels for a needy family.
45. Organise a bake sale, car wash or garage sale for
charity and donate the proceeds.
46. To the poorest of the poor, shoes can be a luxury. Don’t
hoard them if you don’t wear them. Pass them on!
47. Volunteer at your local soup kitchen.
48. Help at a local children’s home or orphanage.
49. Help the kids with their studies.
50. Organise a friendly game of soccer, or sponsor the kids
to watch a game at the local stadium.
51. Coach a sports team and make new friends.
52. Donate sporting equipment to a children’s shelter.
53. Donate educational toys and books to a children’s home.
54. Paint, or repair, infrastructure at an orphanage or
youth centre.
55. Mentor someone. Make time to listen to what the kids
have to say and give them good advice.
56. If you play an instrument, visit your local old-age home
and spend an hour playing for the residents and staff.
57. Learn the story of someone older than you. Too often
people forget that the elderly have a wealth of experience and wisdom and, more
often than not, an interesting story to tell.
58. Take an elderly person grocery shopping; they will
appreciate your company and assistance.
59. Take someone’s dog for a walk if they are too frail to
do so themselves.
60. Mow someone’s lawn and help them to fix things around
their house.
61. If there are no recycling centres in your area, petition
your area councillor to provide one.
62. Donate indigenous trees to beautify neighbourhoods in
poorer areas.
63. Collect old newspapers from a school/community
centre/hospital and take them to a recycling centre.
64. Identify open manhole covers or drains in your area and
report them to the local authorities.
65. Organise the company/school/organisation that you work
with to switch off all unnecessary lights and power supplies at night and on
weekends.
66. Engage with people who litter and see if you can
convince them of the value of clean surroundings.
67. Organise to clean up your local park, river, beach,
street, town square or sports grounds with a few friends. Our children deserve
to grow up in a clean and healthy environment.
