On July 18 every year, people are asked to donate at least 67 minutes of their time in service to their communities.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation compiled a list of a few ways to help such as:

• Putting together stationery packs (pens, stickers, coloured paper, scissors, etc) for teachers at an under-resourced school.
• Doing a neighbourhood clean-up armed with plastic gloves and black bags.
• Volunteer your time at a homeless shelter.
• Make “care kits” (including a comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, facecloth, etc) for patients at a nearby government hospital.
• Give blood.

If you’re looking for organisations and initiatives to contribute to:

Buy a cup of coffee for NG Welfare

NG Welfare is the Dutch Reformed Church’s welfare organisation. They operate in North West and Gauteng. They offer child protection programmes and elderly care services. For Mandela Day you can buy a coffee at one of the participating coffee shops in North West and Gauteng (see social media for list) and add an extra R5 to your bill, per coffee. Each R5 will go towards changing the lives of the most vulnerable on their caseload.

http://ngwelfare.co.za/

Green Door shelter for GBV survivors

The Green Door is the only shelter for gender-based violence survivors in Diepsloot, a township in Johannesburg. Green Door is raising funds to support survivors who can’t afford to leave their abusers. The organisation plans to provide food, clothing and baby supplies for survivors.

Make a donation of non-perishable foodstuffs, clothing or baby necessities like nappies and formula. There is a drop-off point at Witkoppen Clinic in Fourways. Alternatively, arrangements can be made to fetch the items from you. To reduce physical contact, consider a cash donation or purchase a grocery voucher for their clients.

These are their banking details:

Diepsloot Victim Lifeline

FNB

Account number: 62764675214

Branch code: 250655

Paypal: Brownlekekela@gmail.com

Kolisi Foundation – Each1Feed1

The Kolisi Foundation will be providing food to communities through the #Each1Feed1 initiative. A R100 donation can provide food support to one individual for a month. Contributions can be made via their website.

https://kolisifoundation.org/donate/

MySchool

MySchool has compiled a list of organisations to donate to. They include buying a book for R67 or a shelf of books for R670 for Kids Haven. Donations can be made via SnapScan or via EFT.

https://www.myschool.co.za/mandela-day-2020/

Lintle Community Awakening soup kitchen

Lintle Community Awakening is raising funds for their soup kitchen in Pretoria. For more details, go to their social media page.

http://www.lintlecommunity.co.za/

SA Harvest & Chefs with Compassion – 67,000 litres of soup

 Three hundred chefs will be preparing 268,000 cups of soup for poverty-stricken communities across the country. (Photo supplied)

Three hundred chefs under the banner of SA Harvest and Chefs with Compassion are preparing 268,000 cups of soup for poverty-stricken communities in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Mokopane, Rustenburg, Vereeniging, Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit. It costs R10 per meal. You can make a donation here.

https://chefswithcompassion.org.za/67000-litres-for-mandeladay/

Care packs for waste collectors in Gauteng

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Pamsa) and Fibre Circle, a producer responsibility organisation for the paper and paper packaging sector, will be providing care packs which have soap, face masks, food vouchers, children’s activity packs and blankets to 1,500 informal waste collectors in the Industria, Springs and Tshwane areas in Gauteng. People can donate R300 for a care pack on Backabuddy.

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/fibre-circle-mandela-day

Donate data or rechargeable lamps for matriculants

Phakamani Young Minds Academy is a Johannesburg-based NGO that provides mentorship and academic support for learners. For Mandela Day, they’re asking for donations ranging from data for the matriculants that they assist to rechargeable lamps for them to use for studying.

https://pyma.co.za/what-we-do/

Donations can be made to:

Account Name: Phakamani Young Minds Academy

Bank: First National Bank

Account Number: 62632351756

Branch Code: 250655

The National Homeless Network

The National Homeless Network is a movement that brings together over a dozen organisations in eight cities across South Africa. To see the list of shelters in the network and how you can assist, click here.

http://homeless.org.za/national-homeless-network/

The Homestead

The Homestead assists children living on the streets through various programmes including shelter, prevention and early intervention, a street outreach and drop-in centre, the LaunchPad youth transitional project. To find out more about these projects and how you can contribute, visit their website.

https://homestead.org.za/

Source: Daily Maverick

Photo Credit: Nelson Mandela Foundation