4 ways to make a more meaningful difference this Mandela Day

Every year on 18 July, South Africa observes Mandela Day in memory of former president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, aka Madiba. The purpose of the day is to spend at least 67 minutes doing social good (correlating to the number of years Madiba spent fighting for human rights). While there are people who have criticised the concept, suggesting that it’s more about lip service than lasting change, Bev Beukes, MD at Oasis Haven, a registered Child and Youth Care Centre in Johannesburg, says there are ways to ensure one’s efforts are effective.

“While there are some organisations that are sadly more interested in marketing their good deeds than whether those deeds are actually making a difference, there are others that really do want to make sure their efforts are benefiting the cause they want to support,” says Beukes. “The best way to make sure that your Mandela Day efforts make the maximum impact is to listen to what your beneficiaries really need, rather than making assumptions.”

Based on Oasis Haven’s experiences over the past several years, she suggests four ways that individuals and organisations can make a more meaningful difference this Mandela Day:

1. Start by listening: Most non-profit organisations have a long wish-list of things that will help to make their work more effective, whether these are physical items or skills and resources they lack. However, Beukes says that there tends to be a mismatch between what a charity needs most and what people are willing to give.

“For example, our biggest challenge at Oasis Haven is raising funds to pay our staff. They are the most critical element in being able to take care of the children (who are placed with us because they have been abandoned, abused or neglected). Our house moms do everything from changing nappies to cooking dinner, making sure the kids are ready for school in the mornings and wiping away tears when a child is upset. But we really struggle to get donations toward staff salaries.”

She says that individuals and organisations can help to make a bigger impact with their Mandela Day campaigns by trying to minimise the gap between what a charity asks for and what they are able to give. “For example, we’d love it if an organisation would challenge its team members to each raise R670 as a donation towards staff salaries. This is still a team-building initiative, and something that a company could do together (for example, by hosting a bake sale on Mandela Day or running a car wash), but it would help to meet one of our most pressing needs,” she says.

2. Consider the resources and skills you already have available: Often, Beukes says, companies miss out on obvious ways that they can help because they don’t think about the valuable resources they have internally.

“We’ll get business consultants who want to come and paint the children’s bedrooms, but they’re not very handy with a paintbrush,” says Beukes. “Aside from the fact that we might then need to pay a professional to fix a bad job, they could have far more impact doing what they do best. For example, donating their time to help a charity to brainstorm and set up alternative funding streams would use their business acumen and keep benefiting the non-profit far beyond Mandela Day. This year, one of our Oasis Haven campaigns is to fill our children’s wardrobes (as they are constantly growing out of their clothing!) so it would be great to partner with clothing retailers.”

3. Develop a relationship: A once-off activity at a charity can make your team feel good for a short period, but building a longer-term relationship with a non-profit can result in far deeper levels of satisfaction and create more meaningful change in the long run, says Beukes.

“We’re blessed to have organisations and individuals who started supporting us through a Mandela Day activity and have gone on to do so year-after-year, which is wonderful for us and for them,” she says. “Obviously, we benefit from their ongoing support, but they also get to see the fruits of their labour over time, which can be hugely satisfying for them, and really build team spirit and camaraderie.”

4. Pick a cause that makes sense for your team: People are more likely to get involved and give something their all if it resonates with what they value and care about.

“We find that the organisations we ‘click’ best with are those where the people in the team really believe in the value of family, which is what Oasis Haven is all about – providing family to children without,” says Beukes. “If your organisation is filled with people who adore animals, consider supporting an animal charity for Mandela Day. If your team cares deeply about supporting the youth and job creation, look at partnering with a youth mentorship programme. If your people care deeply about the cause, they will go above and beyond, and increase the impact of your initiative of their own accord.”

Beyond these points, Beukes says it’s important to pick the right “champion” for your Mandela Day initiative, to try to plan in advance, and to make it easy for people to get involved (e.g. give them time off to spend on the project). “Ultimately, any small difference you make is a step up from no difference at all,” she says. “Do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. That was our theme for Mandela Day last year, and I stand by that!”