THE FUSE

The Helpers is one month old and already 256 organisations strong (and counting), linking communities to local acts of kindness.

South Africa (13 February 2026) – A month ago, The Helpers went live with a simple hope: that the quiet good in South Africa would step forward if we gave it somewhere to stand.

Every morning, I log in to the website and feel a flutter of excitement seeing the pending listings waiting to go live. The emails for help have come in, and have been connected to possible organisations that can help them. We even managed to link a volunteer to three organisations, proving within the first month that what The Helpers was created for works.

But what is it?

The Helpers is a free, easy-to-use directory created to connect South Africans who want to make a difference with the organisations already doing the work. It’s for registered NPOs, informal community groups, small grassroots initiatives, and anyone actively helping others, people, animals or the planet. Organisations can sign up at no cost and create a profile, and the public can search by location or cause to find a way to volunteer, donate or get involved. Simple. Accessible. Built to make helping easier.

As we celebrate one month of The Helpers, I cannot help but feel proud! We asked one question: if you are helping, will you register? In 30 days, 256 organisations said yes. From children’s homes and educational development centres, to animal welfare teams and feeding schemes.

What’s become clear in this first month is something we’ve always believed at Good Things Guy: help is not rare in South Africa. It’s just often unseen.

Since launch, we’ve watched the map begin to fill. Urban feeding schemes. Rural upliftment projects. Youth mentors. Environmental clean-ups. Blanket makers. Soup kitchens. Animal welfare groups. Skills development programmes. Organisations supporting survivors. Community-led initiatives that exist simply because someone looked around and said, “We can’t ignore this.”

We’ve also seen connections happen in ways we didn’t fully anticipate. People discovering initiatives in their own neighbourhoods that they never knew existed. Organisations realising they are working just streets apart toward the same goal. Volunteers finding a place to give their time for the first time. Donors finding small groups that truly need the support.

256 may sound like a small number, but it represents 256 teams that touch thousands of lives. All of a sudden, it’s not so small, and this is only the beginning of great things to come.

If this is what one month looks like, imagine what happens when more of us realise that helping doesn’t require perfection or scale. It just requires showing up. And 256 organisations have already shown us exactly what that looks like.

Not registered yet? No worries, you can join here.

Sources: The Helpers

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