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Reebok South Africa is aiming to raise R20,000 to assist Mduduzi Mnisi, a young entrepreneur from Soweto whose sneaker-cleaning business Mdu tragically burnt to the ground in a load-shedding accident. Reebok hopes to get Mdu back to business and redistribute over 300 pairs of sneakers to communities in need.

“Mduduzi and his passion to uplift his community embodies both the Ubuntu spirit of Nelson Mandela and the Reebok mindset that ‘Life is Not a Spectator Sport’,” says Steffi Jones, brand and omni lead at Reebok South Africa. “We applaud his tenacity and want to assist him in getting Mdu up and running again. What better way to do it than by bringing together Mzansi’s love for sneakers and togetherness?”

Where most Mandela Day campaigns encourage people to donate 67 minutes – one minute for every year Madiba fought for human rights – Reebok is asking for just a moment, which they’ll use to donate R67 to Mdu.

The CSI campaign encourages people to drop a used pair of sneakers in a donation box at their closest Reebok store. All brands are welcome and Reebok will donate R67 to Mdu to clean the sneakers and restart his business. The pre-owned sneakers will then be redistributed to Mdu’s charities of choice in the Soweto area by Picup, a local delivery and logistics company.

The donation boxes are available from 16 to 31 July at Reebok Canal Walk in Cape Town and Reebok Sandton City in Johannesburg.

Mandela-inspired sneakers up for grabs

For every pair donated, donors will receive an entry to win a limited edition, bespoke, Mandela-inspired Reebok Classic Leather sneaker, customised by local illustrator Ryan Carolisen. The more pairs donated, the more R67s will be provided to Mdu and the more sneakers will be redistributed to those in need.

“With this campaign, we have no doubt that Mnisi and Mdu will be back in business by the end of the month,” adds Jones. “We are extremely grateful to our partner Picup, who will be handling the redistribution of the sneakers to communities in need, as well as the Reebok Movement Makers who will be challenging their followers to take part in this initiative.

“The people of South Africa have always shown resilience and support for their fellow South Africans and we have no doubt they will step up once more to support a budding entrepreneur and give back in a way that would make Tata Madiba proud.”