Spirit Of Mandela

Before you register your school , please read the event details below.

Date: Registered schools can hold the Spirit of Mandela event on another week in April if it is not possible to hold it the week of April 27 - May 1. However, we ask that all schools have the Toonie Drive as close to April 27th as possible. This will help us reach our fundraising goal of $50,000 to support the programs initiated by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Promoting student leadership and volunteerism: We are asking each school to help us promote student leadership and volunteerism by recruiting at least four students to assist with the planning and execution of the Spirit of Mandela activities. We also suggest the school designate a "Champion" with whom we can liaise to support the activities of the school.

Key Messages: Using stories from Nelson Mandela’s life, schools can include several discussions and activities around the concepts of forgiveness, equity, freedom, justice and children and youth. Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday on July 18th 2008.

Guest speakers: We encourage schools to involve students in their implementation of the Spirit of Mandela event through special presentations about the life of Nelson Mandela. Each participating school can also arrange to have a Guest Speaker at their event that will make a 15 minute presentation about Nelson Mandela, show a video and have a Q & A session. Ideally, this should be done at a school assembly.

Resource Packages: Each school can access information and registration forms through the Spirit of Mandela website, which includes an age appropriate resource packages developed by educators and approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The first 100 schools who will register to the Spirit of Mandela School Program will get a 50% discount on our Spirit of Mandela T-Shirt and the book Mandela Young Voices of Canada. To download the T-Shirt request form click here and send the form to

Eve Duchesne

Spirit of Mandela Program Outreach and Development Officer

• email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• phone: 416-496-8403 ext 235
• fax: 416-496-8824

Feedback: We invite all schools to complete questionnaire to ensure we are providing a useful tool to help educate and motivate your students.

Recognition: Each participating school will receive acknowledgment and the first 100 schools registered will receive the book Mandela Young Voices of Canada, bracelets and 50% discount on our T-Shirt.

Making Donations to Spirit of Mandela Week: There are several ways to do this:

1. Once funds are collected by your school, a cheque can be sent directly to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Canada);

2. The school can remit funds through the school board, designated for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Canada);

3. The school can make a direct deposit to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Canada) “Spirit of Mandela” account at RBC bank. (Details can be provided upon request.)

Please Note: All cheques should be made to the "Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Canada)"

Please register your school here