Mark your calendars and get ready to do some good: this Friday, July 18th, is Mandela Day! Celebrated on Nelson Mandela’s birthday, Mandela Day is a call to action for individuals across the globe, asking them to try and make the world a better place, all in the spirit of the late South African leader.

Mandela believed that the only way that the world’s social injustices could continue to be fixed is if future generations spread the message of tolerance. It was because of this philosophy that Mandela Day was officially recognized in 2009 by the UN, and endorsed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

This isn’t merely a celebration of his life and legacy: Mandela Day is a worldwide phenomenon dedicated to making the world a better place.

Anyone living anywhere can celebrate Mandela Day, and there’s no official “right” way to do so! Your good deed can be as simple as teaching a child a new skill that will help them later in life, to something as grand as a community-wide charity event.

The only “rule” is that you perform an action that change’s lives for the better: the size of the gesture has no meaning, it’s simply the outcome that counts.

So…are you ready to get empowered and do some good this Friday?

To find out even more about Mandela Day (and to learn how you can make every day Mandela Day), check out the website right here!

And if you want show your support by sending a donation to the Foundation, you can learn more about that here.