Our Vision A world full of Joy and Possibility for all!

We see a global joy movement – supporting a world full of happy and healthy people achieving their full potential, while they take care of themselves, each other, and our world, together!

Our Mission: UPlift the people!

Working locally and connecting to others with a shared mission, we create a global JOY movement that UPskills, inspires and transforms lives. Active in living kindness, we create ripples of happiness, connection and innovation worldwide.

How we do it: We grow hope.

We support beings to transform into their ultimate selves and co-create the world of our best dreams. With creative arts, we share joy and UPskill people with emotional & mental wellness skills, and other tools and practices that support uplifted morale. 
 
Together we all become an active society of humanKINDness, here all – including themselves, and the world, WIN together.

 

The UPstory

We dedicate this 22 year strong story of the upliftment of over 54 000 beneficiaries – to over 820 Joy Facilitators who were professionally trained UP and shared joy, many shared joy for years as volunteers. We joyfully salute you all!

Our once UPon a time… began specifically around mid 2003, our cheerlady – Nicola Jackman stepped out of the limelight, as a lead actress in our local South African soap opera “Isidingo”. She put on the first red nose and visited the children of the Burns Ward of Red Cross Children’s Hospital as a caring clown. Lucille Greeff shortly after, met Nicola at a “Pioneers of Change” meeting and joined UP. A few inspired months later, the co-creation of a joy focused program (with Carlo Penso and Gabriella Riviera also facilitating joy as Care Clowns), The UP was officially born – on 16th December 2003.

“There were great celebrations, it began at 10am as a family day on Hout Bay Beach and culminated with fireworks at Dunes Restaurant that night” said Nicola of the magically birth day of The UP.

“We called ourselves The UPliftment Programme – as our mission – in those early days, was simply – “UPlift the corners of all mouths”.

Our first few years were spent focused on outreach in hospitals and our not for profit and public benefit organisational status followed. Those first ten years were dominant in the service of children (and their caregivers) in hospitals in the Western Cape, then Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal, the Eastern Cape and we even partnered for a few years with Namibia Clinic Clowns.”

We have since grown UP on frugal annual budgets (and we celebrate all our individual donors and specifically the Make An immediate Difference Foundation for their consistent support.

It’s worth noting – that our annual budgets for the first ten years were under R100k and the last ten years averaged at under R250k. Consider the juggle of those resources as we engaged joyfully over these 22 years and emotionally UPlifted in excess of 54 000 beneficiaries. This service has expanded across so many areas of need, including differently abled, vulnerable children of all kinds, care for women, caregivers support, mature support, prison workshops and then frail care. In the past 5 years we’ve expanded our programs in ECD, youth and young peoples emotional wellness too.

“Let us all step UP to share VUYO, VREUGDE, and JOY in every corner of South Africa, celebrating our diversity and taking care of our land.”