Welcome to The Helpers

Something beautiful happens when people decide not to look away.

South Africa (14 January 2026) – So here we are, a day that has been in the making since 2020. Today, we launch The Helpers.

In South Africa, help is often needed quietly and urgently. Sometimes it’s a message sent at 5 am. Sometimes it’s a family choosing between food and transport. Sometimes it’s someone just needing to know they’re not alone.

For years, the Good Things Guy inbox has carried these stories. Thousands of them. Messages from people looking for food parcels, shelter, medical help, safety, support for animals, or simply a place to turn when everything feels like too much.

The Good Things Guy team’s goal has always been to help guide those in need towards the helpers who could ease the struggles they are going through.

It all started in 2020, when Brent Lindeque, the Founder of Good Things Guy, called Tyler Leigh Vivier, the popular website’s Editor, to discuss the sheer need of South Africans during the ongoing lockdowns, work restrictions, and health crisis. Together, they agreed that a list filled with all the charitable organisations would be an excellent guide to assist the hundreds of people who were reaching out for help.

Tyler got to work on it right away, and after three days, she published the list. What followed was nothing short of awe-inspiring. More charities reached out, asking to be included on the list. People started tagging family members.

For months, the team kept updating the list, adding everyone who was able to help. The list became a staple in responding to the calls for aid, for corporations looking for a place to sponsor support, for families on the brink of loss, and for South Africa.

Little did they know at the time, that that one list would be the catalyst for change!

Over the past five years, Good Tings Guy has created annual charity lists as an evolution to the original.

As Good Things Guy reached its 10-year milestone, it became clear that a bigger solution was needed. Not another story, but a living, breathing platform built entirely around connection.

That’s how The Helpers was born.

The Helpers is a centralised, user-driven charity directory. It’s a searchable space designed to connect people who need help with organisations that can provide it and to connect those who want to help with causes that matter deeply to them.

Whether you’re looking for support close to home or a little further afield, or you’re hoping to give your time, money or skills to causes such as education, gender-based violence support, cancer care, animal welfare, food security or shelter, The Helpers exists to make that connection easier.

It is with great excitement that today, we lauch to the greater public.

Brent and Tyler took a moment to sit down on the Good Things Guy podcast, unpacking the journey to get here.

The Helpers would not be possible without the incredible team from Druff Interactive, who have worked tirelessly to build the website, pro bono, for South Africa.

We would also like to give a massive shout-out to the helpful charity testers who allowed us to make sure everything was perfect before going live. To The Angel Network, BackaBuddy, Breadline Africa, Book Dash, Cape of Good Hope SPCA, Cotlands, Distance 4 Distance, Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD), Probono.Org, Made for More, Mould Empower Serve (MES), SA Guide Dog Association, Santa Shoebox Project, South African Depression and Anxiety Group and The Smile Foundation, thank you for agreeing to join without knowing what The Helpers would become, and still believing in it.

If you’re here because you need support, you’re welcome.
If you’re here because you want to help, you’re needed.

This is The Helpers.
And this is what showing up looks like.

The Helpers is a growing space built on connection, care and the belief that help should never be hard to find. It exists to link people who need support with organisations doing the work, and to guide those who want to help towards causes that matter most to them.

This platform is proudly powered by Good Things Guy, a community that has spent the last decade sharing stories of hope, resilience and the everyday heroes quietly making South Africa a better place.

The Helpers is sponsored by Druff Interactive, whose support and belief helped turn a much-needed idea into a platform designed to genuinely make a difference.

If you have questions, suggestions, organisations to recommend or simply want to get in touch, you’re always welcome to reach the team at admin@thehelpers.co.za.

To learn more about why The Helpers exists and how it came to life, listen to the special launch episode of the Good Things Guy Podcast, here, where the story behind the platform is shared in full.