Casual Day 2025: Communities Unite for the “Beyond the Label” Campaign

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 24 September 2025 – The first week of September 2025 witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of unity and support across South Africa as communities from all walks of life came together to celebrate Casual Day 2025. The Beyond the Label campaign, which culminated on Friday, 5 September, saw millions of South Africans purchase their R20 stickers and merchandise, transforming workplaces, schools, and public spaces into a vibrant sea of ‘Dynamic Blue’ in support of persons with disabilities.

This year’s theme, ‘Beyond the Labels’, marked a significant milestone as the Beyond the Label campaign celebrated over three decades of advocacy and fundraising. Since its inception in 1994 at the dawn of South Africa’s democracy, Casual Day has evolved into the nation’s most prominent and successful social advocacy campaign, having raised over half a billion rand for persons with disabilities.

Paarl School Learner on Casual Day 2025

The build-up period from 1 to 4 September was characterised by unprecedented logistical coordination, with courier partner, the RTT Group, undertaking an impressive nearly 5,000 deliveries of stickers, merchandise, caps, and hats to every corner of the country. This monumental effort, coordinated through RTT’s network of over 23 hubs and branches nationwide, ensured that from bustling metropolitan centres to remote rural communities, everyone had the opportunity to participate in this national movement for inclusion.

Unprecedented Community Participation Across All Provinces

The heart of Casual Day has always been its grassroots support, and 2025 demonstrated the Beyond the Label campaign’s remarkable reach across South Africa’s diverse communities. The National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) reported extraordinary participation from government departments, schools, community-based organisations, and private sector partners spanning all nine provinces. Government institutions showed exceptional commitment to the cause.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) participated nationwide, with officers proudly wearing casual attire and Casual Day merchandise whilst on duty. The World Health Organisation (WHO) office in South Africa also embraced the Beyond the Label campaign, with staff members purchasing stickers, caps, and t-shirts to show their solidarity. Municipal offices across the country, including the Mangaung Metro Municipality, organised special events to mark the day. In the Namakwa region, the NCPD Namakwa Team coordinated a series of impactful events that showcased the strength of local community networks, demonstrating how regional coordination can amplify the campaign’s message even in South Africa’s more remote areas.

Educational Institutions Lead by Example

Schools played a particularly vital role in the success of this year’s campaign “Beyond the Label”, with educational institutions across the country embracing the opportunity to teach students about inclusion and disability awareness. Fulufhelo Special School in Limpopo hosted an extraordinary full-day celebration that exemplified the campaign’s potential to bring communities together. The Fulufhelo event featured a comprehensive programme including morning devotions led by SAPS representatives addressing bullying, a 2.1-kilometre fun walk incorporating recreational activities, and educational exhibitions showcasing diverse skills including welding, arts and crafts, woodwork, upholstery, plumbing, sewing, food production, and hospitality. The event attracted 15 major donors and sponsors, including the 15 SAE Infantry Battalion, NTT Toyota, SpeedPro, McDonald’s, and numerous local businesses, demonstrating the power of Casual Day to mobilise comprehensive community support.

Fulufhelo School’s Casual Day Highlights

Cultural performances added vibrancy to the celebrations, with students presenting SARAFINA, choir performances, Gumboots dance, MALENDE, TSHIFASE, and TSHIBELANA & MAKHWAYA, showcasing South African cultural diversity whilst promoting inclusion. Similarly, Paarl School took the unprecedented step of dedicating the entire day to Casual Day activities, with everyone dressing up to celebrate the spirit of inclusion. The school organised special fun activities and educational programmes that reinforced the ‘Beyond the Labels’ message amongst learners.

Paarl School’s Casual Day Highlights

Community support groups also played a crucial role, with organisations like the O Seke wa Inyatsa Support Group for persons with disabilities in Thokoza actively participating and demonstrating how grassroots organisations contribute to the campaign’s success.

Strategic Partnerships Amplify National Impact

The remarkable success of Casual Day 2025 was made possible through strategic partnerships spanning media, retail, logistics, and entertainment sectors. These collaborations demonstrated the power of collective action in advancing disability rights and inclusion across South Africa. Huisgenoot, South Africa’s highest-circulation magazine with nearly 1.5 million weekly readers, served as a key media partner, leveraging its extensive reach to promote the campaign’s message throughout Afrikaans-speaking communities. The magazine’s support was instrumental in ensuring the ‘Beyond the Labels’ theme reached South African families across diverse geographic and demographic segments.

Retail partners nationwide provided crucial distribution channels, making Casual Day stickers and merchandise accessible to millions of South Africans. These partnerships ensured that participation was convenient and widespread, contributing significantly to the campaign’s record-breaking reach. The logistics partnership with RTT, one of South Africa’s largest distribution companies, proved essential to the campaign’s operational success. RTT’s extensive network of over 23 hubs and branches enabled the efficient distribution of nearly 5,000 deliveries across the country, ensuring that even remote communities could participate fully in the campaign.

Celebrity Champions for Inclusion

High-profile supporters added significant momentum to the campaign, with acclaimed actress Zandelle Meyer and esteemed actor Erik Holmes championing the cause across their social media platforms and public appearances. Meyer, known for her roles in “The Woman King,” “Binnelanders,” and “My F*k, Marelize!”, used her platform to encourage widespread participation, whilst Holmes leveraged his extensive theatre and television experience to advocate for the campaign’s inclusion message. Their involvement exemplified how South African celebrities can use their influence to drive meaningful social change, inspiring their followers to look beyond labels and support persons with disabilities.

Revolutionary ‘Casual Fridays’ Initiative Extends Impact Year-Round

In a groundbreaking development that transforms Casual Day from an annual event into a sustained movement, the NCPD announced the launch of ‘Casual Fridays’, a year-round initiative that encourages South Africans to wear their Casual Day merchandise every Friday throughout the year. This innovative approach represents a significant evolution in disability advocacy, moving beyond traditional single-day awareness campaigns to create ongoing visibility and conversation about inclusion. By encouraging South Africans to proudly display their Casual Day stickers, t-shirts, and caps every Friday, the initiative ensures that the message of inclusion remains visible and relevant throughout the year.

The Casual Fridays concept acknowledges that meaningful social change requires sustained effort rather than momentary awareness. It provides South Africans with a simple yet powerful way to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to disability rights and inclusion, creating weekly opportunities for conversations about looking ‘Beyond the Labels’. This initiative is expected to significantly amplify the impact of Casual Day merchandise sales, as items purchased during the annual campaign will continue to serve as advocacy tools throughout the year, maximising the return on investment for supporters whilst maintaining year-round visibility for the cause.

NCPD Programs Impact

Gratitude and Recognition for National Unity

The NCPD extends its heartfelt gratitude to the millions of South Africans who participated in Casual Day 2025, creating a powerful demonstration of national unity in support of persons with disabilities. From individual sticker purchasers to major corporate partners, educational institutions, government departments, and community organisations, every contribution has made a tangible difference in advancing disability rights and inclusion. Special recognition goes to RTT for their exceptional logistics support, ensuring nationwide distribution reached every corner of South Africa. The NCPD also acknowledges the invaluable support of retail partners who made participation accessible, Huisgenoot for amplifying the Beyond the Label campaign’s message, and celebrities Zandelle Meyer and Erik Holmes for using their platforms to champion inclusion.

The NCPD Namakwa Team deserves particular commendation for their outstanding coordination of regional activities, whilst schools like Fulufhelo Special School and Paarl School exemplified how educational institutions can lead by example in promoting disability awareness and inclusion. The funds raised through Casual Day 2025 will provide vital support to the campaign’s network of over 600 beneficiary NPOs and schools in the disability sector, including nine Provincial Associations of and for Persons with Disabilities (APDs) and nationwide programmes. These resources will enable continued life-changing work in areas including education, accessibility, employment support, and community integration.

Looking Beyond the Labels: A Continuing Journey

As South Africa reflects on the remarkable success of Casual Day 2025, the message of ‘Beyond the Labels’ continues to resonate as both an achievement and an ongoing challenge. This year’s Beyond the Label campaign demonstrated that when South Africans unite behind a common cause, extraordinary things become possible. The introduction of Casual Fridays ensures that this momentum will continue throughout the year, transforming a single day of awareness into a sustained movement for inclusion. The overwhelming success of this year’s Beyond the Label campaign serves as a powerful reminder that creating a more inclusive and equitable society requires ongoing commitment from all sectors of society. The NCPD looks forward to building on this success, working with partners and communities across South Africa to ensure that the vision of looking ‘Beyond the Labels’ becomes a lived reality for all persons with disabilities.

Casual Day 2025: Around and About