More than a thousand pairs of shoes,  piles of clothing, 10 baby seats, a couch, a few sets of golf clubs, computers, laptops and a box of cellphones – these are just some of the goods collected through the uberforgood spring clean campaign that exploded on Twitter this month.

Individuals and corporates were asked in the spirit of generosity to clean out their closets as part of the uberforgood campaign, which saw Uber driver partners collecting items, at no cost, from users across the country. Items were then dropped off at forgood depots in Joburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban and are currently being sorted and matched to charitable causes registered on the forgood platform.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support for the campaign,” says Andy Hadfield, CEO of forgood. “Our Joburg depot was literally filled floor to ceiling with goods. Our online platform connects causes to groups or individuals and we partnered with Uber to demonstrate just how easy doing good can be. The campaign, which was literally run at the click of a button, has already benefitted more than 50 causes. Technology is opening so many doors for the social sector, we’re uber excited to play in this space.”

Uber users, new and old, were given a week to spring clean. On 8 September the uberforgood vehicle view became available on the Uber app and within seconds of the campaign launching the first vehicle was requested. Demand was through the roof for the remainder of the day, with some goods being collected the following day due to high demand.

“We really wanted to run a campaign to demonstrate just how easy it is for riders to contribute using our technology platform,” says Alon LIts, RGM of Uber Sub-Saharan Africa. “When we heard about the forgood platform, we knew it would be the perfect company to partner with on a campaign of this kind. It is really exciting that through this campaign and the Uber technology we’ve managed to help South Africans donate items to over 50 causes in need.”

Uberforgood in numbers:
• Participating regions: Joburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban
• Number of clothing boxes collected: 50
• Volume of Joburg donations: 175 cubic metres
• Other cool donations: Bedding, printers, books, prams, cots and toys
• Number of new social citizens reached through Twitter: 10-million impressions generated