Come October 2, a family will get a new home, vendors and passers-by will get a quick spoken English lesson and a handful of autorickshaw drivers will offer the elderly and children from NGOs a free ride. And, all of this just to partake in the joy of giving.
Now called ‘Daan Utsav’, the sixth edition of the Joy of Giving week, a volunteer-driven effort in which close to two million people from across the country participated last year, will be celebrated from October 2-8.
Aarti Madhusudan, a volunteer, said that in Tamil Nadu, it will be called ‘Daan Utsav- Kodduppom, Maghizhvom’. The idea is to get everybody to think about someone else consciously, she added.
Eighteen-year-old M. Sasikala, member of a children’s parliament from Aranvoyal village in Tiruvallur, said that they have got children’s parliaments in several other districts to participate this year.
“We conducted a ‘one rupee campaign’ where we ask people to contribute just Re.1, although many offered more. We are planning to build a thatched roof house for a family, buy items that are on the wishlist of children from a home and conduct a cultural event,” she said.
Among the host of fundraiser events, for which several organisations have pitched in, are ‘Blind Date’ where guests will have dinner blindfolded, ‘Battle of the Buffet’, with a spread from several star hotels in the city and a free online course for 25,000 class XI and XII students from underprivileged backgrounds. The ‘longest photo cake’ will also be on display, with proceeds going to two NGOs, organisers said.
M. Mahadevan, founder, Chennai Mission Trust, said that the cost was being undertaken by the organisers, and the NGOs would receive the proceeds.
