For the past two years, a group of people have gathered together during Daan Utsav (India’s Joy of Giving week) to camp out under the stars. This is so they can experience, to a tiny degree, the realities of homelessness for thousands of people in Bangalore, and million others in India.
In 2015, Under the Stars is being held at Indiranagar Club on October 2nd.
What is Under the Stars?
Under the Stars is a collaborative platform for NGOs to raise funds and awareness about homelessness. It is a overnight sleep-out in Bengaluru on the night of October 1st and is the first event of Daan Utsav (the Joy of Giving Week from October 2nd to 8th). It aims to raise awareness and funds for NGOs working towards the prevention of homelessness.
- Date: Friday October 2nd, 7 pm to Saturday October 3rd, 6 am
- Venue: Indiranagar Club
- Website: underthestars.in
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- Tickets
On this night, participants have to sleep rough without any shelter. To register for a pass, participants have to make of donation of Rs 900 (Rs 700 for students) to one of the partner NGOs or to the common pool, from where funds will be shared equally between the NGOs. The Under the Stars event will mark the opening of the Daan Utsav festival.
In addition to raising money for a cause, participants are also assured of having fun. There will be band and NGO performances, on-the-night activities like star gazing, and an AIESEC activism wall, in addition to other things happening throughout the night. There will be food stalls, and the chance to chat with representatives from each of the NGOs. There will also be inspirational talks from people working in the NGO sector or who have experienced homelessness themselves.
As a precursor to the event, a Sleep Mob (flash mob, but sleeping instead of dancing) is being held on Saturday September 19th. For more information on this, one can email underthestars.info@gmail.com.
Organising partners
Under the Stars is organised both by individual volunteers, and by representatives from the organising partners. This year, the organising partners are RECAL NIT Trichy Alumni Association, India Cares and the Baale Mane Trust. AIESEC student association is the official Youth Partner.
Members of the organising team include Emily Parkes and Tiggy Allen, from the Baale Mane Trust; Richya Bansal, Namitha Ravi and Saurabh Gupta from RECAL NIT Trichy Alumni Association and Ankita, Prasanth, Maitreyee, Niveditha, Pavan and Devi who are all individual volunteers.
Partner NGOs
There are five partner NGOs for the 2015 edition of Under the Stars: The Baale Mane Trust, Action Aid, Rainbow Homes, Home of Hope (New Ark Mission of India) and the Adarane Trust. All these NGOswork to alleviate homelessness in and around Bengaluru.
Snapshots from previous editions
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