joy of giving

  DaanUtsav (formerly The Joy of Giving Week) is an entirely volunteer-driven initiative which encourages people to indulge in any act of giving of their choice. There is no blueprint and the idea is to get everyone to participate in this festival of giving and experience the joy of the act. Started in 2009, the festival is celebrated across the country from October 2nd to 8th. Daan Utsav is a great platform that brings together people from all walks of life and encourages them to share their time, money, material, skill or just love. This festival is like any other…

In late September, a young woman from Bengaluru woke up in the wee hours of the night with a rumbling stomach. As she munched away to fill her stomach, she thought of the many people in the city who probably went to sleep on an empty stomach. Thus began Feed Your Neighbour (FYN), a campaign started by Mahita Fernandez, a young entrepreneur, to eradicate Bengaluru’s hunger. For those who are still in the dark about the initiative, here’s a quick introduction. FYN calls for Bengalureans to cook five additional meals at their home between October 12th and 22nd, and drop…

“This Dusshera, my aim is to try and ease Bangalore’s hunger problem.” So begins Mahita Fernandez’ post on the Facebook group “Feed Your Neighbour”. Pic: facebook.com/groups/421419554714295 The idea for the initiative, Feed Your Neighbour (FYN), came to Mahita in the wee hours of a night when she woke up hungry. She says, “I woke up with a rumbling stomach around 3 am and felt thankful that I had food to eat. I then thought about the thousands in the city who are probably hungry and have nothing to eat. The very next morning, I put down the idea on paper…

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…

Once again, it was time to shift; once again, it was time to fret over the collection of used/unused/sparingly used but ‘not being used’ items at home. That we were moving to a smaller rented house, made it evidently clear that I do away with some of that stuff. In the past I have been accomplishing this by donating the items to NGOs. During voluntary works, I have often noticed people adopting the easiest route to de-clogging their homes: they bundle all and sundry items together and dump at the nearest venue willing to accept their surplus. Concerned at this…

In early January, an NGO that focuses on reuse and recycling of clothes sent out an urgent appeal to people on their mailing list to contribute woollens and blankets for homeless people who were suffering the harshness of a prolonged winter. Quilt-making in progress. Pic: Lalana Zaveri What would most of us do, on receiving such an email? Possibly spare a thought for these poor people and then mark the mail unread with the intention of doing something about it at the earliest opportunity, or perhaps gather our spare blankets and woollens and set off in search of a collection…

The fourth edition of the ‘festival of giving’ is back! Launched in 2009, the Joy of Giving Week is celebrated every October to celebrate ‘giving’. A giving event could be as simple as a family taking out the domestic help's children for an ice-cream party or as big as Goonj’s massive clothes collection drive. It is a festival where Indians from all walks of life give back to their society. “The goal is to engage citizens of the country and instil values of caring, civic and social responsibility. Bengaluru with its metropolitan culture has a responsibility to give back more…

It was an evening that evoked an array of moods as versatile singer M D Pallavi performed at a musical fundraising dinner concert at Taj West End, Racecourse road. She sang compositions of famous poets like G P Rajaratnam, D V Gundappa, Shishunal Sharief, Da Ra Bendre and Chandrashekhar Kambar. The Music was composed by noted composers like Mysore Ananthaswamy and Kalinga Rao. Pallavi mesmerizing the crowds. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi The concert was organized as part of ‘Joy of Giving Week’, from October 2nd to 8th, a national movement that hopes to engage Indians in “acts of giving”, be…

On 27th and 28th September 2009, Bangalore Cares, a non profit that acts as a bridge between the voluntary sector and the rest of society, is presenting "Sneha Sante" – an event that combines a charity bazaar and a programme of cultural events. With nearly 30 Bengaluru Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) participating, as well as local artistes lending their support, the first edition of Sneha Sante promises to be a colorful and fun event!The charity bazaar will have NGOs exhibiting a wide range of hand-crafted products: chocolates, cookies, toys, art works, embroidery, jewellery, apparel, books, diyas, cards, gift items and more.…