Divine season with joy of giving

September 17, 2011 (The Telegraph): Durga Puja in the steel city will be celebrated with a touch of B-school philanthropy this year.

Organised by XLRI, Joyfest or the Joy of Giving Week will start on October 2. This year, the campaign will have new initiatives, which aims to promote acts of kindness like giving one’s time, money and skills freely to the needy.

The festive holidays will not be a barrier for volunteers from B-school, NGOs and corporate firms who will be taking part in the campaign.

Apart from Vastra Samman, a clothes collection drive, which will be held in collaboration with New Delhi-based NGO Goonj and giving dry ration to the needy, the campaign will also host an eye donation camp through XLRI and Roshni, a city-based NGO.

Another NGO, Cause for Change, has come up with the idea of collecting usable medicines and donating them to those who need them.

“There are many who have unused medicines at home. Most of the time we throw them away even if they have not crossed their expiry date. We will first collect medicines, segregate them and then donate it to primary health centres where they actually need it,” said Joydip Paul, one of the partners with the NGO.

A group of XLRI’s entrepreneurship students have decided to recycle used A-4 sheets into notebooks, which will be distributed to city and rural schools for the underprivileged.
Management students will also train village women in business development skills.

Kalamandir, another Jamshedpur-based NGO, will distribute mosquito nets in the villages of Dumaria and Potka blocks.