A Community Drug Take-Back Program

This year, one of the unique initiative which was launched by the local NGO, Cause for Change, is to collect the Unused but Usable medicines, sort them and then distribute them to the health camps, NGOs who organise rural clinics, etc.

Joydip Paul and Mritunjoy Bhattacharjee, who run Cause for Change, are organising the collection drive by placing medicine drop-boxes in 15 Pooja Pandal's across the city. They have also run a collection drive in Telco Colony and in Sakchi Area with the help about 15 volunteers from the Baridih High School.

(and if you want to contribute or run a collection drive for them, you can call up Joydip Paul (72 50 27 19 37) or Mrintunjay Bhattacharjee (91 62 33 52 00) - causeforchange[at]hotmail[dot]com

The quiet "Samaritan"

Every year, during the Joy of Giving Week: Jamshedpur JoyFest, XLRI students visit Nirmal Hriday – a “home”, run by Missionaries of Charity, and which gives shelter to the destitute. They take gifts and sweets for themselves, spend time with them, talk to them, sing and dance with them… and come back with a sense of wonderment about Joy of Giving: what price, happiness?…

This year, they also wanted to carry things which can be useful for the Home, and asked the sisters what would be useful for them. We have clothes donated by the city, but they did not need it (“we get enough of those”) – no blankets, etc. either. But sisters said if students can get them one month’s supply of sugar, phenyl and detergents etc. that would be helpful… if not, that too is OK, as long as they can spend some time with those abandoned not by the society – and in some cases, by their very own one’s.

So a list was made.

45kg of sugar, 60kg of detergent, 75Ltr of phenyl… it all came to Rs 12k-13k…. hmmm. Yes, we can contribute, raise it from faculty, staff and students – to some extent… perhaps…

That’s when we met this quiet Samaritan… Dheeraj, who runs the “Shyam/Choice Store” in the backyard of XLRI – a kirana shop/ “fancy store”/ mobile re-charge center… all rolled into one…

I had gone to ask him if he would put up the JGW poster in his shop – which he readily accepted to do (and even posed in front of it too, since I insisted :0)

Hoping that he will be able to give us a good price for the sugar/ detergent/ phenyl – maybe at the wholesale price rates – I showed him the list, trying to explain the “concept” of The Joy of Giving Week etc., and about the visit by our students to Nirmal Hriday…

…somewhere in between my explanations/ descriptions I was cut short by him – almost as if he was not even listening to me… and he said:
"मैं पचास किलो शक्कर का बैग दूंगा... आप बताइये कि स्टुडेंट्स कब आयेंगे"(I will donate 50kg of sugar – tell me when the students can pick it up)

And I do know that his is not a “roaring” big business… it is just a small shop in service lane in CH (circuit house) Area in Jampot...

Gift to the city: Clean a public space

Oct 3rd, 2011 (The Telegraph): While the denizens of Jamshedpur are celebrating Durga Puja, aspiring managers are in the business of getting their hands dirty by cleaning the city walls.

As a part of the third edition of Jamshedpur Joyfest in the Joy of Giving Week (October 2 –8), the students of XLRI are busy painting public places of the steel city. A group of 12 students on Sunday embarked on their first project — painting the walls beside Novelty restaurant in Bistupur.

“This is the first wall that we have chosen to work on because this is on the main road and is easily visible. We might take up other walls too,” said Suraksha R., one of the volunteers.

The students aim to put up pictorial messages for the benefit of those who can’t read. “Though many people cannot read, pictures and artwork will send across the message of keeping the city clean and maintaining the public places of Jamshedpur,” she added.


New initiatives have been included in Joyfest this year.

The B-school organised a bike rally to mark the start of Joyfest. Both faculty and students vroomed across the city and distributed biscuits and fruits to the needy.

Apart from a clothes collection drive in association with a New Delhi-based NGO Goonj and giving dry ration to the needy, the campaign will see people pledge their eyes through XLRI and city-based NGO Roshni.

Schools such as ADLS Sunshine and Motilal Nehru Public School have already taken part in the Joyfest by collecting foodgrain and clothes for the needy.

"Silent Auction" generates Rs.15,000 for Sikkim Disaster Relief

Organised by the CII Young Indian chapter at XLRI, "Silent Auction" raised Rs 15,000/- for Sikkim Disaster Relief.

Faculty and students donated artifacts (books, CDs, Pens, bags....). On Oct 2nd evening, they were put on auction, and students bid for the items...

Training of SHG Members launched

2nd October also saw the launch of training workshop for SHG members on "business planning for micro-enterprises" by the SIGMA students' team of XLRI. This initiative is in association with Kalamandir, who organise SHGs and provide them livelihood opportunities in Potka and Dumuria blocks.

The one-day training module will be rolled out on Oct 2nd and 3rd and then 7th and 8th during the Week, and will continue across next few months.

Bike Rally kicks of Jamshedpur JoyFest

On Oct 2nd morning, the Bike Rally by XLRI students kicked off the Jamshedpur JoyFest.


They drove across the city, creating awareness about the Joy of Giving Week...


...and gifting sweets and biscuits on the way..

DRACULA's "Nukkad Naatak" (Street-Plays) spreads awareness

DRACULA (the students' Dramatic and Cultural Association of XLRI) performed two wonderful Nukkad-Naataks today to spread the awareness about Joy of Giving Week: Jamshedpur JoyFest

@ Bistupur (in front of Chhappan Bhog)


@Beldih Club