Experience the Joy of Giving

Hum sab is duniya se, doosron se, bahut kuch chahte hain
Magar hum duniya ko, doosron ke liye, kya kar sakte hain?

No matter who you are - young or old, rich or poor - you can experience a special kind of joy. And that is the joy of 'giving'.

Yes, I buy that but a few months ago when my friend and batchmate Venkat Krishnan came to me with the idea of a 'Joy of Giving Week' I thought it was a pretty bizarre idea.

Valentine's Day, Mother's Day - sure these days have been created by card companies. But can all of India really come together for one week of every year and celebrate something as 'giving'.



Three months later I have to say the answer is 'yes'. The 'Joy of Giving Week' from Sept 27-Oct 3 is turning into a national movement. People from all walks of life are coming together to create something very special.

Something you will hear a great deal about in the weeks to come.

So what is JOGW? Simply put:
It is a platform for all across the country to celebrate the joy of giving. Whether you are a paan wala in Lucknow, a traffic cop in Mumbai, an idli seller in Madurai, a millionaire in Delhi, a multinational company in Bengaluru, a saree shop owner in Kolkata, a teenager in a school or a college goer in Vadodara...

This is your opportunity to reach out to someone less privileged – by donating money, volunteering time, providing your skills and even just saying a kind word to someone who may not have expected it from you.

All you need to be part of the Joy of Giving Week is to do one simple conscious act of giving. So join the movement, now!

Some of the activities planned during Joy of Giving Week

* School Design Challenge - 35,000 schools across the country to participate in a new contest that invites children to think of solutions to India's problems, and implement them during the week.
* Goonj's Clothes collection drive will reach out to 25 cities across the country and raise 10 million donated clothes.
* Apollo Organ Donation Campaign -- Apollo Hospitals will promote a large campaign inviting people to pledge their organs and save lives
* Stars 4 Charity -- To be anchored by Farah Khan (with many from Bollywood participating). The proceeds will go to Jai Vakeel Trust.
CEOs Walk The Ramp - Taj has agreed to host the event pro bono. CEOs do a fashion show for charity
* Shadow A CEO - Indian School of Business to get on board India's top 50 CEOs and elite B-schools for a unique fundraising and learning opportunity
* Wildlife Conservation Trust - To match all donations made for certain wildlife conservation projects during the week, up to 1 crore rupees.

And, of special interest to college students - the Joyfest to be held in 300 colleges across India.

What is Joyfest?
Every college has a festival but this one is different. Joyfest is an opportunity for two Indias to come together - on a common platform

Step 1: Every college selects an NGO of its choice to partner with (orphanage, old people's home, orphanage etc)
Step 2: The college holds a cultural program of 60-90 minutes where students & NGO members participate together
eg Antakshari - one student, one slum child form a team and so on
Step 3: The NGO is the special guest of the college for that day.

Students will raise funds for the NGO through any activity of their choice eg sell tickets to the show, game stalls, sale of old books - or whatever they decide to do.

Why Joyfest?
It would have been easier to just hold a funfair and donate the money to a charity. But we think that you, the future leaders of this country, should actually reach out to the underprivileged. Get to know them, connect with them as human beings.

Giving is not just about money but about your time, our attention, your heart and your soul.

Joyfest is supported by MTV and JAM magazine, because we believe that youth does have that heart.

Do come forward and start a Joyfest in your college. You can register at the Joyfest website - www.joyfest.in Or drop me a line at rashmi_b at yahoo.com and I'll get someone to take you through the process.

The first 25 colleges to register will get 'pioneer status' and special media coverage. All students who participate in Joyfest will receive certificates from 'Joy of Giving Week'.

But hey, that is just a bonus! of As this film made especially for Joy of Giving week by ace South Indian Director, Jayendra should convince you.... This was his 'gift' to the movement!