Live, Love, Laugh - Anand Charity's Blog

As we draw towards the end of a phenomenal effort, we wish to look back and acknowledge the force behind this campaign. The “Change for $5” has brought more than a hundred donors and supporters into our mission and over $7,000 in resources to help our numerous projects in India. Needless to say, all our donors and supporters are the benevolent force behind this, and we wish to thank you again for believing in us, and helping us achieve such a wonderful goal.

We also wish to acknowledge the volunteers who have contributed their time in making this happen. Because we want to make sure that all of your generous donations reach the deserving and needy in India, each and every volunteer at Anand Charity dedicates their time without any form of remuneration. We are lucky to have a great mix of talented individuals contributing to the technology behind maintaining our website and enabling online donations, marketing our efforts to bring in as many people as we can to join us, on-site volunteers to ensure all of the projects are executed smoothly, graphic designers and writers to maintain our blogs and newsletters, and contributors to various other areas which are critical for the functioning of the organization. All of us volunteers are constantly motivated by the trust and encouragement we receive from our donors and it is your support which keeps us going.

This campaign is also truly remarkable in light of the current economy. The fact that so many of you were willing to contribute to us, and help us in our current projects and future projects, in spite of any financial hardships you may yourself be faced with, is a true testament to the spirit of giving. It is what binds us all and keeps us going and getting stronger…we hope you will remain an integral part of Anand Charity.
 

The vocational training unit at Umang is continuing to make great progress. The Birla Institute of Technology (BITS), Pilani invited Umang to set up a stall during their 2009 annual cultural festival 'Oasis' attended by 10,000 to 15,000 students from all over India. Umang put up a stall from 25th October to 30th October to exhibit and sell products made by students of their Work Training Unit. They had a great response with sales amounting to approximately Rs. 25,000. For their phenomenal work, Umang has been invited by BITS for next year's Oasis as well.

We at Anand Charity would like to thank our donors for supporting Project Umang.

The team and Anand Charity is happy to bring to you our latest quarterly newsletter. This issue contains updates on our fundraising program, 'Change for $5' and our projects. We woulf like to take this opportunity to thank our donors for they continuing support.

We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions.

 When we launched the campaign, we knew two things – the eagerness of each and every one of you to help, and basic arithmetic. For all of you who have believed in Anand Charity, and supported us in our numerous projects, you already know that every little bit can help. We are now grateful to offer you convincing evidence that every little bit does help!

We are as aware as you are that it is especially difficult to reach out and make charitable contributions in economically challenging times. But then comes the realization that an alarmingly large population in India has lived its entire life in economic distress. It is indeed in times like this, when evils of inflation are kept temporarily at bay, and the value of money is known and felt to the fullest, that even the smallest of contributions can go a long way.

In other words, if today you were to say to yourself, that you would forego standing in line at Starbucks to order a drink, and instead, spend that time and money to provide food, drinking water and shelter to a person rendered homeless by a hurricane, then you would have made a tremendous impact on that person’s life, without adding to your financial burden. This is the arithmetic we understood. We also understood that our target of $25,000 to support the various missions we have undertaken really meant encouraging everyone to just contribute what is easy for them. Considering that in just a short time after launching the campaign, the $5’s have made up over $6,000, we are confident that you will find the math very encouraging as well.

We have received great feedback so far, and many of the donors have said that it was actually “fun” to be a part of “Change for $5”. What better way can there be to spread happiness? We hope you will remain an integral part of this mission also help us spread the word. On behalf of all the beneficiaries of your support, we thank you all.

Our “Change for $5” campaign has been supported by: