Help Ashraya

If you would like to help a not for profit in Pune working with children:

 

Hi IndiaHelps,

My name is Elizabeth Sholtys, and I'm the founder of an organization called the Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC). AIC is a completely secular non-profit organization that works in Pune with street children, orphans, denotified tribes and slum communities in the areas of health, education, microfinance, community development and advocacy. More information about what we do can be found at our website (www.ashrayainitiative.org). 
 
So why am I writing to you? I need your help. Or, more accurately, kids in Pune need your help. AIC is in the running for $250,000 through the Chase Community Giving contest via Facebook. We're currently #36 in the list of more than 500,000 organizations (!), and are trying to secure more votes to move up to be within the top 5. Each organization within the top 200 will receive $20,000, but if we can make it to the top 5, we will receive $100,000 when the contest ends on July 12th. Only American organizations are eligible to compete, so there are very few other organizations that work in India participating in the contest, and in fact, many of the other high-ranking organizations in the contest are cat and dog shelters and animal rescue foundation groups in the US. While I'm sure that these other groups are also worthy causes, I feel strongly that vulnerable children in India should receive priority over stray animals in the US in terms of receiving the prize money, and I would very much like to stir up Indian support so that we can bring this prize money to India to benefit needy children here.
 
We are about as grassroots as they come - run exclusively by unpaid Directors and 100% of our funding comes from donations. As we try to minimize our administrative overhead (and therefore have no designated marketing/PR budget), I'm writing to bloggers and forums to help me get the word out about this contest and drum up support for our organization, particularly from within India and Indian communities outside of India.
 
I would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to help AIC by posting a message to your blog/supporters, telling them about this contest, and directing them to the site (link is below). Voting is completely free and takes only a minute (literally!). Please help us stay in the top 200, and maybe even work our way up to the top 5 by spreading the word! It will make a huge difference in the lives of the children and families that we work with in Pune. Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information in order to pass the word along to your readers.
 
Thanks so much,
Elizabeth Sholtys, CEO
 
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/201970122-ashraya-initiative-for-children

A big Thank You

A big Thank You to a generous soul who has committed to funding a daily snack for all the 200 children of our street soul.

 

On behalf of the entire team from India Helps and all the children at the street school, thank you for your kindness.

An appeal for basic needs for educating 250 orphan girl children in Madurai

The HOPE TRUST was promoted in Madurai on June 13, 2008 as a public charitable Trust with the core objective of enhancing access to quality education for the orphans. The Trust believes that simple interventions to address the basic needs of orphans can bring a remarkable difference in their lives.

The Trust has established programmes centered on education for nearly 2000 orphans studying in Government schools of Madurai for the last two years through child sponsorship, support structure, personality development programmes helping students shape their attitude, learning acceleration programme (bridge school) and computer literacy programme. In the year 2010-2011, the Trust is planning to distribute uniforms, notebooks and other stationeries to 250 orphan girls to enable them continue their studies.

 
Requirements
 
Uniform for 100 girl children @ Rs.250 per children
Notebooks – Long size unruled 192 pages (100 children * 5 notebooks per children @ Rs.20 per notebook) = Rs. 10,000
Stationeries- pen, pencil, box, sharpener, scale, eraser, bag, slipper for all 250 girl children.
 
"Invest in today: seek a brighter tomorrow"
 
 
We look forward to hearing from you
 
With warm regards,
 
 
Senthil Kumar. C
Secretary
+91-91766-48487
 

Awareness campaign by Vishwa towards Eco-Friendly Practices at places of Worship

June 12, 2010, Mumbai: On the evening of June 12, 2010 Vishwa in collaboration with ISVS organized a waste collection campaign across 4-5 temples in the Banganga area. More than 50 volunteers from Vishwa, children, women and senior citizens, collected nirmalyy (flowers offered to deity in the temples) in special Vishwa corrugated boxes. These were emptied in a special pit created, layered with clay, mud and water to aid recycling, in the Purshuram Mandir. Over a span of 3-4 months, the Nirmalayy will merge with clay, mud and water and be converted into organic, eco-friendly compost.
Every day hundreds of people visit the 4-5 temples in the Banganga area of Walkeshwar to offer puja. After the puja, the floral offerings are collected and immersed in the nearby sea. This is not only a form of pollution as even plastic bags are thrown in the sea, but also a waste of resource. Worship of the deities should not be at the cost of the environment, but should benefit nature and contribute to more sustainable life. Recycling Nirmalyy shows genuine respect for the life giving natural forces and it will help preserve and protect natural resources.
After the collection drive at the time of sunset, ISVS performed an air purification ritual (agnihotra), which is based on the principles outlined in the ancient holy texts of the Vedas, in the Banganga tank area. Agnihotra is a ayurvedic healing fire that purifies the air in that area as well as surrounding areas. The ritual helps to raise awareness on environmental issues among devotees and priests (pujaris).   The attempt is to educate the pujaris so that they in turn can suggest the same to the vast number of devotees who visit the temples regularly.
Talking about the campaign Mr. Yogendra Vora, Convenor, Vishwa, says, "It is a small contribution towards preserving resources by recycling and generating organic manure to reduce carbon footprint caused by consumption of chemical fertilizer."
Dr. Pururshottam Rajimwale, Co-Founder, Vishwa and Director of ISVS, believes, "Agnihotra is the ultimate solution to all the environment related issues. Agnihotra purifies the atmosphere and has long term benefits. If Agnihotra is performed by every individual, it will help us create pure environment to live in. This is small campaign to educate people on the benefits of Agnihotra and recycling."
About Vishwa:
Vishwa is a unique first-of-its-kind platform in India to develop sustainable solutions to the environmental problems facing the world. Originating from the Sanskrit word meaning 'the whole world', Vishwa is a non-profit platform for strengthening the development of a greener tomorrow. It is an initiative of citizens who utilize resources from our Mother Earth and feel the need of nurturing and protecting it for the future by finding sustainable lifestyle solutions TODAY!! 
We understand that erratic human consumption behavior over the years has led to issues like Global Warming, Climate Change, Deforestation, Energy Crisis, Intense Pollution and Species Eradication, and we seek to redefine our individual consumption patterns as well as business practices, products and services to function in harmony with the planet.
As part of our vision to create a platform for bringing together, world class eco-friendly solutions… to create a cleaner & greener future for our world, Vishwa organizes an annual event, The Vishwa Show as well as year round activities that look for micro-solutions to macro problems, and provide information about what every individual can do to make a difference.
 

Help Shreya

We received this email yesterday, about a girl who has lost her right arm in the Gyaneshwari derailment:

 

Shreya had come to my childhood friend Raja's wedding while she was returning in train ...Gyaneshwari express was derailed due to a Maubadi attack ..her mom and brother were also with her. Her mom is finally out of AMRI and her brother is fine. We have known their family for a long time.

Shreya Sen aged 22 , who is not only an extremely gifted and hard working student of L B H college of Architecture but also an extremely pleasing and obliging person at heart, is an ill-fated victim of the Naxal attack on the Dnyaneshwari express in which she lost her right arm. She has a fractured leg and pelvic. She has undergone several plastic surgeries on her face. She requires all the strength and support she can receive from all her well wishers.
All our prayers are with her. We hope that she recovers from this trauma and leads the life she deserves.

The following are the articles that have been published in the news papers

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2010060320100603042035538d04a272d/Helping-hand-for-train-victim.html

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TU1JUi8yMDEwLzA2LzAzI0FyMDAyMDA

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/friends-raise-funds-to-replace-arm-girl-lost-when-train-derailed/628554/

Its an earnest request to all of you from my side to please make an honest effort to contribute to her crisis, ask all your friends and associates. All funds can be received in form of cheques/drafts or direct deposits in favor of Shreya's A/c.
SHREYA SEN
BANK OF MAHARASHTRA (COTTON GREEN BRANCH) MUMBAI
A/C# : 20054037029

FOR THOSE MAKING ONLINE TRANSFER, PLEASE SELECT THE APPROPRIATE BRANCH FROM THE NETWORK DROPDOWN IN YOUR E-BANKING SITE

Please let me know the details of your help. Incase of any other enquiries please contact me 91 9836662666. In case you want to send a cheque in her name to my address ... 2/57 Naktala,Kolkata-47.

Thanking you in anticipation,
Suvro.

Help save this three year old

From http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/help-save-a-three-year-olds-heart-28726.php?u=1513&u=0751

 

Jalandhar's three-year-old Harshita is in a desperate need of money for a critical heart surgery. Her father has staked everything to get her treated, and save her life.

The three-year-old has a serious heart problem, which is not curable in India. A vein which sends back clean blood to the heart never developed in her. The illness is getting worse with age.

Harshita's father works for an insurance firm. He has been to numerous hospitals in India. Specialist heart surgeons have told him treatment is possible only in the US, and it will cost about seventy lakh rupees. Amit doesn't have the money and he is asking you for help. 

Little Harshita is, of course, playful and carefree like any toddler, not aware of her condition. 

To help her, you can send cheques to her father. Here are the details:

Amit Luthra, Bank A/c No. 001701562005 ICICI Bank 

Online Transfer code: IFSC ICIC0000273 

or call Ashwani Malhotra in Jalandhar at 09888159721

NO DISABILITIES, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

The Employment fair for People with Disabilities, Pune, September 2010

EKansh Trust presents an opportunity to potential candidates and employers to interface freely and explore the possibilities of employment for the disabled.

EKansh Trust is a registered Charitable Trust. We have recently received our 12A certification and are in the process of applying for 80G. We have successfully placed deaf and mildly physically challenged employees in jobs with good results. This has encouraged us to take our effort further and organize an open event.

We invite the participation of individuals who also believe in the cause of inclusion and that of organizations willing to open their minds and doors to the disabled who are more than able to undergo basic training and take on regular jobs. We intend to provide Sign Language interpreters for Deaf candidates and volunteers for the blind and mobility challenged.

This will be a 2 day event in September 2010 preferably on a Friday and Saturday. We need to raise funds for this fair and all donations are welcome.

We also request you to direct any person with disabilities looking for employment to us.

We're inviting sponsors for the following:
a- Venue: To accommodate approximately 25 stalls
b- Catering – Lunch and light refreshments : For approximately 80 people
[25 stalls X 2 Reps + Volunteers and Organizers]
c- Printing of forms, brochures, souvenirs, etc
d- Printing of T shirts [25 numbers]
e- Fees for Sign Language Interpreters
f- Rent of equipment for presentations by HR, CSR and DISABILITY experts

We have the assured media support of Sakaal papers, both Marathi and English. All sponsors contributing 20,000 INR or above, in cash or kind, will be mentioned in our advertisements and promotional material.

Any donation above 2500 INR will be mentioned in our printed souvenir. We are unable to provide any tax exemption for donations since we're yet to receive our 80G certificate. We hope this will not stop our supporters from donating generously.

We would be happy to share any other information you might need about this event. Our contact details are as below.
Email: info@ekansh.org or ekansh.india@gmail.com

Phone: Anita N Iyer: 9823513415, Ramona Parsani: 9823226900, Girish Sharangpani: 9850210443