[impactguru-blog]

Meet five unsung heroes who are breaking all the stigmas to live upto the statement that “Disability is just a state of mind”

What is it about stories like these that so inspire and fill one with hope? Could it be the belief that you and I can achieve similar success if we set our minds and hearts to it? After all, everyone faces adversity, they dream, and they work hard. It is another matter that only a few cross the threshold of limits set by society.

1) Sharath Gayakwad, Paralympic swimmer

Being born with a deformed left hand did not deter this starry-eyed kid who started taking swimming lessons when he was just 9. Sharath recently created history by winning 6 medals at the Para Incheon Asian Games 2014. With this, he broke the legendary PT Usha's 28-year-old record at the Asian Games. Not only this, he also has over 30 international and 40 national medals to his name. He was also the first Indian to qualify for the London Olympics for the disabled in 2010. Kudos to you, Sharath!

Photo Courtesy: Gamatics.in  

2) Navin Gulia, Limca World Record holder

Delhiite Navin Gulia wanted to join the Army as a commander, but life had other plans for him. Gulia was paralysed after a sports accident that left his spine badly injured. However, you got to do what you got to do, right? Believing in this mantra, he pursued his love for adventure sports which even booked him a place in the Limca Book Of Records. He became the first person to drive from Delhi to Marsimikla at 8,632 feet, which is the world's highest motorable pass, in 55 hours without any break. Hats off to Navin!

Photo courtesy: lifebeyondnumbers.com

3) Siddu. S. Loute, the human computer

Visually impaired and hailing from a small family in Karnataka, Siddu was abandoned by his family at a tender age of 5 but that didn’t deter Siddu to let go off his aspirations. He developed an interest in mathematics so much so that he can even memorise multiplication tables upto 99 crore. He completed his pre-university schooling under difficult circumstances and is currently pursuing his five-year LLM course at the M.S. Ramaiah College in Bangalore. He wants to appear for the IAS Entrance Exams but he needs a Braille printer to convert soft copies into their Braille versions which he simply cannot afford. To help him fundraise, you can support him here. 

Photo courtesy: thehindu.com

4) Padma Shri Dr Malathi K Holla

When one-year-old Malathi's parents got to know that she had polio, they were devastated. The raging fever left her paralyzed from the neck down and the little girl underwent surgery after surgery but to no avail. She did gain some strength in her upper body, but the lower parts remained dysfunctional. But Malathi did not give up. Her journey from being a helpless kid to Padma Shri awardee is awe-inspiring. She has also won the Arjuna Award with over 400 medals in shot put, discus, javelin, wheelchair race and obstacle race. After living a hard life for years, she decided to open the Mathru Foundation in Bangalore for differently-abled children from rural India. At 56, she is still the fastest female Indian athlete on a wheelchair. We have only one word for her - Respect!

Photo Courtesy: yourstory.com

5) Major Devender Pal, India's blade runner

Meet India's blade runner, Major Devender Pal. Despite losing his right leg to a Pakistani mortar during the Kargil War, Pal challenges himself each passing day, making his disability his strength. His determination to do something different and his never-say-die attitude has seen him become India's first blade runner. His passion for running has seen him participate in 9 marathons. After he ran three half marathons with a normal walking leg successfully, the army came to his rescue and gave him an Ireland-made prosthesis which costs about Rs 4.5 lakh. You are truly an inspiration, sir!

Photo courtesy: indiamydreamland.blogspot.com

These are just a few heroes that inspired us, feel free to share more such stories with us. We’d love to hear from you. 

[impactguru-blog]

Changing lives through games

Children from low-income vulnerable backgrounds have limited access to educational and learning opportunities within their communities. It inevitably affects their ability to choose a profession, build a sustainable career and lead a healthy lifestyle. Even though, there are many organizations across the country that are helping such children get adequate classroom education, most children lack the necessary social and personal skills to interact with the world. To tackle this, over the last years many organizations adopting a sports-based curriculum to help students build soft-skills beyond the classroom learning such as team work, interpersonal communication, problem solving and conflict management. 

According to Dasra’s report Power of Play emphasizes on how a well-designed sports initiative can play a critical role in enabling a child’s overall development. There is a positive correlation between sport and increased attendance levels, which leads to enhanced classroom behaviour and improved academic achievement. Further, sports has shown to be an effective medium of developing life skills, enhancing youth’s ability to gain and retain employment.

Dream a Dream is one such organization that uses sports and art to impart life skills to youth.  The Bengaluru-based non-profit has engaged over 5,500 youth through its After School Life Skills Program. Currently, it has selected four children from its after school football program through a series competitions to represent India at the Street Football Festival 2016 in Lyon, France.

Meet the foursome

“It’s a dream come true,” for Navnita, a class 9 student of Shubhodini English High School, who was always interested in sports but it wasn’t until she was introduced to the Dream a Dream after school program that she started to play football and master the game through her dedication towards the sport. She is extremely thrilled to have the opportunity to travel to another country for the first time to showcase her talent.

“Proud to be representing my country,” exclaims Manoj, a class 10 student whose father is an auto driver. He says he found a change within himself as his love for the sport began to increase. Always weak in reading because he could not concentrate, Manoj feels his power to concentrate has increased markedly which in turn has  helped him focus and improve on his reading abilities.

“An inspiration to other girls,” says Harshitha, a class 10 student of Stella Mary’s school. Her father is unwell and her mother works in a garments factory. Girls are hardly involved in sports and she hopes to inspire and how other girls including her classmates whose families don’t allow them to play that along with studies, sports can help them move ahead too.

“Football teaches discipline,” says Arbaz, a 15-year-old son of an auto driver. When he began playing the game 5 years back, he was a novice but with training and discipline, he has mastered the techniques. Arbaz also claims that the game has taught him to be more positive in life.

We at Impact Guru are helping the four kids to raise funds to finance their trip to France and participate in the Street Football Festival. How can you help? Go on impactguru.com/dream-a-dream and show your support by donating or sharing the campaign with friends and family. The funds raised will help support their training, football gear, visa costs and travel to Lyon, France. 

[impactguru-blog]

This women’s day, find out how organizations are empowering women of India

India is among one of the fastest developing nations, but its growth isn’t inclusive and deep-rooted challenges remain, including women empowerment. It’s a known fact that economic empowerment of women has played an important role in enabling socio-economic growth.

Last year, Christine Lagarde, chief of International Monetary Fund at W20, stated, “If the number of female workers were to increase to the same level as the number of men, GDP in the United States would expand by 5 per cent, by 9 per cent in Japan, and by 27 per cent in India.” However, it requires steady support from public policies and access to educational and employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, here are some of the ways organizations in India are empowering women:

Educating Girl Child: Educating a woman can set off a chain reaction that transforms the life of her family and the community she lives in. The education of women is therefore essential. Nearly 70% population lives in rural areas where cultural norms and lack of access to quality school or teacher makes it challenging for girls to get educated. However, many nonprofits such as Indus Action, Salaam Balaak, Oxfam India and SOS Children’s Village India etc. are addressing this problem in different ways to provide children, especially girls, to get education.

Vocational Training: Poverty creates challenges for all of India's poor, but women are forced into early marriages, begging or prostitution to cope with the situation. Many nonprofits are now focusing on helping women develop tangible skills to become economically independent. From stitching, knitting and weaving to driving and operating industrial machines, women are now working across sectors to support themselves. Organizations such as Women on Wings, Sewa, and Seva Mandir among many others.  

Seeding women-run businesses: Women entrepreneurs create new jobs for not only for themselves, but also others and ultimately they become a source of economic growth. But gender biases creates challenges for women to start a business or scale an existing one – including societal discrimination, limited exposure, lack of access about formal financial sources. Over the last few years, micro-entrepreneurs across cities and villages are being enabled by government programs such as MUDRA Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) and microfinance organizations such as Bandhan and Arohan that work with local nonprofits to identify women micro-entrepreneurs.  

Supporting their basic health needs: Menstruation is a nightmare for most women, due to the taboo nature of the topic, most women, especially in the rural areas and slums, and lack of affordable alternatives. Of the 353 million women and adolescent girls menstruating across India, only 12 percent can afford sanitary napkins. Others have to resort to unhygienic sanitary practices that can lead to severe infections. Organizations such as Menstrupedia, Azadi, SheCup, Goonj, Ecofemme, Jatan Sansthan and Mythri Speaks among many others are addressing this issue by providing affordable substitutes and educating people about menstruation and basic hygiene

As an individual, how can you help empower women? By simply finding a nonprofit that you’d want to support and start a campaign with us to create awareness about the cause and raise funds from friends and family.

[impactguru-blog]

From being a donor to a fund raiser – A journey

In 1989, while living in Bangalore, one morning my neighbour’s six-year-old daughter came to me to ask for donations to support underprivileged children.  When I asked her why she was doing this, she spoke animatedly about how she wanted to help someone in need. I immediately bought the remaining five Rs 20-coupons and the smile that lit up on her face is still in my heart. Since then I have continued to support causes where I can see the direct impact.

When Ashwin, a friend and a colleague explained about Mera Terah Run (MTR) and the cause that he was raising money for, without hesitation I extended my support. I loved how MTR 2014’s team was planning to run 13 miles everyday across 13 cities (via 13 train rides) within 13 days. The concept struck a chord with me. It combined two of my favourite things - travelling and supporting a cause. When I donated to Ashwin’s campaign in 2014, I told him that I wanted to be part of MTR 2015.

My Journey as a Mera Terah Run Yatri

When I was officially signing up for 2015 run in August, I had to mention the amount of money I pledge to raise. I was about to tick on Rs 1 lakh-box when I realized that apart from my family, I have many friends who would do anything for me at my simple request. So, as I decided to stretch my limits and I chose the maximum amount listed on the form.  

Although I signed up in Aug’15, I began the physical preparation in March’15.  I enrolled with a dietician to prepare my body for the endurance that was expected of me to do MTR 2015 (13 days, 13 cities, 13 Km/day). Also, I walked an hour a day to and gradually stretched it to two hours. Meanwhile, I also participated in my first half marathon in Bangalore in October. It really boosted my confidence & I felt prepared for the MTR journey.

Apart from prep, fundraising was an integral part of the endurathon. It was the first time I was fundraising and given my pledge amount, I needed a plan. I created a list of people who I knew I could count upon. Of the hundreds of people I knew, 137 people became a part of my list. Next step was outreach. Now, although MTR had prepared email templates, I realized that people who knew me well enough would know that it wasn’t my writing. So, instead of blasting mass-mailers, I started writing personalized mails to friends and family. I told them about my plans to run 13 km/day over 13 cities and explained the causes I was supporting. Those mailers were sent in wee hours of morning but it was worth the effort. Meanwhile, whenever I bumped into at someone, who wasn’t already on my list, I would tell them about MTR and my initiative. Eventually, I had 160 names on my list.

160 people; 300+ phone calls & WhatsApp messages; 380+ emails; 60+ hours of personal time spent and 30 days later, I had raised about Rs 7 lakhs.

At the end of it, there was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, but also a great learning that cannot be learnt in schools. Here are a few:

Conviction for the cause is critical: Without believing in the cause, there is no way I could have convinced others to support me. Whether it was emails or calls, my messages were filled with my passion towards the cause. In fact, many people replied that they were very touched by my initiative.

Expect the unexpected: I reached out to someone, who I had worked with 9 years ago. However, within 30 mins of my mail, he contributed significantly to the fundraiser. Meanwhile people who I saw everyday didn’t share my enthusiasm.

No correlation between a designation and amount of money donated: In fact, some of the people with low paying jobs gave more money and that was quite overwhelming.

Over two reminders are meaningless: If someone wanted to donate, they would give it right away or maybe within a few reminders.

Show gratitude: I thanked everyone, whether they contributed or not. I wanted to ensure that my relationship with them was not just about fundraising; I wanted their support in spirit too!

Thanks to MTR’15, I am 15Kgs lighter and have a sense of accomplishment. The fact that I had a set of friends and family that I could count upon made me feel that I have done some things right in life! Thanks to my friends and family, I feel extremely blessed.  

Looking forward to Mera Terah Run 2016! As they say, the journey never ends…

[impactguru-blog]

A quick 2 minute #coffeewithCEO rapid fire with Dr HUZ!

“The mission of my life is twofold, one to improve quality of life, and the other to improve quality of thought. And to realize this dual mission, I formed Wockhardt Foundation” says Dr Huzaifa Khorakiwala.

Not only does Dr. Huz (Dr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala) head the non-profit organization, Wockhardt Foundation which runs several programmes in health, education, water and sanitation across the breadth of the country, but he is also the Executive Director of Wockhardt Limited and part of the promoter family of Wockhardt Group - a leading pharmaceutical and healthcare group.

Dr. Huz is a graduate of prestigious Yale MBA program. And has won numerous awards and is associated with many social causes. He is also the founder of "The World Peacekeepers Movement", an online movement comprising of more than a million peacekeepers, forming the world’s 3rd largest army.

We caught up with him for a quick 2 minute #coffeewithCEO rapid fire QnA:  

1,Impact Guru: What social goal do you want to achieve from your various initiatives?

Dr Huz: To bring healthcare to the underprivileged and unreached

2,Impact Guru: What values drive you as a person?

Dr Huz: To be happy and bring happiness to others and profit with values and joy

3.Impact Guru: I’m sure your supporters want to know your favourite vacation spot?

Dr Huz: Swiss Alps

4,Impact Guru: And, your favourite music genre?

Dr Huz: Anything soulful

5,Impact Guru: Do you prefer Cricket or Football?

Dr Huz: Cricket!

6,Impact Guru: We know you’re a foodie, what’s your favourite guilty pleasure?

Dr Huz: Pani Puri

7,Impact Guru: And, favourite drink?                              

Dr Huz: Fresh Lime Soda

8,Impact Guru: You inspire many, but who do you admire and look up to?

Dr Huz: Mahatma Gandhi

You can meet Dr Huz in person and get your questions about life, entrepreneurship and leadership answered. Here’s your chance to have #CoffeewithCEO by simply supporting his cause: just donate to participate in the lucky draw or bid the highest amount to get a sure shot chance to meet him.

To participate in ‪#‎CoffeeWithCEO, click here: impactguru.com/meetdrhuz

[impactguru-blog]

Dear Friend,

Thank you so much for being part of the Impact Guru community. With 2015 almost behind us, Impact Guru's entire team wanted to take this opportunity to send out a genuine “Thank You” for making our year better than we could have ever imaged. Thanks to all of our users, NGO and corporate partners, friends and family we have been able to surpass expectations.

It has been an absolute pleasure helping individuals and corporates connect to genuine causes and charities that need support to improve the social needs they focus on. And without your trust and support we wouldn't be where we are today, doing what we love.

Here's what made 2015 special...

PACT Incubator -  After Harvard Innovation Lab, in 2015 we were a part of the prestigious 4-months Incubation Programme at PACT Singapore along with 10 amazing social enterprises, set to scale social impact and make a great difference to society.

Marathon - Our first marathon tie-up with Mera Terah Run where we have raised over INR 12 lacs in less than two months. It is a 13-day long endurathon  in which 15 yatris push their limits, run half marathon (13 miles) across 13 cities for 13 consecutive days for a good cause.

Flood Relief Support - We are grateful for all the support that poured in for the Chennai flood relief. We raised over  INR 5 lakhs in under 2 weeks and our NGO partners have been doing some incredible ground work providing. We were over whelmed with the response we got from the Indian Diaspora.  

Corporate Social Responsibility - We helped corporates such as Wockhardt Foundation and Godrej multiply their impact by raising money for their foundations and connected them to the right causes. We plan to continue to live up to their expectations and more in 2016!

WDF Mixer -  Our first fundraising event in collaboration with Harvard Club of Mumbai and IvyPlus Network for Indus Action an NGO that enables a child's right to education.

School & College - We tied up with colleges to introduce crowd funding as a concept and with the intention to urge students to start charity work and giving back at a young age.

Media & Press - We got our first press mention in the prestigious Mint-Wall Street Journal even before we were launched. Since the likes of Huffington Post, Social Story and NDTV have written about us.

UBM NGO Awards - We were invited by UBM India to be a part of a panel on ''Corporate – NGO Partnership : A gateway towards inclusive CSR'' at the Giving Back 2015 CSR & NGO Awards.

HELLO 2016…

Our goal for 2016 is to continue building upon our programs and finding ways to empower more nonprofits and social causes. Together we look forward to inspiring people from all over the world to be the best they can be and, at the same time, creating a more engaging, social and empowering way to donate to charities that make a better world. Like 2015, we promise 2016 will be bigger and better!

Thank you again for your continued support, lessons, advice and guidance. Impact Guru wishes everyone a Happy New Year with lots of good fortune, happiness and prosperity.

Happy Holidays and see you in 2016!

With warm regards, Piyush Jain Founder Impact Guru

[impactguru-blog]

5 ways to help Chennai stay afloat!

Life has come to a stand-still in Chennai. Torrential downpour, flooding and a death toll crossing the 180 mark has become the new order of the day. According to the MET department the worst is yet not over. However, the city has emerged as a fighter, with people going out of their way to help each other. Inviting stranded strangers with open arms into their homes to share food, provide shelter and generously make both cash and in-kind donations. We truly admire Chennai’s spirit.  

The rain fury has however, left many marooned in Chennai and in order to multiply impact we need your support. Here are some easy ways to give back and do your bit:

1, Provide a helping hand - if you are a Chennai resident please open your homes for those who are stranded. Use the hashtag #ChennaiRainsHelp to offer or request shelter or aid. A good deed like this is priceless and will go a long way in supporting victims of this disaster. You can open your home to anyone stranded by filling this form. 

2, Volunteer - if you want to take your efforts a step forward: stop thinking, get outdoors and START VOLUNTEERING. You can enrol into volunteering here: http://volunteers.org/chennai-floods/ or http://www.chennaivolunteers.org/.

3, Citizen Journalist - yes, thanks to social media everyone is a journalist today. We need to leverage that and create awareness about who needs relief and basic necessities and of course success stories. Use relevant hashtags like #ChennaiFloods #Chennai #ChennaiRains to provides real time updates about the situation.

Use this website to report flooded streets in your area: http://osm-in.github.io/flood-map/chennai.html#11/13.0000/80.2000

If you’re not in Chennai re-share and you can also help spread the word about these help lines that Chennai Corporation has announced as Emergency Contact Numbers for all the regional zones in the city.

Help Line Numbers --------------------------- Tree fall, Water logging - 1913  Sewage overflow - 45674567, 22200335 State Emergency: 1070 District Emergency: 1077 Electricity: 1912 Fire & Rescue: 101

1st Regional Office(Tiruvottiyur) – 9445190001 2nd Regional Office(Manali) – 9445190002 3rd Regional Office(Madhavaram) – 9445190003 4th Regional Office(Tondiarpet) – 9445190004 5th Regional Office(Royapuram)- 9445190005 6th Regional Office(Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar) – 9445190006 7th Regional Office(Ambattur) – 9445190007 8th Regional Office(Annanagar) – 9445190008 9th Regional Office(Teynampet) – 9445190009 10th Regional Office(Kodambakkam) – 9445190010 11th Regional Office (Valasaravakkam)- 9445190011 12th Regional Office(Alandur) – 9445190012 13th Regional Office (Adyar)- 9445190013 14th Regional Office(Perungudi) – 9445190014 15th Regional Office(Sholinganallur) – 9445190015

--------------------------- 

4, Donate - Impact Guru and World Vision India have come together to raise money for Chennai to provide basic necessities like World Vision India are raising money to provide basic necessities like food, provisions, bed sheets, clothes to the victims. We are writing to Godrej Group in particular because of its social inclination. Donate here: www.impactguru.com/chennai

5, Start a fundraising campaign or initiative in your area. Take cue from a corporates like Zomato and Paytm who are initiated their own relief programs. You can organize  your own donation drives, crowdfunding campaigns or medical aid camp. 

[impactguru-blog]

Torrential downpour in ‪#‎Chennai‬, death toll rises to 188. MET department says the city can expect more.Chennai needs your prayers and SUPPORT! Help us keep Chennai afloat! Donate to show you care: www.impactguru.com/chennai

[impactguru-blog]

Why choose Impact Guru? 

Crowdfunding is a fairly new concept in India. But in the in past couple of years success stories from the west, internet boom in India and its inherent advantage to do well has given birth to lot of crowdfunding marketplaces in India.

According to reports, global crowdfunding experienced accelerated growth in 2014, expanding by 167 percent to reach $16.2 billion raised, up from $6.1 billion in 2013. In 2015, the industry is set to more than double once again, on its way to raising $34.4 billion. And

In India, there are many similar platforms helping causes and ventures raise money. However, at Impact Guru we believe internet penetration and social media usage are at their tipping point. And India is now ready for a crowdfunding revolution. However, unlike our peers our focus is making user experience. And have prioritized being different over competing.  

This is what we do differently.

1, We realize the potential collaboration on the web has and is an area of exponential growth. And social media is the most essential ingredient in this growth recipe. So we decided to put a price tag to every Facebook share. Our innovation links social media and social impact so beautifully that the whole process becomes more fun and engaging. Almost like a game. Social Media Impact led Engagement or S.M.I.L.E. is a feature that basically means, more popular your campaign on social media, lower is your fundraising cost. This is an in-house innovation that no one offers domestically or internationally.  

2, Disrupting the pricing scenario. Our S.M.I.L.E helps the nonprofit bring down its fundraising cost down to 5% levels, one of the lowest in the country.  [Please see our pricing page to understand]  

3, We provide a very comprehensive social media integration and help you spread the word using WhatsApp (mobile only), LinkedIn, Twitter and email within seconds.

4, Engaging India’s youth. India is home to one of the largest youth population in the world, having more than 430 million people between the age of 14 & 35. These millennials are a part of today’s overly connected and digitized society, and of these half a billion, i.e. one third are online. They aren’t hesitant to post their views and opinions on social media platforms. We want to empower them and help them leverage social media so they can bring about change.

5, Since 99.99% of our work is online, the technology has to be top-notch or the product is a fail. We realised that and have made sure the website is supports various platforms and devices. At the same time is 100% safe.  

6, We want to make the experience for our non-profit partners as enjoyable as possible and in compliance with the Indian laws. So we decided to give 80G certificates to all donations made on our platform. This was done to safeguard our beneficiaries from any legal troubles.  

7, Connecting volunteers to the social cause they care about. Not only do we help nonprofits raise money, but also help them find the a passionate supporter base.

8, Foreign donations we believe will be a game changer.  Think of domestic donations as the basic food and foreign donations as multivitamins. They will act as a catalyst and make the campaign more global.  

9, We provide a constant supply of guidance, consulting on outreach and campaign creation to our various stakeholders – nonprofits, individual sand corporates.

10, Every non-profit gets a relationship manager, as we believe in making the experience more personal.  

 So stop thinking, start crowdfunding! 

[impactguru-blog]

Stop Thinking, Start VOLUNTEERING!

“As we work to create life for others, we naturally light our own way.” Those are words of American author Mary Anne Radmacher. She has very well encapsulated the essence of community volunteering.

By definition, a volunteer is a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task. But we believe there is a lot more to volunteering, like the power to create sustainable change.

Volunteering not only lets you make the world a better place but also makes you feel good about yourself. You can be a student, young professional, house wife, or retired individual. Community service can be done anytime and at any age.  

And good news is, according to Bain & Company “India Philanthropy Report 2015: Accelerating the next philanthropic wave, Indians are more ready to give now than they were five years ago. India has significantly jumped ranks, and now stands at 69th on the World Giving Index, from 134th in 2010. Moreover, we’ve added 100 million donors since 2009 and these individuals only expect their donations to go up.

Your giving does not have to be a monetary one. The right attitude for change and community service is what matters.  

Here are our top reasons why you should stop thinking and start volunteering.

- Giving back is good for your heath! You feel good about yourself and are a happier soul. Happy souls lead long and peaceful lives.

- Hone communication and people skills. Yes, if you’re a student looking to add to your resume, volunteering is a great leverage. You hone new skills, gain knowledge and expertise.

- Make new friends, expand your networks. There will be other volunteers like you, from different strata of life, so it’s a great place to network and make new friends.

- Let’s you grow as a person. Know about the theory of self actualization? Which says that life is a journey for individuals trying to realize their full potential and worth. Well, volunteering and giving back is the step towards reaching self actualization.

- Lets you give back to the society and gain new perspective. Volunteering can offer a new perspective—seeing people who are worse off than you are, yet still hanging in there, can help you see your life in a whole new light. Plus not take for granted the things you have.

[impactguru-blog]

HELP US KEEP CHENNAI AFLOAT!

World Vision India is raising INR 1,00,000 for flood-stricken ‪#‎Chennai‬. Help them raise money and awareness so they can continue monitoring the children and families in the flood stricken areas, and provide them with basic provisions, bed sheets, clothes, towels, plastic mats and wash kits.

DONATE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! : https://www.impactguru.com/helpchennai 

[impactguru-blog]

This Diwali, let’s do things differently...

Every Diwali, we end up doing the same things: the customary Diwali puja, firecracker light show, card parties, lavish dinners, sending gifts to loved ones, indulging in a LOT of sweets, and yes, cleaning your home among other things!

This Diwali, however, we dare you make a difference to someone else's life! Yes, trust us there are many who could use a little love and support.  

Here are five easy ways to light up someone's life this Diwali:

1. Instead of discarding your old clothes/household items DONATE THEM! That outfit from last season that does not fit you, it will bring a smile on someone's face.

2. Instead of buying diyas/gifts from your neighborhood store, buy them from an NGO!  Here are two such NGOs who make products we love! http://www.kshitij-mumbai.org/ http://www.adaptssi.org/  

3. Light up someone's life- LITERALLY! You can volunteer with NGO’s that distribute solar lanterns among the poor (be it even one lantern and one home.) One such campaign you can support is Project Chirag- http://www.projectchirag.com/. You could volunteer at an NGO for one weekend or simply clean up the cracker mess in your building/locality! Yes, clearing up the Diwali mess for your building caretaker will bring a smile on his/her face, even better, leave a happy Diwali note after you do. :)

4. Donate the profits you earn from card parties to an NGO or buy something for the poor. Yes, all that money you earned during your card parties, DONATE IT! The feeling we assure you is PRICELESS.

5. Teach something to the underprivileged, it could be something like choreography on the latest Bollywood hit or an instrument you play. And if you have to burst crackers, burst it with the underprivileged who do not enjoy these luxuries.

You will remember this Diwali for the rest of your life, we promise you that!

[impactguru-blog]

TOP 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD FUNDRAISE FOR YOUR MARATHON!

The number of people signing up for marathons in India has gone up multi-fold. It is evident that the importance of running has been realized. A lot of serious and regular runners swear by the fact that running every day, be it for a marathon or not, is the most rewarding experience that one can have. More importantly, over ₹900 million (USD 17 million) has been raised from year 2004 to year 2013 for the biggest marathon event in India, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.  

Over the years the number of marathons has only gone up. Many passionate runners like Jagdish Damania, founder of Mera Terah Run, who took up running for marathon to raise funds for causes he was passionate about, now continues to run because he loves being part of the running community.

Whether you’re a fitness geek, or someone who wants to make a difference or just someone who wants to be a part of a like-minded community – whatever be your excuse, everyday more and more individuals are joining the marathon runners club and raising money for causes they care about.

If you, however, don’t have an excuse already, we give you our top five reasons to fundraise for your marathon:

You can make a difference. Lead by change and others will follow. By creating a fundraiser, it will be your turn to inspire other people to do the same. Not only will people support your cause by donating to your campaign but also inspire people to create their own campaigns. You will become nothing less than a social leader spreading social good by multiplying the impact you can make alone.

Happiness: It is proven that donating can make you happier. Remember, when you run for charity you’re helping real people and changing lives, so run for a cause that is close to your heart. Having the feeling that you are doing something good and knowing that you help people in need is a personal joy that is unique.

Motivation: Like setting personal goals and meeting them? Running a marathon is the perfect test to see how determined you are to achieve your goal. Plus, running a marathon embarks other people, people who need your help, people who count on you! So you can’t let them down. Now can you?

Fun: Oh yes, charity can be fun. You can choose which nonprofit and cause you want to support, start your fundraiser whenever you want, and enjoy watching the amount of donations increase every day. People will be so proud of you and not hesitate to support a great initiative. Better, besides the donations you will be getting a lot of shout outs like “we are proud of you”, something that you will remember all your life.

Challenge: Everybody likes a good challenge. Treat this as one, running a full marathon is not everybody’s cup of tea. Plus, trying to fundraise for the marathon can add to the challenge as asking for money is an art. You have to tell people why you are doing this and convince them to donate to make your campaign a great SUCCESS! So good luck. 

So what you waiting for? Start a fundraiser now: https://www.impactguru.com/fundraising-for-marathons

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Child Sexual Abuse: A Silent Scourge

In 2007 when the Indian government released a study conducted over 125,000 children across India, the results shocked many. According to the study almost 53% children had been subjected to sexual abuse. While over 20% of those interviewed were subjected to severe forms of abuse, majority of the survivors, almost 57%, were boys. Yes, Boys!

Shocking revelations from the report acted as an eye opener for many. A rather hush-hush topic, was brought to center stage and forced the government to pass the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) in 2012. Child sexual abuse (CSA) –occurs when children are forced to take part in sexual activities. This does not have to be physical contact, and it can happen online. The biggest problem, however, is sometimes the child does not understand what is happening to them is abuse. 

The numbers are however under-reported as CSA is a taboo topic in India and faces resistance from various stakeholders. Parents and teachers do not react to such problems. On top of that, a lot of children are embarrassed to talk about what happened, while many do not know if what is happening to them is not as the abuser is often a person the child knows.

It is clear that the government has been unsuccessful in preventing such events. The POCSO Act 2012 does punish the abusers but the cases have not declined since.

Some NGO’s like CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF) , which was instrumental in drafting the POCSO Act, work directly with children to raise awareness about the problem. They face everyday a challenging issue both in form as well as in substance. How does one tell a seven-year old child what sexual abuse is without taking away their innocence? CHILDLINE combines thoroughly adapted content and trained volunteers to go to school to explain what CSA is.

CIF's Program targets school children in the age group of 7-12 years. Children are taught about safe touch, unsafe touch and personal safety rules through a story telling exercise. The entertaining stories are designed to be age appropriate and are enacted out, by trained and certified lady volunteers. Hidden in the stories are the concepts of safe/unsafe touch and personal safety rules. The stories have been specially developed in consultation with child psychologists. Following the story session, each child gets a set of “Labels” to affix on their books that reinforce the message to the child.

Till date, CHILDLINE has reached out to over 250,000 children through 913 schools in Mumbai. But with children making up 39% of the 1.21 billion in our country, a lot of work has to be done.

You can help make a difference, help CHILDLINE India Foundation help our children. Make a donation towards this cause NOW: https://www.impactguru.com/zahra-khan-help-me-stop-child-sexual-abuse

[impactguru-blog]

Report Card: Government’s Midday Meal Scheme

Do you know the best way to get a country out of poverty? The answer is simple: Education! However, getting underprivileged children to school is a big challenge government and nonprofits are trying to overcome. Providing free education was not enough to attract under privileged to schools, as parents rather have their children work so they have one less mouth to fill. Trying to solve this problem, government decided to provide schools with mid-day meals. And it worked wonderfully!  

The program was originally launched in 1925 and gradually implemented in a few other states, it took the government decades to make the Midday Meal Scheme national in 1995.

The idea was simple, help underprivileged children get a basic education and at the same time provide food at schools as an incentive to curb absenteeism and dropouts. In addition, this scheme combined a second goal: the simultaneous enhancement of the nutritional levels among children. Thus,  making this Midday Meal Scheme the largest nutrition program in the world.

According to reports, today 87% of government schools implement the scheme across India. It represents almost 120 million meals every day for supported costs of 2 billion dollars a year with additional funding coming from state governments. Yes, it’s huge!

The report card says it all. School-attendance rates improved, sometimes by as much as 10%, combined with a decline of dropouts. Overall, it “improved nutritional intakes by reducing the daily protein deficiency of a primary school student by 100%, the calorie deficiency by almost 30%, and the daily iron deficiency by nearly 10%” according to Farzana Afridi in the Journal of Development Economics. It is more than satisfactory as 1.3 million children die every year in India prematurely because of malnutrition.

However, the journey has been bumpy for the scheme.  The program failed with the hygiene and safety standards in specific areas. In 2013, 23 children aged from 4 to 12 years old died in Bihar because they ate a contaminated meal provided by the Midday Meal Scheme. According to media reports, police investigations revealed that oil used to cook the meals was stored in a former pesticide barrel. The same year in the same state, 50 children had to be hospitalized after dead lizard and worms contaminated their meal.

Human error or something else? According to reports, one of the reasons for the fallout was that the government could not afford to invest in hygienic standards everywhere. The limited financial resources lagged in providing kitchens, storage facilities, utensils, set up effective quality controls and supply chain.

In some cases, the government had no choice than to give the responsibility to teachers to spend time in kitchen to prepare the meals, a role that is clearly not theirs. In some cases nonprofits stepped in. 

Government – NGO, a win-win partnership

The delivery of mid-day meal scheme may be improved by collaborating with private entities and non-government organizations. NGOs were well implanted in their region, they are smaller entities making possible an efficient management and control quality, and can enjoy of higher financial resources as they can enjoy money from private or corporate donors as well as from the government as part of the contract.

For instance nonprofits like Annamrita is the perfect example of such a partnership. Every day, devoted trained cooks wake up at 3.am to prepare quality meals in 20 centralized hi-tech kitchens including heavy-weight vegetable-cutting, potato-peeling machines, steam cookers for fuel efficiency, and needless to say, with very high standard of hygiene. The meals are specifically designed, to both, provide the nutritional requirements and to be adapted to local tastes with a variety of elements in order that the children don’t get bored. Annamrita’s midday meals cater to over 12 lakh children every day.

HELP ANNAMRITA CHANGE LIVES BY DONATING HERE: https://www.impactguru.com/thibaut-gougeon-soutenez-mon-action-pour-nourrir-et-envoyer-de-enfants-lcole-lets-feed

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India accounts for the highest number of undernourished and hungry people in any single country, with an estimated 194.6 million, or about one in every four such people in the world according to the report "State of Food Security in the World 2015", released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) earlier this year. Globally, one out of every nine people do not get enough nutritious food to eat every day. Hunger is one of the biggest problems in the world, and as we mark ‪#‎WorldFoodDay‬ today, we at Impact Guru are supporting a global movement to eliminate hunger by 2030. One Future, ‪#‎ZeroHunger‬is a new drive to mobilise the global community to pull together and achieve the goal of Zero Hunger over the next decade and a half.

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Five things you need to know about Breast Cancer  !

The world really took notice when in May 2013 Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie, announced her double mastectomy and reconstruction to prevent breast cancer. “I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn't live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren”, Angelina Jolie had said.

Since, Jolie’s popularity has helped spread the word about this rather hush-hush disease all over the world. Over 20% of women, according to media reports, said they are dealing more intensively with the disease than before. Collectively, US, India and China account for almost one third of the global breast cancer burden. In India in 2012 alone over 144,937 women were newly detected with breast cancer, while 70,218 women died of breast cancer. Which means that for every 2 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one lady is dying of it.

Hence it is important to take notice of this malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast and can spread into other parts of the body, causing permanent damages. One way to fight the fear of breast cancer is to be well-informed. So here are 5 little known facts about the disease: 

1, Mammograms are not foolproof: Yes, Mammograms are a powerful way to detect breast cancer early on, but they are not 100% accurate. Mammograms are most effective in women aged 50 and over. You should talk to your doctor about when you should start getting mammograms regularly, or if you have symptoms that suggest that you should get one.

2, Not all women have a 1-in-8 chance of getting breast cancer. It is definitely true that your risk increases as you get older. A woman’s chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer is about 1 in 233 when she's in her 30s and rises to 1 in 8 by the time she’s reached 85, according to research reports.

3, A lump not always equals cancer. Feeling a lump in your breast can be a terrifying experience, but according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 8 out of 10 breast lumps are not cancerous. While, most breast lumps are cysts (fluid-filled sacs within your breast).

4, Men can get breast cancer too! Yes, you heard us right. Even though it is true that women make up the largest proportion of people who get breast cancer, but men are equally susceptible. The worry here is that most men do not know they are vulnerable, and do not go in for check-ups like women.

5, Active women are less likely to develop and die from breast cancer. Regular exercise has consistently been associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. A well balanced Mediterranean diet, which includes plenty of vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage combined with 30-minutes of daily exercise, should take you a long way.