ADARSH OBSERVED "JOY OF GIVING WEEK"  WITH A SONG ON THE LIPS
AND MAGIC IN HANDS

The Joy of Giving , an idea conceptualized imaginatively by Give India foundation, Mumbai and widely publicized by them with indefatigable energy and infectious enthusiasm , was observed from the 27th of September. Give India foundation (www.giveindia.org ) has been a sheet anchor of support for us ever since we got enlisted by them in August 2006. The idea behind observing a week of 7 days, starting on a Sunday in the last week of September but not earlier than the 25th and going on till next Saturday,(the idea is to ensure that the week definitely includes the 2nd of October, the birthday of the greatest Indian of recent centuries) is to focus attention on the aspect that there is a great degree of joy in giving- perhaps a timely reminder of a permanent truth, very relevant to the present acquisitive society. Give India had put forth a variety of ideas from which NGOs could pick up items suitable to them .They had also suggested a number of practica steps. Adarsh picked up a few ideas out of these.

I. We arranged 2 dinner parties at 2 well known hotels in Ernakulam , the first one on 27/09/09 at The Mercy  for about 300 people. Apart from a detailed presentation , generally ,on the problems faced by parents and NGOs working in the field of Disability in children and in particular about Adarsh , to make the programme lively, we had arranged the presence of Shri. Gopinath Muthukad, a reputed magician and his colleague Shri Chandrasenan Nair. Shri Gopinath , in a brief speech explained how everybody can GIVE , irrespective of his or  her status or worldly possessions. The example he gave of a firefly undertaking to illumine the world when the Sun had set and the stars , moon and other planets could do nothing much, touched the hearts of the audience .They also presented a  few items which were highly appreciated by all, young and old alike.

The second dinner was at Abad Plaza, an even better known hotel for 250 people. At this dinner, Shri. G.Venugopal , a famous play back singer was the chief guest. In addition to a few songs, he gave a brief but moving speech on facing problems in life with courage. The audience were further entertained by Ms.Remya Nambeesan, a young Malayalam film actress and Kalabhavan Jinto & his team of mimicry artistes. At both these dinners, we had given to all the guests a leaflet explaining the activities of Adarsh in the special school but also in the community. The participation would have been even more but for certain factors like Pooja Celebrations, bank accounts closing etc. At both these dinners, as elite clientele were present, we feel that we have been able to widen our group of "Friends of Adarsh", a group which has been helping us in many ways.

Yet another well known hotel in Ernakulam, Sarovaram has agreed to donate a portion of their collections during a whole month, starting sometime soon.

II. Shenoys, a cinema theatre in the city contributed a portion of their earnings, on one day. In addition, they arranged a free show for the children of Adarsh, their parents and teachers on Gandhi Jayanti day.

III. 2 mobile phone communication companies were contacted-Idea Cellular and Tata Indicom . Tata Indicom arranged for auction of 2 paintings of Anjan Satish, a former student of ours and now a teacher with us and donated the earnings to us. Also, greetings cards based on his paintings have been purchased by them for sale to their employees.

On the whole, organizing these programmes has been a rich (pun not intended) and rewarding experience. We are now confident that the experience gained and the new contacts established will stand us in good stead. In fact, from the people who attended the dinners, we have already received offers for sponsoring education of 3 children.