Though last year’s ‘Joy of Giving Week’ (JoG) ended on a fruitful note with much having been given away, the second edition that ended on Tuesday saw the giving become better and more meaningful.
If last year there were donations of old books, clothes, used things, and money, this year saw donations in the form of time, expertise, blood and pledging of organs.
The week only went to prove that if one gave whatever one could, it would only bring happiness. The giving that began on Gandhi Jayanthi had people from all walks of life exploring ways of contributing to a cause. Hosted by Rotary Coimbatore Central, ‘Aram Seyya Virumbu’, the flagship event of the JoG Week that brought together nearly 20 service organisations on October 5 and 6 to showcase their work, saw more than 4,000 people contributing to an organisation of their choice.
Organisation representatives were able to meet people at the stalls, talk about their work and also explain the areas where they needed help.
The sale of donation coupons brought in Rs. 1.50 lakh cash. This was over and above the individual donations that the organisations got from visitors to the stalls. There were people volunteering for social work, companies that were willing to employ candidates trained by an NGO, people who placed orders for greeting cards and diaries made by special children, psychiatrists willing to counsel, colleges offering free seats to needy students, hospital conducting free eye check up, and much more.
There were others too who celebrated the week in their own quiet way. Employees of Larsen & Toubro Limited, Coimbatore campus, used the Rs. 1.12 lakh they collected to provide the nearby Panchayat and Government schools with cooking and serving utensils to effectively implement the noon meal scheme.
While they had collected and given away used clothes, shoes, books and bags last year, students of GRD School of Commerce and International Business, and GRD Institute of Management went a step ahead this year to donate blood, saplings and pledge organs. While 60 students donated blood, 150 pledged organs.
The host, corporates and students, believe that the third edition would only be better and larger to give more opportunity to the people of Coimbatore to give what they could.
