Dashrath, a Class VIII student in Signal Shala, a makeshift school in Thane, carried his books to school in his hands, or at best a plastic bag. He badly wanted a schoolbag, but his parents, who had come to the city from Latur searching for work, sell flowers on the street and couldn’t afford one. At Share Street, he got himself a brown schoolbag with red borders, and is over the moon. “It was like a dream come true!”
Nisha Achary, a Thane resident who donated soft toys and dresses her children had outgrown, is moved by the experience. “It was overwhelming to see the expressions of the children, less than five years old, receiving these.” She now plans to volunteer in the next Share Street.
Share Street is a pop-up ‘market’ where underprivileged children like Dashrath (and adults too) can get themselves things they need. It is the brainchild of siblings Nishita and Shubham Agarwal. As kids themselves, they had been disturbed by the conditons construction labourers live in, and wanted to help. They saw that others were touched by the plight of these economic migrants too, and would try to help, giving them things. But, often, these donations were things the labourers already owned, or that they had no use for. “We felt that while it is essential to ensure that donations reach the right people, it is equally important that the recipients get what they actually need,” says Ms. Agarwal.
Ms. Agarwal, now 27, grew up, did an MBA from IIT Kharagpur, and joined a leading Indian multinational group, and her brother, now 23 and a chartered accountant, joined a start-up. But their childhood desire to make a difference stayed with them.
A platform for giving
In June this year, the Agarwals started Share Street as a transparent platform for donors and recipients. “We wanted to create a market environment,” Mr. Agarwal says, “One where recipients can choose what they need and want, and donors can see who is taking what they have given.”
The first and biggest hurdle was letting the world know they exist. Mr. Agarwal says, “It was easy to spread awareness among donors through WhatsApp, but the challenge was to communicate to the recipients.” Then, they had to ensure that the recipients were genuinely needy, so donors could know they were helping the right people. “We decided to conduct Share Street in a locality closer to the slums and a construction area,” he says. “We distributed pamphlets in regional languages and went there to talk about the initiative.”
Rather than give things away, Share Street simulates a shopping, but in a way recipients are comfortable with: a street market. So they needed NOCs from the municipality and police, which took time.
A week before they were ready to launch, eight volunteers (mostly students) began outreach to prospective donors on WhatsApp groups, with lists of what was needed. “We clearly mention the way in which items should be given,” says Shivani Verma, a volunteer. “Clothes, for instance, must be washed, ironed, folded and in good condition. We do not accept things which are torn.” Other articles accepted: bedsheets, footwear, utensils, toys, stationery for children.
A good start
The first Share Street, on June 4, 2017 at Panchpakhadi, Thane, saw around 300 donors give their goods away to a thousand or so recipients. Ravi Agarwal, another volunteer, says recipients were given fabric shopping bags, and while there were no restrictions on how many things one person could take, they were encouraged not to take more than a bagful each. “This is so there can be many beneficiaries,” Ms. Agarwal says.
Growing the market
Since the first one, Share Street has had 10 more pop-ups in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, with over 5,000 recipients for the goods, and more than 1,000 donors. They are usually held on Sundays, from 8 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
The Agarwals learnt, over the first few events, that managing the crowd was tougher than they had anticipated. To ensure numbers are in control, they now restrict their outreach to potential recipients to a small, predefined area. “We will soon be starting a coupon system,” Ms. Agarwal says, and they will also start asking for identity documents in advance.
Each Share Street costs around ₹4,000, for permissions and renting the stalls. “While there have been a few donations, so far, the initiative has been self-funded,” says Mr. Agarwal. The plan now is to get companies to see it as a a Corporate Social Responsibility activity to make it more sustainable. “We want to conduct a Share Street in every city to develop the culture of sharing,” she says. “Eventually, we want to set up a Share Store where the needy can shop for free. Our vision is to strike a balance between the haves and have nots.”
