Everyone loves gifts: be it the ones that surprise you, or the birthday kind, or the miss-you kind, or just the little everyday kind. But do you know who might just appreciate them a little more? The animals sheltered at Blue Cross of India.
The folks at Blue Cross — with the help of a couple of volunteers — have set up an Amazon wishlist, with a string of products they need.
Says Madhavi Kochar, a spokesperson for Amazon India, “We started talking to NGOs, and learnt that people donate unwanted things without realising it. The things actually needed, are not what people donate.”
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Looking back
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The website used this feedback proactively for years before Blue Cross came into the picture. “Amazon Cares launched a program called Gift A Smile in 2014. We have NGOs partner with us and, as per the areas they work in, they give a wishlist of products that they want. For example, there are some NGOs that work with children in schools. Or Make A Wish Foundation which is a part of this programme. That wishlist gets uploaded on the website and customers who log in can buy those products and gift it. So the wish list is basically actual products that are needed, and can be gifted through our platform,” says Kochar.
Blue Cross of India isn’t a part of Amazon’s Gift A Smile programme, but they have made ample use of the site’s wishlist option to do essentially what the programme does. It is one of the few animal care wishlists on the site.
Day-to-day essentials like mounter fans, food bowls and feeder bottles are what they’re seeking to get arranged for the animals. Dr Siva Ramanujan, chief veterinary doctor at the Blue Cross of India, Chennai, says, “This is a volunteer-driven organisation and we are running things based on donations. So, we made this list for people who are willing to buy the items and send them to us. The volunteers and a member of the managing committee put it together, with my consultation.”
Their needs keep changing, depending on the cases they have in hand. For instance, says Ramanujan, “Recently, we received abandoned pedigree dogs that were used to being well cared-for. The dogs sometimes have a terminal illness, and families that can’t afford to look after them leave them on the streets. We have almost fifty such dogs. They love to socialise, and are used to collars and leashes. Whenever we approach them with one, they run to us and are ready to go on their daily walks. But we don’t have enough collars or leashes to aid volunteers who take them on walks.” Even something that simple can help abandoned animals feel a sense of familiarity.
Oh so generous
The initiative has just begun taking baby steps, but has already managed to attract gifters. Ramanujan says, “The wishlist was set up ten days ago. We have got six wall-mounted fans, one power washer for the kennels, plastic baskets to keep the food, and grooming items.”
The wall-mounted fans are a particular blessing, because just like us, these animals struggle to beat the heat too. “You know how the season is very harsh now. We have started fixing the fans in kennels for proper ventilation. The pets feet comfortable now,” says Ramanujan.
But there’s still a lot of essentials the non-profit can do with. To make one of your furry friends’ day get on to http://amzn.in/bbWHWcK, order any useful gift of your liking, and send it over.