Sunday Musings - Contribution to Society

 More than a decade back, I was part of a volunteer group in Dubai where we could participate in various social events and contribute our time and effort to them.

I got an opportunity to volunteer in a food box packing activity during Ramadan in Dubai. It was a huge space where more than 200 people were involved in packing more than 200 boxes with food and daily-use hygiene items - almost 20 items in each box. We did the packing overnight and early morning, these were loaded in truck and some of us volunteers went and distributed these in labor camps.

Donating or contributing to society was not new for me. I had seen my grandfather and then my father donate money for people, animal welfare, temples and several social causes since childhood. BUT, I had not done this myself. This event triggered the 'giving' in me.

I started donating when I got a chance. I discovered an orphanage for girls in Andheri, Mumbai where I chose to sponsor a child's education for a year. Felt pretty happy doing that year after year.

A few years ago I came across 2 initiatives that donate food at different scales ... and I started donating to them.

The '1 Billion Meals Endowment' campaign reflects the vision of His Highness HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It is an ambitious campaign to serve meals to the underprivileged on a massive scale.

The other one is the Food Box Foundation in India led by Sudhir Singh. The foundation was started in Feb 2021, amidst COVID-19, when the impacts of hunger were at their peak. Food Box Foundation focused on distributing nutritious food to the poor needy along with clothes and necessities support across the country. They are also educating 50+ underprivileged kids through their #educate initiative in Prayagraj, India.

While I donate to 1 Billion Meals once a year; with Food Box, I have a different approach; I donate 2000 INR every time I sign up a coaching client. And if I manage to sign-up 5 coaching clients within a span of 1-2 months in a single batch; I will double the donations :) <20K instead of 10K INR>.

In fact, the 1 Billion Meals inspired me to conceptualize the idea of the #BillionSmiles - an initiative to remind/inspire people to spread smiles around them with simple and small acts of kindness and gestures.

More recently, I came across a lady in Ajman, UAE who runs a kitchen providing food to the labor at just 3 AED - probably the cheapest I have seen in UAE. During Ramadan, she is also accepting donations to distribute 8000 gift meals on daily basis.

Today's post is a gentle reminder to all. Find your way to contribute to the society. There are thousands of initiatives and organizations in need of funds and also your time and effort. Find a way to contribute and do it.

For those interested to read more about the initiatives described above; here are the links.

Food Box Foundation in Prayagraj, India - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7172470439993131008/

Food ATM in Ajman, UAE - Iftar meals in AED 3 - https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Kg3RdI-JB/

1 Billion Meals Endowment by Dubai Ruler - https://www.1billionmeals.ae/en/

Find a cause you identify with and find your way to contribute to society.

#CoachHemant #GrowthMindset #ContributionToSociety