‘Sahyog: A donation campaign to help the underprivileged’

The Rotaract Club at Apeejay Stya University recently organised a cloth donation drive – Sahyog — in collaboration with Goonj. The donation aimed to help the underprivileged from developing frostbite in this bitter cold when the temperatures drop to less than 6 degrees C at night. Another underlying motive behind this campaign was not only to help the environment but also to support other causes like helping the underprivileged, recycling and more.

The drive was organised from November 20 to December 13, 2023. A large number of students as well as the faculty at the university participated and donated their woollen clothes. Giving clothes to charity during winter is considered to be an act of good deed. As the saying goes — Donating clothes is one of the biggest sources of funds raised by charities. Apeejay Stya University (ASU) abided by the same and collected donated woollens over the next three weeks.

During the ‘community hour’at ASU, students embraced the spirit of kindness. Recognising the challenges of gathering funds for donations, they chose to focus on the essence of charity, uniting around the concept of donating clothes instead. Big boxes were kept in the hostels where students came and donated their clothes. The criteria were that while donating, every individual must click the photograph and upload it on the Google Drive link. The students were also asked to put in the slips of their name with the department and enrollment number inside the donation package. They were also asked to sign and fill up the attendance sheet with the necessary details followed by encouraging their peers to participate in the same.

This small act of kindness brought warmth and joy to someone’s life. The club accepted all kinds of clothes — torn or otherwise. Clothes in god clothes in good condition were donated directly while those not in pristine condition will be refurbished into rugs. The event was highly successful as more than 20 kg of clothes were donated; these were donated to different centres of Goonj in Delhi-NCR including Gurugram.

The entire event was led by a team that worked tirelessly to make it successful. Rtr Kalash Dang, Director of Community Services (Chairperson), Rtr Chandrajeet Dhara (Co-chairperson), Rtr Keshvi Priya Sinha (Media Head), Rtr Kajal Shukla (Public Relations Officer), Rtr Vibhuti Verma (President), university faculty,  and other students were also a part of this team.

While some people may believe that donating clothes is not a big gesture when you look at the bigger picture, you see the thousands of smiles that your discarded clothes have brought to those in need — be it people who are victims of a natural disaster of the underprivileged who can’t afford to buy warm clothes to keep the biting cold away.

Remember, be compassionate by sharing a slice of your life with those who need it the most.