A memorial foundation has helped 23 Covid-affected families pay their hospital bills.
Varun Agarwal, 35, CEO of an edu-tech platform, and his mother Purnima Agarwal set up the Mayank Agarwal Memorial Foundation on May 1.
Mayank, Varun’s brother, died on April 26 of Covid-19. He was 29 years old and head of strategy and new products at Vedantu.
When the family went to immerse Mayank’s ashes, the priest told them the best way to remember him was to continue doing what he loved doing. “Mayank loved helping the underprivileged,” says Varun.
So Varun then formed a 20-member team of volunteers. He found that a Covid patient had to pay Rs 2.5 lakh to be admitted to a private hospital.
He looked for ways to raise funds. “Platforms like Ketto and Milaap worked,” he says.
He launched an Instagram campaign on May 15 and was able to raise Rs 5 lakh in 30 minutes.
“Our next campaign raised Rs 25 lakh in 24 hours. We kept the campaign running,” he explains.
In about 15 days, the team had raised about Rs 50 lakh. Varun says it has helped auto and bus drivers and electricians. The foundation has tied up with college student Shreyas Reddy on another project.
“He used to feed 300 people every day, and after our collaboration, we raised about Rs 3 lakh, and he will feed 1,500 people every day,” he says.
The team has distributed sanitary pads to last a year to 1,500 girls to 1,500 girls, in collaboration with Collective Consciousness, an NGO. Their next plan is to supply rations to auto drivers.
An engineering graduate from CMR Institute Of Technology, Varun offers free courses in public speaking and entrepreneurship.
For details: www.mayankforblore.com and mayankforblore on Instagram
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks