Finding time for a cause

Valuable contribution

Charity is a word that most people only remember during the last quarter of the fiscal year, when they are filing their taxes.

And for many, the work ends with writing a cheque in the name of an organisation. But more than money, what many organisations today look for is people, who would be willing to give them time, which is valuable.

Metrolife talks to people in the City who work full time but still make it a point to dedicate themselves to the cause they strongly believe in.

Many people often find themselves inclined towards working with children since they are the most vulnerable segment of the society.

“I wanted to work with children and thus started volunteering with CRY,” says Mudit, who works at Delphi Autmotives.

Mudit chose to join the public action group to improve the condition of the anganwadis in the City.

 “The work involves conducting activities for children and getting proper infrastructure like electricity and building for these centres. We also work on nutrition and education issues faced by the children,” he says.

Another department in which the expertise of the volunteers is often required is administrative work.

 “We find out about the various government schemes that are available for these centres so that the children can get their basic rights,” says Ram Appikatla, a professional at iGATE, who volunteers at an anganwadi in Koramangala. 

Devoting time is valuable because people can use their skills to help where money can’t. Gagan Achar, who works at Akamai Technologies, devotes his time to teaching English to underprivileged kids.

“I was always inclined towards social causes and started volunteering with an organisation called Swagath Education and Community Action,” he says.

“Other than English, we also teach Science and Maths to the older kids and do a lot of community work in the area,” he says.

Kanishka Lahiri, a professional at Advanced Micro Devices, says that his passion to conserve and protect the ecology of Bangalore made him join the group HasiruUsiru.
“We conduct door-to-door campaigns, write articles to protect the City’s trees and lakes,” he says.

But with a full-time job in hand, volunteering is definitely not a cakewalk.
 “While many people like to be associated with volunteering work for various reasons, only a few are able to sustain it because most people are unable to take out time every week,” says Ram Appikatla.

Today, time is a prized commodity but these volunteers make it a point to devote time to what they believe in.

“We have a strict timetable. Though it is difficult, I make it a point to find time every week,” says Gagan.