Daan Utsav – the Joy of Giving Week – is India’s ‘festival of giving’. Launched in 2009, the festival is celebrated every year – commencing on Gandhi Jayanti – from October 2 to 8. From auto rickshaw drivers to CEOs, school children to celebrities, homemakers to opinion leaders and media personnel, millions of people from all walks of life come together during this week to give their time, money, resources, or skills back to society.
In 2016, Namma Bengaluru Foundation partnered with Daan Utsav to raise contributions for 5 past winners of the Namma Bengaluru Awards. They are:
Sankara Eye Hospital – Recipient of Namma Bengaluru Awards in 2009, Sankara Eye Foundation is a not-for-profit community eye care organization that works towards eradicating preventable and curable blindness from India. Working tirelessly for close to 4 decades now, the foundation’s core mission is to provide unmatched eye care through a strong service oriented team
Prarthana Kaul – Recipient of Namma Bengaluru Awards’ Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2015, Smt. Prarthana Unkalkar Kaul has changed the lives of countless differently-abled people. With her e-commerce platform – GiftAbled – Creating Inspiring Transforming – this former techie has already made a lasting impression on a number of people. Powering her vision to help the differently-abled, Prarthana has embarked on a journey to educate people with disabilities about various health issues. Communication being one of the biggest challenges of people with disabilities, especially people with hearing impairment, information flow in most cases is restricted. Calling it ‘Health Matters for People with Disability’, Prarthana and team hope to educate 500 deaf about various health issues and sensitize 10 hospitals across Karnataka.
Anirudh Dutt – Winner of Namma Bengaluru Awards’ Rising Star of the Year 2015, Shri Anirudh Dutt and his team at Let’s Be The Change have fixed several black spots in the city. While they don’t shy in working their brooms away and disposing garbage in an apt manner, this energetic bunch of youngsters also aim to educate citizens of Bengaluru to be responsible of their own garbage. So far, the team has fixed over 80 black spots across the city and now they are taking their effort to beautify areas in and around Majestic Bus Stand and Railway Station.
Kishore S Rao – Recipient of the Namma Bengaluru Awards’ Citizen Individual of the Year 2015, Shri Kishore S Rao’s trust Karunashraya welcomes advanced stage cancer patients with compassion to help them spend remaining days of their life in the idyllic surrounding of our hospice. To make lives of cancer patients pain-free and peaceful the trust is involved in a range of palliative care activities that include home care and inpatient care and also provide quality medical, emotional, spiritual and social support.
Solid Waste Management Round Table – Led by Namma Bengalurean of the Year 2015 – Shri NS Ramakanth, Bengaluru’s respected eco-warriors – the Solid Waste Management Round Table, Bangalore has helped several households manage waste effectively. And now taking their effort a step forward, SWMRT aims to impart knowledge of solid waste and its overall impact on society through their book named – TRASHONOMICS! The Earth as we know it, is changing and it is imperative that children, tomorrow’s citizens are able to revisit and rethink some of the flawed habits that brought us to the brink. Children are the best change makers and this book aims to empower them to lead the change by redefining the historical narrative on waste as something to be thrown away!
