JoyFest
JOYFEST is a nationwide movement aimed at spending time with the underprivileged andraising funds for them. The “Joy of Giving Week” was held last year from September 26 to October 2 during which the occasion of ‘Gandhi Jayanthi’ falls. This is the first time such a major event was being held all over the country. JOYFEST brings together the youth of Indiaas a part of the Joy of Giving Week. The Joy of Giving Week has been conceptualized by GiveIndia, an NGO, India’s largest philanthropy exchange, in order to bring together, people from all walks of life to help the poor and the underprivileged. Mainly, it involves the aspects of giving to the less fortunate and sharing a part of our lives with them. It is a ‘festival of philanthropy’ to show our concern to the lesser privileged lot.
Joyfest was observed by 300 colleges, youth clubs and rotract clubs throughout India. The colleges could participate in Joyfest by donating books, clothes, stationery, bicycles, shoes, toys etc. They could also invite the underprivileged to their institution to sing, dance and playwith them.
The Social Endeavour Group of TAPMI believes that the youth of India should take the initiative to sensitize people on the issues/problems faced by the underprivileged. The basic idea was to involve the management students of TAPMI in teaching orphan children dance,music, arts and craft in campus and finally organize an event showcasing their talent on Oct2, 2010.
The Social Endeavour Group worked in close association with the cultural committees such as ChoreoCom, MusicCom and Arts Committee. A total of 21 volunteers had shown interest in teaching the children dance, music, arts and craft. The volunteers were divided into three groups, 4 for singing, 7 for painting and 10 for dancing.
After getting consent from Balniketan for bringing the children to TAPMI campus, two buses were arranged for the transportation of the forty children and two of their representatives through TAPMI administration and Mr. Nayak. Snacks and a milk drink were arranged for the children and Balniketan representatives. Tea/Coffee and snacks was arranged for the volunteers.
The children from Shri Krishna Balniketan were brought to the campus and were taught painting, craft, dancing and singing by the volunteers. The children were brought in for 4 days starting from 27th September 2010 from 6 PM to 8 PM. The first day was spent in building a rapport and understanding the capabilities and the potential of the children. The enthusiasm displayed by the volunteers of TAPMI in teaching the children was commendable. The objective of spreading joy among the lesser privileged was served very well as the children showed great enthusiasm to learn dance, music and painting. Language didn’t seem to be a barrier as the children were able to emulate and follow the instructions via gestures. Further, there were some Kannada/ Tulu speaking volunteers who helped with the translation. By the end of the first day, a great bonding had been formed between the mentor and his/her wards and the kids ended the day with snacks and watching cartoons at TAPMI cafeteria. For the TAPMI students, this was another chance to relive their childhood as the children brought so much of vibrancy, freshness and happiness to TAPMI campus. After 4 days of practice, a final rehearsal with costumes and props was done on October 1st at theMIT auditorium.
The media release in newspapers such as The Hindu, Deccan Herald and on some websites and facebook was taken care of by TAPMI’s PR agency, K2 Communications and by the Media and Industry Relations Committee (MIRC) of TAPMI. Collection boxes for raising funds, was placed at 10 collection centres (mostly restaurants) in Manipal.The grand finale of ‘JoyFest Week 2010’ was held in the MIT Auditorium on 2nd October.The children from Shri Krishna Balniketan, who had brought so much life into the TAPMI campus the entire week, showcased their talent that day. The beautiful paintings, craft work and flowers made by the kids were displayed on the notice board outside the auditorium.
The event began with the Chief Guest, Mr. G. Shankar addressing the gathering, and thanking the students of TAPMI for taking their time out to enjoy the company of the kids. What followed was a fabulous display of talent and enthusiasm from the kids, each of whom were personally mentored by the students of TAPMI. Be it the scintillating dance performance by the children of Balniketan, or the awe-inspiring dances by the aurally challenged children or the music performance, managed to catch the attention of the spectators. The audience was completely moved by the performance of the orphan children and by the children from Vagjyoti School for deaf, dumb and mentally challenged.
The evening ended with Mr. G.Shankar donating Rs. 10000 to Sri Krishna Balniketan orphanage. Small gifts were also distributed to all the children who had participated and made the evening special for all of us, these gifts were sponsored by Shenoy Stores, TAPMI campus.
It was one day where we all sat down and thought about all the blessings that God has givenus, and how a small act of kindness can bring about a festival of joy and happiness to somany people who are deprived of it.