iVolunteer: Helping those interested in serving society

Finding a place to volunteer is a difficult task for many dogooders A visit to the villages of India during a rural internship project lead then MBA students Shalabh Sahai and Rahul Nainwal to start iVolunteer The NonGovernmental Organisation or NGOvolunteer connection programme started in 2001 and has been organising awards for volunteers and NGOs for the last three yearsCofounder Shalabh Sahai says ldquoWe started with the premise that there are a large number of NGOs in Mumbai as well as India and that connectivity to these is difficult for the common person who wants to volunteer At the time we started iVolunteer was purely online The digital revolution in India had just started Rahul and I were studying in Pune so we started everything from a small hostel roomrdquoSPREADING SMILES Pravin Tulpule r entertains a child while in clown avatar The concept helped Information Technology IT professional Niraj Ramjiyani to volunteer with Toybank an NGO that works with children He says ldquoAn urge to give back to society to spread smiles and share happiness inspired me to spend my free time volunteering Childrenrsquos shelters hospital wards old age homes and similar places afforded enough opportunities to volunteer But the work Toybank was doing touched my heartrdquoHELP ABROAD Rahul Nainwal at an NGO in Sierra Leone AfricaRewardingldquoThe experience has been extremely satisfying and rewarding apart from sensitising my mind to the issues of those less fortunate The NGOrsquos lsquoClick for a Causersquo Contest is my brainchild The best pictures will be featured in the 2016 Toybank annual calendar The contest is part of marketing and fund raising for Toybank I worked on formalising the contest promoting it on social media in schools colleges and residential areas getting participation getting the entries judged by the panel announcing and awarding the winnersrdquo says RamjiyaniSERVICE The team of Bhumi after a workshop for street kidsUsing the skills he has for social good has been bliss for the 32yearold He says ldquoI am really grateful to iVolunteer for helping me to help others Volunteering is much simpler and one can choose the cause that he or she wants with ease rather than search for an NGO oneself which is time consuming and often a tiresome affairrdquoPravin Tulpule a retired officer from the Indian Navy is now a professional clown also working for Toybank He says ldquoI like to consider myself a professional clown and magical lsquoEdutainerrsquo who spreads laughter joy and happiness all around me My clown persona is lsquoHappy Toybankerrsquo and I visit slums childrenrsquos shelters anganwadis orphanages etc to spread smiles Clowning helps break barriers and connect easily with childrenrdquoLEAD THE WAY Niraj Ramjiyani c with his NGOSmilesHappy or Tulpule has participated in various marathons walkathons and events to showcase causes He says ldquoI teach children about cleanliness road and fire safety through clown acts I also spread antitobacco messages Personal hygiene and clean habits as well as highlight the evils and illeffects of gutka so the children can tell their parents and those around I also try to encourage blood donation and organ pledgingrdquoWITH THE KIDS Ratish Ramachandran r with the children he serves in his NGOTulpule also volunteers with SPROUTS an NGO that spreads awareness about the environment antilittering pollution water conservation rainwater harvesting among other things Between 2012 to 2014 his clown avatar Happy has visited 400 schools in and around Mumbai to conduct the lsquoGo Greenrsquo Clown ActsShalabh Sahai He says ldquoI try to spread messages on serious issues with humour This works very well for adults and children Making others happy gives me immense joy and satisfaction and so I volunteer with two NGOs and work with many organisations to help as many people as I can and make this world a better placerdquoLR Kannupriya Sethi and Sandip G PatilBachelor of Business Administration BBA student Kannupriya Sethi also has similar wishes The Bhumi an NGO that works with youth education and environment volunteer says ldquoInitially when you join you donrsquot know how things will work out You join for a purpose Mine was to impact lives positively in any way I can So I started with it The smiles on the faces of kids when I meet and work with them inspires me to give morerdquoWorkSethi says ldquoUnder the guidance of Rajashri Sai one of the Bhumi coordinators I approached orphanages in Mumbai in July last year when Bhumi in Mumbai particularly was weak and had no significant presence Centres were identified and after contacting at least 35 centres we found a centre where we presently teach Maths and Computers atrdquoWorking from scratch has helped the 19yearold grow as a person She says ldquoI was looking for an education related NGO where I could volunteer There were big NGOs that were options but I wanted to work for an organisation which was growing and struggling The good part about Bhumi is they accept you as their family member make you feel at ease and the entire team is amazingly enthusiasticrdquoCivil engineer Ratish Ramachandran is a football enthusiast and he has been using his love for the beautiful game to give to others The 24yearold says ldquoI work with Vision Rescue an NGO that seeks to transform the lives of underprivileged children through sport I work with kids in Shivaji Nagar slum and take regular football coaching sessions for them Sport teaches you a lot of life skills such as hard work leadership team spirit the right competitive attitude taking a loss positively Most importantly it keeps one fit and healthy which is a necessity for underprivileged children who do not have proper access to foodrdquoPlayThere are two sessions every week mdash on Wednesday and Saturday at 7 am The slum has an open ground next to it which is used as a practice ground Ramachandran says ldquoInitially there were 10 kids this increased to almost 25 kids in a few more sessions as the children really enjoyed football as a sport and were very excited to learn The process of teaching is better when the students also have an equal passionrdquoExplaining how he learnt about iVolunteer Ramachandran says I came to know about iVolunteer through my workplace I have always believed that giving back to society is very essential Volunteering gives me peace of mind and satisfactionrdquoThrough iVolunteer Sandip G Patil is helping 30 NGOs in Mumbai and Thane with his IT skills He donated an app he created to Sankalp Foundation which works in the field of education The app helps students earn and learnHe says ldquoI also counsel students when it comes to personal issues as well as their careers and conduct confidence building sessions too I help NGOs to make new websites and create awareness campaigns for students I also help with book distribution and free seminarsrdquoIdeaWhen Sahai and Nainwal started iVolunteer many NGOs were unaware of going online and the power of the web so getting people onboard was tough ldquoIn 2003 we started iVolunteer in Mumbai and at that time there was a big mismatch between volunteers and NGOs There was a lot of on field work that was done to convince NGOs to seek volunteers onlinerdquo says SahaiBut today iVolunteer has more than 300 NGOs across India whom they help to get volunteers into ldquoWe also partner with international NGOs and help volunteers go to Asia Africa and South America to help the less fortunate there The volunteers and NGOs are not charged we have various corporate partnerships that fund iVolunteerrdquo says SahaiThe Mumbai resident adds ldquoMany corporate companies look for employees who are socially aware The exposure that volunteering gives is very positive and helps in business management We started a white board initiative which is a programme that helps volunteers guide NGO boards and deal with challenges These comprise senior professionals homemakers senior citizens and others Volunteering opens many avenues for those involved in itrdquoiVolunteer and associated causesgtgt EducationgtgtPoverty AlleviationgtgtEnvironmentgtgtHealthgtgtHIVAIDSgtgtGender EqualitygtgtHuman RightsgtgtDisabilitygtgtYouth WelfaregtgtElderly People WelfaregtgtChild WelfaregtgtActive Citizenship