Charity and running!
There are 7 charities who have approached me for promoting their charities at the forthcoming Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon….and having helped one already, I can only offer to put their request onto a public platform.
I can assure you that the person who has sent me this is genuine and will HONESTLY use the money for the said cause….
So here it is…
Not done any editing except removing the name of the person who has sent me the letter…after all if the institution is getting a good name, excellent, right?
So here is one such appeal letter….
You may be aware that I am a volunteer for an NGO whose work and cause is one whose time has come! Here is why my NGO is unique and much needed in India today.
2014 is an important year for India, when the country will go to the polls, to elect a new government. From the recent elections in Delhi, we can see the yearning and desire for change and the readiness of Young India to step out and participate in the political process.
Yes, change is in the air, but many citizens remain unaware and are ill-equipped to understand and fulfill their role as active citizens of a democracy. We remain beset with deeply entrenched inequality, rising intolerance, violence of all hues and colours, rampant corruption and human rights violations, accompanied by severe environmental degradation.
My NGO seeks to address precisely issues of citizen apathy, low awareness and the lack of civic sense in our people. We need the support of people like you, in creating a generation of young, active citizens who secure their Rights and fulfill their responsibilities, who elect good governments and make those governments work for them!
Investing in the young Indian citizen is important for the future of Indian democracy.
Some quick facts on my NGO:
ü Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) is a 13 year old non-profit organisation.
ü CMCA is one among very few organizations in India focusing on strengthening citizenship and democracy values in children and youth, through ‘active citizenship’.
ü CMCA is present in 8 cities- Bangalore, Mumbai, Hubli-Dharwad, Nagpur, Mysore, Trivandrum, Hosur and Pune and in 21 schools in villages in Karnataka.
ü CMCA is present in more than 300 schools reaching out directly to about 16,000 young minds this year and through them their schoolmates, families and communities!
ü Over 300 volunteers contribute on a weekly basis to the programme!
Our students have filed RTI applications, complained to civic authorities, participated in clean-up drives, spread awareness on issues ranging from Right to Education to voting in elections. You can read more about our work on cmcaindia.org.
Your Support for Active Citizenship!
CMCA volunteers are running for the cause at The Mumbai Marathon of January 19, 2014. This is an opportunity for you to support ACTIVE CITIZENSHP and CMCA – an opportunity to be responsive to the urgent need for citizenship values in our nation.
Donations received by CMCA are used for the running of the civic club programme in schools, where it is run free of cost.
All donations raised through the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon are routed through the official charity partner – United Way of Mumbai.
Donating is quite simple. You can donate online through the following link created by our Trustee in Mumbai:
http://unitedwaymumbai.org/3029-vinodinilulla.htm
I have pledged to support my co-volunteers in Mumbai and have set a personal target of raising Rs. 30000/- through the Mumbai Marathon. So I count on you and your support, as always!
Thank you in advance.
Warm regards,
Donor n well wisher……
Ashutosh
Emails like this tick me off to no end. In the last one year, at least 30 times I have cringed after receiving such email. Two friends in particular were insistent through emails (twice a week, to nudge me to donate for their running), followed by emails.
My logic was like this: This person is spending at least 30 hour a month to train for this marathon for say 3 months. So a total of 90 hours of effort he put in. 90 hours is equal to 2.25 weeks of full time employment (@40 hours per week). If this person were to work at *minimum wage* of $8 per hour, he would have made 720 dollars for these 90 hours. He could donate *that* 720 dollars to his charity of choice, instead of wasting his time running, and being a buzzkill to all his friends. Notice that I am assuming minimum wage to be very very conservative. If the person is a contractor for a company charging $40 an hour for his work, he could work an extra hour in evening (instead of running in the field), and donate around 90*40 = $3600, instead of being a turd, pissing off his friends.
My aim of writing this rant, is to arm any interested reader, with how you can tackle an insistent, illogical friend who keeps bugging you to support his marathon run.