The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.
Neil Gaiman
Real and long-lasting change can only be ushered in when all of us come together to make it possible. Inclination towards social responsibility and contribution to sustainable development is fast becoming the mark of distinction for leading corporate and top brands.
The Joy of Giving Festival is a popular world-wide concept which encourages the culture of giving among individuals and institutions alike – it is a great opportunity for you to show your social commitment, while also engaging your employees in a constructive and enjoyable way. They become the heroes, by contributing and actively participating to bring change in the lives of less privileged girl children, while your organisation stands strong spearheading the campaign.
62% of the total 17.7 million children out of school are girls. 4.5 million girl children in India are involved in some kind of child labor. Only education can free them from the endless cycle of poverty and suffering. When you celebrate the Joy of Giving with Smile Foundation, you help nurture many little dreams by supporting the education of girl children.
Not just consumers, but even employees are looking for that something extra from their organization. Being socially aware and sensitive gives a soft edge to corporate in a highly competitive and cutting edge environment. When you celebrate the Joy of Giving with Smile Foundation, you and your employees become partners in bringing positive change.
Employees are at the centre of the Joy of Giving celebrations and their contribution will go towards supporting the critical costs of a girl child’s education. When you celebrate the Joy of Giving with Smile Foundation, we make sure every contribution made is utilized effectively.
Smile Foundation is an NGO in India directly benefitting over 600,000 children and their families every year, through more than 250 live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, in over 950 remote villages and slums across 25 states of India. Since its very inception, Smile Foundation has successfully partnered with corporate to achieve its objective of enabling sustainable change at the grassroots. Rather than just channelize resources from a corporate, efforts are made to actively engage the corporate organisation, the brand and its employees in the welfare initiatives of Smile Foundation. More than 350 world brands have joined hands with Smile Foundation in our journey of change so far.
Grant Thronton employees from Bangalore spread smiles during Joy of Giving week
Grant Thronton employees from Delhi interact with children from ME centres
Grant Thronton employees from Mumbai spend time with kids from Smile Foundation
Grant Thronton Gurgaon employees celebrate Joy of Giving with kids from Smile Foundation
Sanofi celebrates Joy of Giving with Smile Foundation
Aditi, Mumbai
'Maa says books are your best friend. They won’t leave you. Even though my mother cannot read or write, she always encourages me to learn and study. She is a vegetable seller. She has a small cart. I can name most of the vegetables in English. In the night she tells me fascinating stories about brave and powerful women. When I grow up, I want be like one of the women from those stories.'
Aditi studies in Grade 4 in Mission Education centre in Mumbai. Aditi's mother encourages her to study hard. Now Aditi is a very happy kid. She is a good student and excels in everything she does.
Laxmi, Odisha
'My father died two years after my birth. We live in a very remote village. For several days we had nothing to eat. My mother then started working in a construction site. I grew up seeing her never giving up on her struggles, and on me. My mother has always inspired me to study. She says, ‘only education can bring light in our dark lives.’ I have noticed the happiness on her face when she sees me dressed up in my school uniform every morning. I want to study hard, so that she never loses her smile again.'
Laxmi studies at Smile Foundation's Mission Education centre in Bolangir district, Odisha. Her mother is happy that her daughter is getting a good education and will not have to suffer like she did without an education. Laxmi wants to grow up to be a teacher.
Krishna, Assam
"I want to live with my father, I'll study hard and become a teacher and live with him when I grow up."
Little Krishna misses her father who lives away from her. Her mother passed away when she was very young. Since her father could not single handedly take care of her, Krishna stays in an orphanage and studies in one of the Mission Education centers of Smile Foundation in Guwahati. She has made new friends and is doing well in her studies but she’s a lonely child who misses her father and her home. She hopes to study well and be successful and support her father so that they don’t have to be separated again.
Mansi, Delhi
"I come to school everyday because my parents struggle really hard. I want to make them proud."
Little Mansi is all excited to come to school every morning. Mansi comes from a family of agricultural workers who migrated to the city in search of an occupation, her parents had to turn to daily wage earning as an occupation. When her father discovered a Mission Education center near their home he immediately got her enrolled because he wanted Mansi to get an education. Now Mansi has access to both education and a proper nutritious meal everyday through the nutrition programme run at the ME center. She is now a happy and content soul and her parents are happy that armed with education, Mansi now has a great future lying ahead of her!
