The ‘Joy of Giving Week’ (JGW) 2011 was launched at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel here on July 11. The festival will be held from October 2 to 8 to mark Gandhi Jayanti, the organisers said.
The event was launched by Marriott general manager Karan Berry, The Down Syndrome Association of Tamil Nadu president Rekha Ramachandran, Isha Homes MD Suresh Krishn and founder-director of NGO Goonj, Anshu Gupta.
“The idea was to create a platform where people can celebrate giving in any form or fashion they choose,” said JGW organiser Aarti Madhusudan. “Each event is owned by the person who conceives it,” she said.
Berry said, “We run a school for 200 children of leprosy-affected parents called ‘Marriott Home' in Chengalpattu. Every month, the employees of the company go there and spend time with the children.”
“It should be called the joy of sharing and caring week,” said Rekha Ramachandran. “This year, we plan to take our activities to Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur and Erode. We will invite 1,000 intellectually challenged children from each place and conduct games, music and dance events,” she said.
Suresh Krishn said, “This year, we will adopt five Chennai schools. We will clean the premises, paint the buildings and repair the compound walls and the toilets. We also plan to organise an eye camp and provide career guidance and leadership training programmes,” he said.
Anshu Gupta said a large collection drive will be organised across cities and towns during the week.
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