When one surfs the internet he finds a number of charitable trusts in India alone. Of the many trusts some are involved in providing mid-day meal in India. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a charitable trust in India implementing the mid-day meal programme. This charitable trust in India has been functional since June 2000. In its journey of 14 years, it has served mid-day meal to 1.4 million children across more than 10, 600 Government schools in India. Akshaya Patra is present in 23 locations across states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
This charitable trust in India functions in Public-Private Partnership model. It receives grants and subsidies from the Central Government and various State Governments. The Foundation is also eligible to raise funds in the form of donations to sustain and expand the programme in other locations of India. Apart from the primary cause of providing mid-day meal in India, this charitable trust in India is also engaged in other initiatives as mentioned below:
Other feeding initiatives of Akshaya Patra:
a) Anganwadi feeding
b) Feeding expecting and lactating mothers
c) Feeding in special schools
d) Subsidised lunch for the economically backward
e) Feeding runaway children
f) Feeding in old-age homes
g) Feeding the homeless
h) Disaster relief
Social initiatives of Akshaya Patra:
a) After-class tuitions
b) Life skills programme
c) Community health camps
d) Scholarship programmes
e) Health check-up camps
In order to evaluate the progress of the mid-day meal programme in impacting the lives of the underserved children, Akshaya Patra has conducted many impact studies. The summary of the studies can be availed at Impact Study. These studies evaluated the extent to which this charitable trust in India has been successful in achieving the six main objectives of the Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme as mentioned below:
o Eliminating classroom hunger
o Increasing school enrolment
o Increasing school attendance
o Improving socialisation among communities
o Addressing malnutrition, and
o Women empowerment
Everyone has their own reason to donate to charity in India or elsewhere. The reasons mainly depend upon the individual's interest and potential of a particular cause. Over time, NGOs have evolved many innovative ideas of fundraising. Fundraise with us and Fundraising ideas are two sections of Akshaya Patra that will provide a list of interesting activities that can be done to raise donations while creating awareness about the cause. In present times, one can choose either offline or online medium to donate to charity in India. Apart from choosing to donate to charity in India, one can also choose to contribute to the mid-day meal programme in India through their time and skill, i.e. through volunteering. Get involved will provide various volunteering options to choose from for the benefit of the children. Read millions of heart warming tales of the young beneficiaries at Stories of hope. Their stories may be different but what's common is the determination to achieve their dreams.
Support a dream today!
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