Support children. Volunteer for online fundraising
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just
have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew. Rightly so, it is the willingness and
compassion of volunteers that allows them to selflessly contribute their time
and skills to support NGOs.
The impact of such humane pool of supporters is so significant that it not only creates awareness about an NGO but also aids in receiving the much-needed funds. Hence, as an acknowledgement and encouragement, all NGOs across the globe provides a special platform for volunteer opportunities.
In line with this, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a mid-day meal NGO in India also provides ample opportunities for supporters to get involved with its cause. Akshaya Patra is one of the oldest mid-day meal NGOs in India providing nutritious and wholesome school meals to more than 17.6-lakh children in 15,024 government schools located across 12 states.
It has been recognised as the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme and is the first NGO to be inducted in ICAI’s Hall of Fame for excellence in financial reporting. Each day for the past 18 years, the Foundation has been striving towards its vision of ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’. And, during this journey thousands of supporters have extended their helping hand as volunteers and donors.
The many
ways one can engage with this NGO are:
Volunteering
Campaigning for onlinefundraising
Promoting Akshaya Patra in your social media network
The Mid-Day Meal Programme has been a potential gamechanger in promoting health and education among children from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds. For many children, this is the only plateful of meal they receive during the entire day. This meal has also proved to be an incentive for parents to end their children to school instead of sending them to work.
On the whole, Mid-Day Meal
has significantly contributed in:
Increasing enrolment of children;
Regularising school attendance;
Decreasing drop-out rate;
Improving health of children; and
Improving level of concentration and performance in academics and other school activities.
By conducting an online fundraising campaign, you introduce Akshaya Patra’s cause in your network
of people and garner their support. This step from you transforms the lives of
hundreds of children who are deserving and resolute and all they need is a
little care and help.
Act now. Be
the next changemaker by campaigning to support the future flagbearers of the nation!
Akshaya Patra conferred with the Gandhi
Peace Prize
The
Foundation was bestowed with the prestigious honour for providing mid-day meals
to children across the country
The prestigious Gandhi
Peace Prize for the year 2016 was conferred upon The Akshaya Patra Foundation
for its contribution towards the socio-economic development of India by
providing mid-day meals to millions of children across the country. A cash
prize and citation were presented to Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman – The
Akshaya Patra Foundation, jointly by the Honourable President of India, Shri
Ram Nath Kovind, and the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi
at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 26th February, 2019.
Also present at the
ceremony were Minister of State for Culture, Dr. Mahesh Sharma; Member of
Parliament, Shri LK Advani; and other dignitaries.
Instituted by the
Government in 1995 during the commemoration of the 125th birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi, the annual award is conferred on individuals and institutions
for their outstanding contributions towards social, economic and political
transformation while adhering to the ideals of the Mahatma.
On 16th
January, 2019, the winners of the award for the last four years were announced.
The jury comprising of Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi; Chief
Justice of India, Shri Ranjan Gogoi; Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt Sumitra Mahajan;
Leader of the INC in Lok Sabha, Shri Mallikarjuna Kharge; and Member of
Parliament, Shri LK Advani unanimously selected Akshaya Patra for its
outstanding contribution in the social sector.
On winning the award, Shri
Madhu Pandit Dasa said, “It is a matter of exceptional pride and honour for
Akshaya Patra to be selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize. With the vision ‘No child should be deprived of education
because of hunger,’ we have been serving fresh, nutritious meals to
children in Government schools since 2000.” The Foundation has been striving to
address hunger and malnutrition in India and incentivise education by
implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools
across 12 states.
In his address, President
Shri Ramnath Kovind lauded Akshaya Patra’s efforts in feeding children with
nutritious mid-day meals on a large scale. He said “By leveraging technology to
feed children a quality and hygienic meal, Akshaya Patra has set world-class standards.
Through its efforts the Foundation is reaching out to nearly 18 Lakh children
in 12 States across the country. I have been told that Akshaya Patra, through
its endeavour, is also contributing towards the two UN Sustainable Development
Goals of Zero Hunger and Quality Education.”
Addressing the gathering,
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said "Akshaya Patra has given the
Government's initiative to provide mid-day meals to children a professional
touch through a successful Public-Private Partnership with the Government. I
recently had the opportunity to serve Akshaya
Patra's three billionth meal in Vrindavan.” He also said “If children are
healthy, then India will be healthy.”
At the event commemorating
the Foundation’s milestone, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had appreciated
Akshaya Patra efforts. He said “Akshaya Patra has been bestowed the Gandhi
Peace Prize for providing mid-day meals to lakhs of children. Besides that, Shri
Madhu Pandit Dasa was honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award. My
heartiest congratulations to all of you for these honours.” The Prime Minister
concluded saying, “I congratulate you for your remarkable achievements and wish
that you will continue with the same attitude of service and dedication.”
In winning the Gandhi
Peace Prize, Akshaya Patra joins the esteemed company of selfless individuals
and organisations from across the world, such as the former President of South
Africa, Nelson Mandela; South African activist, Desmond Tutu; social worker,
Baba Amte; and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt (renowned for the Chipko
Movement), as well as notable institutions, such as the country’s premier space
agency, ISRO; and the microfinance organisation from Bangladesh, Grameen Bank.
Thanking the Government for
their continued support to the Foundation, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa said “We are
thankful to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of
India, and all the State Governments for providing us this opportunity to serve
children.”He thanked the Government of
India and all the respected jury members for recognizing Akshaya Patra’s
efforts to support the education of children in Government and Government-aided
schools every school day.
On the occasion, Shri
Madhu Pandit Dasa reiterating the commitment to address classroom hunger in the
country, said, “I feel blessed, humbled and honoured to be a part of this alliance
that reaches out to over 1.76 million children with quality, nutritious, and
tasty mid-day meals, thus providing them an incentive to come to school. It is
the collective effort of all our stakeholders, that has made this possible.”
He also congratulated Sulabh
International, Ekal Abhiyan Trust, Vivekananda Kendra and Mr. Yohei Sasakawa for
being bestowed the award at this event.
Akshaya Patra is a
not-for-profit organisation, which strives to address classroom hunger and
bring children to school by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government
and Government-aided schools. Since 2000, the Foundation has worked towards
reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day. The
Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of
children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and
attract curious visitors from around the world.
In partnership with the
Government of India and various State Governments, and the inestimable
support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown
from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools.
Today, Akshaya Patra’s Mid-Day Meal Programme is the world’s largest
(not-for-profit run) school lunch programme, serving wholesome food to over
1.76 million children from 14,702 schools across 12 states in India.
