An Update

While this blog has been discussing the concept of the Joy of Giving Week and ‘giving’ in general, a lot of action is happening centering around the week. Sachin Tendulkar has been devoting a lot of his time, promoting the cause through various media. We are however unable to express the feelings his latest initiative has invoked in us. Sachin, has.committed himself to giving up a whole day, auctioning his time as it were, to the highest bidder, doing what he does best, playing cricket and coaching. The proceeds of this auction will go towards educating underprivileged children and what is more, he will also be doubling his contribution to the charity he supports. All we at the Joy of Giving Week team can do now is to ‘suspend our disbelief’ and rejoice for it is as if a thousand rainbows have descended down to earth.
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_sachin-s-auctioning-his-time-penny-pinchers-not-welcome_1284420

Tendulkar is not the only celebrity to commit himself to the cause. There are others as well, all of whom are strongly in favour of promoting the ‘giving culture’ in India, Azim Premji, film stars Madhavan and Surya in the South, to name just a few. What is heartwarming however is the number of anonymous Indians who have come forward on Facebook, through e-mails, on Orkut, to support the cause : the RJ who promised to air jingles promoting the cause during her show, the office boy at ivolunteer, who is a part of the 7 Day Challenge (check out www.joyofgivingweek.org for details), the college students who are taking it up in their colleges, the home-maker who wrote in asking how she could be of help, are all strong indicators of how deeply this idea has taken root in the mind of the Indian.

Whether the will to continue ‘giving’ after the campaign stops is not something we can predict but we can state with conviction, going by the enthusiastic response generated, that the Joy of Giving Week is an idea, ‘whose time has come’.