Random Thoughts

On going through the List of Registered Events at the Joy of Giving home page, one is struck by the fact that out of the 109 events listed so far, nearly 70 events look forward to raising funds for a cause. The ratio may change in the days to come and perhaps more volunteering opportunities present themselves. We do hope so, for while fund raising is important and essential to work towards an equitable society, by itself it is not enough to sustain it. To do this, one needs to commit oneself personally, give of one's time as it were. As committing our time is difficult for most of us, we donate funds or other resources. But even when we do so, we could take the extra effort to find out how the organisation is doing, whether the funds are being utilised for the purpose they were meant, does the organisation need help in planning the distribution of funds, more important is the organisation in a position to continue working towards its mission.

Advocacy and awareness campaigns, are other areas that could do with more help. They are important in themselves, for not only do they draw attention to a cause, but they are also pointers of larger inequities or of areas needing attention. It is heartening that at least 30% of the events registered so far are related to one of these twom activities.

One of the amazing aspects of the Joy of Giving Week, is the out of the box thinking shown by most participants. Whether it is an individual event like the 7 day 7 Gift Challenge ( www.7days7gifts.ning.com), or a NGO intitative undertaken by Akanksha Foundation, 'Be the Change Come Alive' (www.akanksha.org), or steps taken by a corporate to impact our environment and create awareness about our carbon footprints by 'Make My Trip', the dominant factor in all these is the ingenuity with which the aim is to be achieved.

All these initiatives truly bring back the 'Joy of Giving'. When we participate in the Joy of Giving Week, we can look forward to a week of fun and joy.