Update and a Story

With less than two weeks to go for the Joy of Giving Week to begin, (it begins on 27th Sept.), there is more clarity amongst the registered participants. Individuals, corporates and NGOs will be a part of the week and the events they would be organising, cover a wide range of issues and areas : environment, education, health, animal rights, to name just a few. All of them are covering various aspects like, creating awareness, prevention, fund raising, call for donations . However, what is admirable is that a majority of the registered participants are not looking for resources. On the contrary, the participants are arranging for their own resources. At the time this is being written, there are a total of 103 events listed on the Joy of Giving Week homepage. It is inspiring that the registered participants come from not just the metros, but from even smaller places like Rajkot. Our message of giving has spread to many areas, and by the time the week begins, we hope all of India will be aware of the week and will work towards spreading joy. When the awareness campaign for the Joy of Giving Week, is telecast, we are sure that participation will increase.

For a complete list of events do visit the home page and see how you can contribute.If you have new ideas on giving, please do share them with us.

We at the Joy of Giving Week team are sure that there are many participants who have perhaps not registered as a participant but are determined to be a part of the week and contribute towards its success. As each one of us decides to spread the joy of giving, it would do us good to remember an incident in giving, related to an old woman and Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her, but she fought her way to the place where Gandhiji was sitting. “I must see him,” she insisted and going up to Gandhiji touched his feet. Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhiji picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhiji for the coin but Gandhiji refused. “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly “yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.” “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands,” Gandhiji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much. But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees"