Traffic Awareness – Community | Thozhan | Chennai

India has the worst road traffic accident rate in the world!  Traffic Awareness Campaign at signals is for creating road safety awareness among people. To volunteer in Chennai on May 31 with Thozhan, please signup below.
The campaign at the TIDEL park Signal, Adyar will be exclusively by volunteers of Bhumi & Volunteers.org.

If you are unable to join the volunteers on May 31, join us for future events

Traffic 03

If you are unable to join the volunteers on May 31, join us for future events

Volunteer for future Road safety Awareness Events

Chennai Coastal Cleanup – Environment | Bhumi | Chennai

On account of World Oceans Day join us for the cleanup on June 7 @ 6-8 AM at the location of your choice organised by Bhumi with Chennai Trekking Club

Open to volunteers of all ages, individuals & members of other organisations
Detailed cleanup info will be shared in the week before the event

For other volunteering events in Chennai, join our Chennai Volunteers facebook group


FAQs
1. What should I pick up?
We will be segregating garbage in three main categories. Familiarize yourself with each of these:
1. Glass Bottles: (Alcohol Bottles, Broken Glass pieces, Broken Glass bottles, Glass Medicinal Bottles and other Glass Items)
2. Polythene and Plastic (Predominantly recyclable ): (All polythene wrappers, Carry Bags, PET Bottles, Plastic Containers, Water Pockets, Thermocol, Milk Covers and all kind of Plastic materials)
3. Others: (Shoes, Slippers, Fishing Nets, Styrofoam, ropes and anything not covered in the above two categories)

Your coordinator will assign you to one particular category of garbage. Collect only the garbage that fits in the criteria. There will a lot of other stuff lying around. You can conveniently ignore them because -There will be some other person assigned to pick that up!

2. Why do we have this classification of garbage into three categories
There is one and only one reason -To recycle and reuse the garbage collected.
To enable recycling to the maximum extent, source segregation is the key and hence the classification.

3. Do I pick the garbage with my bare hands?
You will be given one glove (Not a pair. Optimum utilization you see! ). Wear it before you pick up anything.

4. How do I collect the garbage I pick?
Step 1: Choose a partner
Step 2: Collect a re-usable collecting bag from your coordinator
Step 3: Share the bag with your partner and start picking garbage

5. Do I collect glass bottles with the same gloves? Won’t it hurt?
You have a valid point! You cannot collect glass bottles with the thin gloves. So if you are assigned the category one, then ensure that you get the separate thick gloves to pick glass and a separate jute bag to collect.

6. What do I do when my bag is full?
Collection points will be assigned for your zone of which your coordinator will inform you about. A volunteer will be stationed at the point to guide you.
If you are collecting glass, just leave the filled up bag at the collection point and get a new bag.
If you are collecting plastics or others, dump them into the big bags kept at the collection points and resume your work with the emptied bag.

7. What happens to the collected garbage?
our mission is to recycle the maximum (We recycled 80% of the 30 ton garbage that we picked up last year). So all the piles of garbage mounted at the collection points will be loaded onto trucks. The recyclables – glass and plastics – will be taken to the dump yard of our official recycling partner EARTH RECYCLERS from where it would be recycled.
The others category waste will be sent to the dump yard of the Chennai Corporation where it will be let to decompose.

8. What will you guys do if you get money out of the garbage this year?
The collections would be directed towards CTC social activities, tree plantation drives, maintenance & next year’s cleanup.

9. Seriously! What do you guys get out of this event?
The satisfaction that we tried. That we made a difference. That we were able to start a change.

See you all on June 7th 2015 at 6 am.

#NepalQuake Relief Material Collection in Chennai

Goonj Nepal 2015

As you are aware of the recent disaster at Nepal and other parts of India, Goonj has started its relief work at Nepal. We at AID India, extend our support to Goonj and will run the temporary collection of materials at Chennai for Goonj.

Here’s a copy of our appeal –http://goonj.org/?p=23313 that has become a base for people to initiate the collection drives..

We are urgently looking for tarpaulins, dry ration, good quality solar lamps, basic medicines, crutches, ropes, utensils, torch & batteries, blankets, sanitary pads, non expensive but good basic toiletries, wheel chairs, bed-sheets and mats, utensils and monetary contributions. Monetary contributions are also needed for essential purchases and logistics, BUT kindly hold on till we inform on this. As permissions are awaited from the respective authorities on financial front. (Poster enclosed for your reference)..

Also, please DO NOT collect – Clothes, water, perishable items, cooked food, any expired material, half consumed liquid medicines, sandals with heal, used undergarments, very cheap/bad quality so called Chinese material

Important- As this is a cross border operation, a lot of restrictions and regulation will be in place at the borders. Please do not send any unwanted material that will hassle our relief operations.  Most of the material will be rotated through Delhi.

The collection centre at Chennai will be at AID India office. You can drop the materials at No.45, Pycrofts Road, 1st Street, Royapettah. Please note that we will not take any materials you bring which are not mentioned in the list. Please contact Selva at +91-9790951652 for more details.

Gramya Manthan – A Rural Immersion Program by Youth Alliance

Gramya Manthan is a nine day rural immersion journey with 40 passionate changeagents to remote villages in Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, India.  It is an annual program of Youth Alliance, currently in its fourth year of running. This year the program will be from June 13 – 21, 2015. 

The program aims at developing a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us by practising shift in our perspective, that is by practising empathy. This is nurtured by  bridging the rural-urban divide and creating a space to observe, understand and learn the diverse realities of India. The idea is also to bring ourselves in sync with the complex actualities of rural life, thus allowing ourselves a platform where we at least begin to think on pertinent issues and  try to break away from our preconceived notions which thrive on populist knowledge. The program has been enriched by interactions with Mr. Anshu Gupta (Founder, Goonj); Mr. R. Elango ( Kuthambakkam Village); Mr. Ravi Gulati (Founder, Manzil); Mr. Ram NK (Founder, Rang De).

Gramya Manthan

Impact of Gramya Manthan

In last three year we have witnessed a shift in the mind-set of people we are working with. For Example in village Ganga Deen Nevada, when in 2012 we were in the process of setting up the livelihood center Swaraj, it was hard for us to find women who can travel outside their village to Delhi for training so as to come back and start working in the village but now nearly all of them have been to our center and have shown willingness to work. A shift in perspective was observed in participants post-Gramya Manthan. Our alumnus Aananth found it eye-opening to see villages with hardly any electricity supply. For many of us such simple observations meant realization of our privileges. In the past three years, we have received 80 participants from 20 States. Of these 6 went to study development, 22 are working in development space part time or full time and 11 initiated enterprises.

PFA the concept note on Gramya Manthan. Please share this with relevant people and at right places! To read more about the program, click here.

Apply to be part of 2015 cohort – http://youthallianceofindia.org/gramya-manthan-2015/apply/

Next Deadline – 26th April

Final Deadline – 10th May

Here’s your chance to join a community of doers, of change-makers! Hope you make the choice.

Volunteering opportunities in the Himalayas

HimalayasHere’s info on some of volunteering opportunities in the Himalayas (unverified) – thanks PipBhaai:

  1. www.spitiecosphere.com/ Ecosphere Spiti
  2. www.dharmalaya.in/ Dharmalaya Institute, Bir, District Kangra, HP
  3. www.sambhaavnaa.org/ Sambhaavnaa Institute, Kandwari, Palampur, District Kangra, HP
  4. www.deerpark.in – Deer Park, Bir, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh 176 077 India
  5. http://wastewarriors.org/ – Behind Ravine Hotel, Bhagsunag, Dharamsala, HP 176219 +919307832103
  6. http://www.jagorigrameen.org/ – VPO Rakkar Sidhbari, Tehsil Dharmshala, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, INDIA 176057
  7. http://www.tcv.org.in/ – Tibetan Children’s Villages, Dharamsala Cantt, Distt. Kangra, H.P. 176216 – INDIA
  8. http://www.cord.org.in/aboutcord.html Dr.Kshama Metre, Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development (CORD), Sidhbari-176057, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh. Tel: 91-1892-234322
  9. http://www.himalayanfarmproject.com/ – An organic farm where you can learn and volunteer.
  10. http://www.navdanya.org/earth-university/courses-in-2015-16 Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya
  11. www.himdhara.org (contact Manshi Asher <[email protected]> for more info)
  12. http://www.teriin.org/about-teri
  13. http://www.sidhsri.info/Home.html
  14. http://www.environicsindia.in/index.php/en/ Contact R. Sreedhar, Environics Trust, Khasra No. 177, Shokeen Market, Nebsarai, Main IGNOU Road, New Delhi – 110 068 Ph: 011 29531814 They work in the Himalayas – Uttarakhand; and may also put you in touch with others
  15. http://www.ceeindia.org/cee/about_cee.html
  16. http://www.sruti.org.in/?q=sangathan/maati-sangathan Maati, Malika Virdi Munsiari, +919411194041 (see attachment – MAATI – ALTERNATIVE PRACTICES AND VISIONS IN INDIA.docx)

Ennum Ezhuthum Summer campaign | May 1 – Jun 15 | TN

Volunteer Needed

The campaign will be for duration of 1.5 months from May 1st to June 15th. The goal of the campaign is to create awareness about the quality of learning. Volunteers will conduct classes during this period for children to learn Tamil reading and math skills. Every child who is able to read words and perform addition operations are given “I can” certificates.

Volunteers will be provided the necessary training by Bhumi & AID India (Eureka Child) coordinators. The volunteer on the first visit would gather the children and assess them on Tamil reading and Math arithmetic skills. Children who already have these skills will be given certificates and nominated as “Young Teachers”. These young teachers will be responsible for 4-5 other children who are yet to attain these skills. The volunteer facilitator along with the young teachers will conduct classes for the children. At the end of the campaign period Bhumi will help you organise a community event where the children will demonstrate their skills.

Each of the centers will be given a kit with skill chart, interesting games, puzzles and worksheets that can be used to teach and track the children.

Traffic Awareness Campaign with Thozhan | April 26 | Chennai

India has the worst road traffic accident rate in the world!  Traffic Awareness Campaign at signals is for creating road safety awareness among people. To volunteer in Chennai on April 26 with Thozhan, please signup below.

If you are unable to join the volunteers on April 26, join us for future events

Traffic 03

If you are unable to join the volunteers on April 26, join us for future events

Volunteer for future Road safety Awareness Events

Technology for Non-Profits: Volcon 2015

Salient features of technology resources shared at Volcon 2015

Join these groups to stay in touch with regular technology updates related to Non-Profits, also a forum to connect Non-profits and Technology volunteers to help Non-profits with Technology

Join the Facebook group @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/nptech
Join the mailing list @ http://groups.google.com/d/forum/NPtech

Payment Gateways (ordered by preference)

  1. ICICI bank via Jus Pay | High integration fee, selective acceptance, only credit cards
  2. PayU | Low integration fee, offers net banking + credit cards only via PayU Money, suggested integration via Jus Pay
  3. PayuMoney – Free

Communication

  1. MailChimp | Freemium | 12,000 emails free/month
  2. SMS Gup Shup | Paid | Send SMS, paid, Transactional / promotional / Community options, good delivery rates
  3. Office 365 | Free | Unlimited Free enterprise email accounts by Microsoft, FCRA needed
  4. Zoho Email | Freemium | 25 Free enterprise email accounts
  5. Strikingly | Freemium | Unlimited mobile responsive websites free

Social Media

  1. Hootsuite | Freemium | manage up to 3 social profiles free
  2. Canva.com | Free | ‘Easiest design tool in the world’ and it’s free!

Data Management, file sharing and backup

  1. Dropbox | Freemium | user friendly file sharing
  2. Copy | Freemium | user friendly file sharing, earn 5GB for joining through this link
  3. Google Drive / Microsoft One Drive | Freemium|Other tools
  4. Amazon Cloud Drive | Paid | Most cost effective unlimited backup
  5. Bittorrent Sync | Free | P2P, Local backup and file sharing, no cloud

Customer relationship management (CRM)

  1. Live Impact | Paid | Used, recommended by Bhumi/Volunteers.org
  2. Civi CRM | Free  | Open source, technical support needed
  3. Zoho CRM | Freemium
  4. Salesforce | Free | extensive technical support needed

Project Management

  1. Only Office | Free | Project management with document editing
  2. Zoho Projects | Freemium

Donor Management Systems

  1. —Donor Perfect | Paid
  2. Black baud – eTapestry | Paid
  3. Donor Tools | Paid
  4. E-receipt Maker | Free | Under development

Volunteer Management Tools (Free) Not ordered/ranked

  1. Your Volunteers
  2. Eteambuilder
  3. CharityCounts
  4. Volunteer town
  5. Volunteer Rally

Volunteer Management Tools (Paid) Not ordered/ranked

  1. Live Impact
  2. Cervis
  3. Better Impact
  4. ivolunteeronline
  5. Volunteer spot

Traffic Awareness Campaign with Thozhan | March 29 | Chennai

India has the worst road traffic accident rate in the world!  Traffic Awareness Campaign at signals is for creating road safety awareness among people. To volunteer in Chennai on March 29 with Thozhan, please signup below.

If you are unable to join the volunteers on March 29, join us for future events

Traffic 03

If you are unable to join the volunteers on March 29, join us for future events

Volunteer for future Road safety Awareness Events