Trust PAPA
Nominated for : Helping under privileged students.
Initiative - Paying fee for needy students
Nominated for : Helping under privileged students.
Initiative - Paying fee for needy students
A collaboration between four visionary academicians and a sharp share broker led to the formation of a trust that nurtures the future of bright students for whom finance is a blockade in their road to success. Trust PAPA, a charitable trust, explores new ideas and revisits its agendas to help the needy secure their future.The story of PAPA -- Personal Assistance, Personal Attention -- started in 2010 with nothing but a thought of Associate Professor at Sahajanand Arts and Commerce College Siddharth Thaker.
Soon, his friends Chirag Trivedi, head of statistics department at R J Tiberwal Commerce College, Hemant Shah, a share broker, Sandip Kamdar, who runs Arihant Institute of Professional Studies and Prof Kashyap Trivedi, eminent author, decided to become a part of Thaker’s initiative.
"We come across several students who are intelligent but lack of resources and insufficient funds stop them from achieving their full potential. Shelling out some money to help them wasn’t an issue for us. But the question remained: what after three years of college? No one but a teacher could have thought of the future of these students, and rightly so. Teachers know the potential of youngsters and they can bring a change in society," said Thaker.
The trust began with 'A Rupee A Day' scheme which encourages college students to donate a rupee every day to sponsor studies of the underprivileged. Currently, 10 groups of students are actively aiding and managing the trust funds.
"On their birthdays, the students donate Rs 365 (Re 1 for each day). The money helps pay the fee of the needy students. About 50 students are part of the scheme and are helping children of lower economic strata," Chirag Trivedi said. The student's team include a budding homeopath from Anand, a CA aspirant, a CS in the making, MCom and MBA students. The others in the group are under-graduates. The trust moved on to its next project and the agenda this time was the preservation of environment.
"We got in touch with paraplegic at Civil Hospital. With the help of a YouTube video, we taught them how to make paper bags. The initiative helped them earn money. We distributed the bags at Saptak music festival for free. The audience used the bag to keep their shoes," Shah said.
Recently, the trust has launched a project with school students. "Scattered manja on terraces across the city is a common sight after Uttrayan. Birds often get entangled in it and get injured. So, we thought of roping in school kids to collect manja," said Thaker. Students of close to 44 schools have joined the mission. While F D High School students collected 120 kg of manja, Ganesh Kanya Vidyala in Vadaj has gathered 40 kg of manja.
"We will buy manja from students for Rs 50 a kg. It will be supplied to needy women who would process it and make thread out of it. It will be distributed for free to those who make ‘godadis’ (blankets). The thread is used for stitching these blankets," said Thaker. On source of funds, Shah said: "People from our friend circle, professors and industry giants donate generously. But we have never advertised, asking for donations. It is only through word of mouth that we get the financial support."
Soon, his friends Chirag Trivedi, head of statistics department at R J Tiberwal Commerce College, Hemant Shah, a share broker, Sandip Kamdar, who runs Arihant Institute of Professional Studies and Prof Kashyap Trivedi, eminent author, decided to become a part of Thaker’s initiative.
"We come across several students who are intelligent but lack of resources and insufficient funds stop them from achieving their full potential. Shelling out some money to help them wasn’t an issue for us. But the question remained: what after three years of college? No one but a teacher could have thought of the future of these students, and rightly so. Teachers know the potential of youngsters and they can bring a change in society," said Thaker.
The trust began with 'A Rupee A Day' scheme which encourages college students to donate a rupee every day to sponsor studies of the underprivileged. Currently, 10 groups of students are actively aiding and managing the trust funds.
"On their birthdays, the students donate Rs 365 (Re 1 for each day). The money helps pay the fee of the needy students. About 50 students are part of the scheme and are helping children of lower economic strata," Chirag Trivedi said. The student's team include a budding homeopath from Anand, a CA aspirant, a CS in the making, MCom and MBA students. The others in the group are under-graduates. The trust moved on to its next project and the agenda this time was the preservation of environment.
"We got in touch with paraplegic at Civil Hospital. With the help of a YouTube video, we taught them how to make paper bags. The initiative helped them earn money. We distributed the bags at Saptak music festival for free. The audience used the bag to keep their shoes," Shah said.
Recently, the trust has launched a project with school students. "Scattered manja on terraces across the city is a common sight after Uttrayan. Birds often get entangled in it and get injured. So, we thought of roping in school kids to collect manja," said Thaker. Students of close to 44 schools have joined the mission. While F D High School students collected 120 kg of manja, Ganesh Kanya Vidyala in Vadaj has gathered 40 kg of manja.
"We will buy manja from students for Rs 50 a kg. It will be supplied to needy women who would process it and make thread out of it. It will be distributed for free to those who make ‘godadis’ (blankets). The thread is used for stitching these blankets," said Thaker. On source of funds, Shah said: "People from our friend circle, professors and industry giants donate generously. But we have never advertised, asking for donations. It is only through word of mouth that we get the financial support."
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