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Wednesday, January 30, 2008


On 20th January 2008, a very special group of 60 people wearing sporty and colourful headgear, the trademark Dream A Dream yellow T-shirts stepped into Azad Maidan to participate in the 5th edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and to “RUN FOR A DREAM”

It was a memorable day for Dream A Dream as we had the largest contingent ever participating in the Mumbai Marathon including children from Makkala Jagriti and Vishwas, Our Partner NGOs and ofcourse, our very special volunteers. It was also special as Dream A Dream raised over Rs. 14 L from the Mumbai Marathon, the largest that we have ever raised from any single event. This was possible due to the immense efforts put in by the staff and volunteers to raise invaluable funds for Dream A Dream. Each contribution was special, each rupee raised was special and each email appeal sent by a volunteer helped us reach this stupendous target.

Each of the people – kids, staff and volunteers receive a standing ovation and a dreamy salute for the efforts to make this event a huge success for us.

A special thank you to Holly and Sarah who spent many nights cutting out and making the superbly beautiful and eye-catching head-gear for the Marathon. Thank you to “The Other Design Studio” for designing the beautiful headgear (see photograph). Naheed and Pooja for been absolute rockstars and organizing logistics in Mumbai for all of us. Ofcourse, all the special people who ran and/or pledged their support for Dream A Dream and expressed the solidarity and support to a cause that has grown to become very close to our hearts.

There were a few who challenged themselves and walked the extra mile. Mr and Mrs. Chandramouli, Abhijeet Mehta, Yolanda, Ajay Sampath, Surekha Rao, Vikranth and myself who attempted and successfully completed the 21-km. Bhasker Sharma decided to do the 42-km Full-Marathon and completed it.

There were yet others who challenged themselves in other ways and also achieved success. 8 People - Ekta Hattangady, Abhijeet Mehta, Ajay Sampath, Ajay Raghavan, Bhasker Sharma, Amrita Bhashyam, Namrata Agarwal, and myself who raised over Rs. 50,000/- each and together raised over Rs. 11 Lakhs to help Dream A Dream reach its target.

As the day ended and the children and volunteers were packed off on a train, I looked at the glorious sun setting on the Mumbai horizon and the idea was already brewing in my head. Could we possibly bring a 100 people next year and could be look to raise over Rs. 25 Lakh from the Mumbai Marathon next year. Could we make it and the most fun Fundraising campaign for Dream A Dream ever? A happy smile crossed my face and a new dream had emerged!!! I was itching to get back to work.

So, would you be interested in being part of one of the most successful and fun event at Dream A Dream in the year 2009? Would you want to “RUN FOR A DREAM”? Would you want to impact a little life? If yes, write to me NOW.

Dream A Dream is after all made with dreams and the fulfillment of those dreams.

Vishal Talreja
Director | Ashoka Fellow
Dream A Dream

SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO RAN AND RAISED PLEDGES

Neetu Rawat
Namrata Agarwal
Bhawna Rao
Vishal Talreja
Aravind Nagaraj
Vijaykumar K S
Hayley Nicholls
Ajay Sampath
Vikranth P M
Chandramouli
Mrs. Chandramouli
Amrita Bhashyam
Kiran M Rao
Bobbymon George
Sunil kumar
Bhasker Sharma
Abhijeet Mehta
Ekta Hattangady
Vikram Balakrishna
Bert Cherian
Hamsakumar
Yolanda Kaarsemaker
Naheed Jumani
Holly Smith
Prem Kishore
Sandeep
Chand Pasha
Micheal
Prema
Keerthi
Himabindu
Pavithra
Eshwari
Shilpa Mogilshetty
Ajay Raghavan
Manisha Vinod
Noorein
Maher
Manoj Kochar
Prashanth Sharma
Ramanujam Pobbisetty
Stuart
Manjula
Ansar
Daniel
Murali R
Prabhu D
Bharat K
Naveen K
Durga
Ismail
Amit Tandon
Pooja Warier
Richard Alderson
Puneet
Nayana
Veresh
Megachandra
Monica
Sarvesh Holla
Fiona Pearson
Dinesh
Surekha Rao
Swagata Basak
Sandeep Kashyap

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Udaan Life Skills Program - Calling Volunteers

Be a part of the unique life skill program.

The Udaan lifeskills program improves life skills amongst the youth via really interesting activities that focus on a particular topic each week (eg: Self Esteem, Responsibility). The activities, the message, the fun is all conducted by YOU.. Volunteers !!

Dream A Dream is conducting a training for the program so that you all will be well equipped to run this really enriching program!!

The details of the training program are given below:

Feb 2nd-- 10:00am to 4:00 pm (saturday)
Feb 3rd-- 10:00am to 4:00 pm (sunday)

Feb 9th-- 10:00am to 4:00 pm (saturday)
Feb 10th-- 10:00am to 4:00 pm (sunday)

Venue: BOSCO Mane, Chamrajpet.

Please do reply to this mail confirming your participation.

If there are any other queries do feel free to mail: amrita.bhashyam@gmail.com or me at agarwal.dream@gmail.com

Sunday, January 27, 2008

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH


JANUARY 2008


NITISH BANDI


Fun loving, full of energy and dedicated to volunteering - yes, we are talking about a volunteer who has been with Dream A Dream for over two years now.


It gives great joy in presenting to you the volunteer of this month- NITISH BANDI

Nitish began volunteering with Dream A Dream in early 2005 and has been actively involved in programs like the Monsoon Miracles, Sports days, Summer Camps, The Adventure camps and many Dream Fundays.

He has played an active role as a member of the Volunteer Management Team (VMT) at Dream A Dream and has also been the VMT coordinator from April 2006 to March 2007.

His simplicity and passion to work with children has been a real inspiration to many of us. A true team leader and motivator who knows how to get his team working, Nitish has been a charm to work with On many occasions.

We wish him all the luck in life and this is a small token of acknowledgement from Dream A Dream for the fantastic work he has done so far and continues to do.


Here are Nitish's thoughts on Dream A Dream, his experiences so far and his motivations for volunteering…


I have initially approached Dream-a-Dream as any other organization and the way my association grew with the organization means a lot. The receptiveness of the organization and the people in it are something that separates this organization. Also, the concept of Dream-a-Dream is unique and appeals well to the volunteer centric focus of the organization. I would never hesitate in saying that my expectations from the organization have been exceeded by it.

There are many experiences which have inspired me in this journey. It is not only the experiences which keep you going, but also it's the people, the concept and your belief in it that you can achieve something. The children also act as an inspiration with their innocent smile and enthusiasm to learn. I can only summarize this experience in one phrase as "You have to be there to experience it"

The quantum of affect volunteering has had on me is immense. It has taught me to be more patient and look forward to the positives of life. Working with children and observing their affability and flexibility helps you improve as an individual. As a volunteer you tend to meet people from different tracks of life and also come across situations which act as learning epitomes.

Children at the creative best with Sonali

Sunday, January 27, 2008

I am really happy to tell you that the collage activity with the Round Table School at Madiwala went very well. The children are extremely enthusiastic, the staff is supportive and the volunteers achieved the balance of being helpful and encouraging without overwhelming the children with ideas.

We started the activity early, at ten thirty a.m., as we had reached and the children were eagerly waiting.

I explained the activity in English, how they would have to make a story and arrange the pictures as a collage. The children worked in pairs. They discussed for about an hour, making their stories and putting their ideas together. They then asked for extra sheets as required and stuck the pictures as a collage. They were given sketch pens, crayons and cloth to decorate with. We cleaned up and collected back extra pictures, crayons and other materials. After that they presented their stories. They have some creative ideas – they spoke of cricket, of actors and actresses, of themes like family life, pollution and afforestation. Most of the children agreed to come and present quickly, a few hesitant ones stepped up after some encouragement. What I noted was that most of them had written down more than they read out.

As the activity went well, I left extra materials with this group (of fifty three seventh standard students). They now have to teach the Std. VI children how to do collage work. This is the first time I am leaving pictures with one group of children to carry forward an activity with another group, I hope they do a good job of it. The principal says they can give the two classes, Std. VI and VII, an hour and a half together on a Friday, for this activity.

The Dream A Dream volunteers asked for suggestions for future activities and the children suggested painting, drawing, embroidery and writing.

The volunteers distributed the snack. We wound up at 12.40 PM or so. I was glad we had started early as we could have the margin to let the children be creative and to get the hesitant ones to speak up. Even though we took only ten minutes extra finally, having half and hour extra made it a relaxed, more enriching activity.

Thanks for the great opportunity.

Sonali Bhatia
Facilitator, Collage Activity