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The social service sector is a fast-growing one, with thousands of new nonprofit organisations coming into existence every year. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) serving various pertinent issues have become a common occurrence, especially in the subcontinent’s bigger cities.

 

Until a couple of years ago, the concept of ‘nonprofits’ was mostly correlated with foreign organisations working in third world countries. Growing awareness and the emergence of big Indian companies paved the way for some of the earliest home-grown nonprofit organisations. Its widespread media coverage and the youth’s growing demand to help their fellow citizens have made nonprofit organisations the most favoured amongst college students. Choosing the right NGO, or in fact, making the decision to work for any NGO at all may seem like a daunting task. To simplify the same, here is a list of pros of working with a nonprofit organisation while in college:

A Novel Experience

Working for any form of nonprofit organisation can be a new, and sometimes intimidating process. If you lack prior experience of working for a non-governmental association, keeping an open mind is important. Depending on the NGO, you may get opportunities to work in remote villages, multinational companies, foreign countries etc. Meeting people from various walks of life as well as working for the welfare of those in need can prove to be a new experience altogether.

A Career-Changing Tenure

Many people find themselves falling in love with the prospect of helping other beings during their tenure with nonprofit organisations. Some may convert this new-found passion for helping others into a career and choose to continue working with these NGOs or get professional degrees, thereby gaining easy access to the world of social service.

A CV Booster

Having a snazzy Curriculum Vitae (CV) in this competitive job market is a must, especially for those looking for employment for the first time. People partake in several summer schools and competitions throughout their school and college lives. However, adding social service or even heading nonprofit organisations that come under the National Service Scheme (NSS) in colleges can add luminosity to your CV. It sets you apart from many, allowing your CV to champion over the others’.

An Edge Over Your Competitors

Modern-day Universities stress a great deal on the requirement of social service hours. They prefer applicants with at least some social service work in their academic career, over those with none. It highlights how socially responsible a student is. Foreign universities may even list social service as a mandatory requirement for entry to various courses.

Delhi has a number of nonprofit organisations on offer for those interested in an enriching experience. The Smile Foundation, Goonj, Teach for India and Circle of Animal Lovers are a few amongst the many organisations that give people of all ages a chance to help make the world a better place.

 

Feature Image Credits: Teach For India

Meher Gill
[email protected]

 

Arpit would hum along to the songs he heard, but he could never sing out loud. “What if people think I sound absurd?” he would think. Just one music session a week, and now he’s broken free of his inhibitions and confidently sings at the top of his lungs.

 Mr. Numbers was Shruti’s arch nemesis. She despised him, and he, her. Luckily, a therapeutic session every Saturday not only helped her get over her fear of numbers, but also lessened her fear of being on stage.

They were a group of curious beings, having thought of numerous questions that needed to be answered and addressed, but they refrained from asking them, because they just couldn’t find the right words. Thanks to a session in theatre every week, they now talk like radio jockeys who could take on a crowd with ease!

Stories like this are a weekly occurrence in the classrooms of Project Leap. It turns out that being greeted by a set of forty twinkling pairs of eyes coupled with goofy grins is the ideal remedy for the dreariness of a Saturday morning. In fact, sometimes, the eagerness of their youth and the intensity of their unconditional love can be overwhelming. When you walk in, you know that you started your weekend on the right note, with a thumping heart and a stimulated mind.

The three to four hours that you spend in the Leap classroom are hours swamped with fun and frolic. Sometimes, you end the class with the fulfillment of having helped make education more holistic, but mostly, you leave with a sense of accomplishment. Because you walked in with little, but you walked out with way more.

Leap is not just a project, it’s a wholesome, life changing experience- a journey that stays with you for a lifetime and gives you memories that you cherish forever.

Aimed at enabling holistic development of students in low-income schools, Project Leap is transforming the conventional methods of classroom learning by providing a comprehensive and conducive space to learn through the inculcation of co-curricular activities in the curriculum. Becoming I Foundation’s flagship project is present in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Lea[ is looking for a set of dedicated educators who have a fondness for and prior experience in the fields of dance, music, art and craft, theatre, sports or public speaking to enter Leap classrooms and change the way education is perceived by students. With an innovative curriculum that intends to generate curiosity, constructive thinking, creativity and sensitivity in each student, we aim to radically increase admission rates, decrease drop-out rates and improve learning outcomes, especially by making learning fun, easy and stress-free.

Leap is back with its 8th phase with an aim to create a bigger and better impact, so if you have the belief, the passion and the commitment to make a difference, apply now to become an educator with us and be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Application form: https://goo.gl/o1vOi

For more information, contact: +91-9899720172, +91-8130420748

Guest Post for DU Beat

 

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”- Barack Obama

There is a huge range of NGOs working towards different causes including welfare of children; empowerment of women; elimination of poverty, among others. These NGOs aid in promoting the ‘joy of volunteering’, and one such NGO that has provided ample opportunities to the youth to volunteer is CRY, Child Rights and You!

Today, we witness volunteers, especially the youth; pushing their limits and stepping out of their comfort zone to create awareness, raising funds and even encouraging others to do the same. They not only take up ground work enthusiastically, but also deliver their best in other fields of work as well. While colleges give the students an opportunity to learn about various aspects of life; their association with different NGOs these days, also help these students impart their knowledge to others.
Kaashvi Sehgal, a student of Indian origin from Jakarta, interned with Child Rights and You (CRY) this summer. She shares her experience saying, “Not only had these kids adapted to what I was teaching them so fast, but they also had the same burning desire to learn something new every single day. As a teacher, there was nothing better than to see my students grow.” Sehgal, who is just 14 years old, started her own Spanish classes at CRY’s Dakshinpuri center.

The act of volunteering not only enhances the quality of the life of the people in need, but also changes the course of life of the volunteers and pushes them towards a brighter side. It reveals a newer and better aspect of life to them. Divyanshu, a volunteer with CRY for over four years says, “I feel people like me only run the whole world, so if I won’t venture into new directions, those directions will remain unexplored by humankind, so I thought let’s just do it.” Divyanshu after quitting his corporate job at Flipkart, has created an online platform which offers volunteers the opportunity to pick customized social projects as per their interests and talents. The product is called “Live for Lives” and will be released in the coming months.

Divyanshu Pic

Mohit Hattar is another volunteer who joined the organization when he was still in college. He revived the Public Action Group in Dwarka after months of advocacy and awareness raising work with community members in Dwarka. He also took Remedial Classes for the children and undertook enrollment of the children in schools. For his work as a volunteer, he was commended as one of the best volunteers at CRY. After working very closely with the children for more than 2 years, he has now embarked on a professional career but believes volunteering will remain an important part of his life.

“Hearing children call me “Mohit Sir” or “Mohit Bhaiya” is a bliss. Every place that I have worked in, those faces, those names and those voices just got stuck in my mind every time and that continuous attachment has kept me going all this time. Along with that is the environment you keep on working in and a sudden change in that certainly affects your work. Children at different localities behave differently and hence I had to become flexible in the way I operate”, says Mohit. 

Mohit Hattar

Thus, we see how volunteering can be delightful, helpful and enlightening at the same time. In a world, where incidents like the infamous Paris Attacks dilute our faith in humanity; we hope to see young and enthusiastic volunteers extending their helping hands to uplift the ones in need.

To volunteer and get involved with CRY, contact them on :

Tel: 011-29533451/52/53

Email: [email protected]

Image credits: Child Rights and You Database 

Shaurya Sahai
[email protected]