A Shop Where the Poor Get to ‘Choose’ What They Want for Free
About 150 students from XIMB teamed up to set up a street store in front of their campus. The unique store offered clothes, footwear, bags and other basic necessities to the less privileged for free, while giving them the privilege of choice!
We all have the luxury to go to a shop and buy the clothes we like; we have the privilege of choice. But not everyone is as lucky as we are. Organizing a street store is an endeavor to give the people who don’t have the privilege of choice, a unique shopping experience. Bhubaneswar recently hosted a Street store where you can come, pick whatever you want and leave.
The third edition of the event organized in Bhubaneswar on 1st November, 2015 saw an overwhelming number of people drop into what is known as the “world’s first rent-free, premises-free” pop-up clothing store. Started in 2014, the Street Store has previously hosted editions in 33 other cities across the world.
The concept here is that homeless and needy citizens are allowed to browse a selection of clothing and other items donated by people in the city, and pick whatever they need.
“It is in giving that we receive the ultimate joy.”
Building upon this thought, the Social Responsibility Cell at XIMB-XUB decided to organize a street store to give a unique shopping experience to the needy and underprivileged.
To get the full value of joy you must have someone to share it with and the XIMB community donated with open hearts during the Joy of Giving week, organized in the first week of October.
A strong team of 150 members from the Social Responsibility Cell (SRC) of Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB-XUB) collected clothes from students and locals and displayed them at the street store.
The interesting store was set up in front of XIMB campus from 10 am to 2:30 pm and saw a regular footfall the entire day.
“The concept of the street store is that anyone who cannot afford much can come to the store, choose any attire that he/she likes and take it home for free. Usually the underprivileged don’t have any choice when they receive donations or charity. Here they can choose and take whatever they like,” says the XIMB SRC team.
About 500 less privileged people lined up that day to pick clothing, footwear and other donated items for themselves.
Stalls were set up and divided into different sections where various types of apparel were displayed. People were given a token at the counter and could exchange it for the garment of their choice. In addition, there were hangers and paper bags designed using eco-friendly products by the team.
The event also received a heart-warming response across media circles, with a call for similar initiatives to be held in other Indian cities. Through this event, people could truly experience the ‘Joy of Giving’ by bringing smiles on the faces of hundreds of underprivileged people. It is not how much we give but how much love we put into giving that matters.
– XIMB Students
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