Make a Difference is a youth-focused organization that is trying to bridge the gap in education and empowering young people to take on bold initiative. Its Chennai chapter has been making great strides with unique and far-reaching initiatives. Prama Neeraja takes a look, and a lot of photographs!
Make a Difference is a youth-focused organization that is trying to bridge the gap in education and empowering young people to take on bold initiative. It’s Chennai chapter has been making great strides with unique and far-reaching initiatives. Prama Neeraja takes a look, and a lot of photographs!
Make a Difference, or MAD as it is more popularly known, is a youth empowered NGO spread across 24 cities. MAD believes in empowering youth to become change leaders and create avenues of equal opportunities for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
The five and a half month young Chennai chapter has three centers and about 90 volunteers. “We don’t just believe in teaching, but overall development of our children, starting from skills development, career awareness and implant training “, says Avinash, Corporate relations head, MAD Chennai.
The MAD mantra is unique and creative. Their recent Raddi Campaign was one of their standout initiatives. The friends of MAD, i.e., the fund-raising and events team had unleashed an ultra cool and simple way of raising money. They tapped through localities collecting raddi (old newspapers, magazines, plastics etc.,) and raised enough money for educating 13 children in just 2 weeks time which ensures a bright future for the children.
Self-defense workshops, small-time events, innovation and MADness go hand in hand. Well, if fund-raising is so much fun how can teaching take a back seat? Every class is interactive, fun and engrossing, filled with activities, unlike the conventional ones. In a MAD class children learn through games, sketching, dancing, singing, acting and anything under the roof. Board Games, Tambola, Dumb Charades etc., are a normal routine in the class.
What’s truly amazing about this organization is the fact that they don’t step back on creativity and of course as they like to call it MADness! Fearless of treading untried paths, going every mile possible to ensure the best, this brigade of young volunteers are in true sense MAD. Office-Office, a recent career awareness workshop had eminent officials from companies take part in activities with the children, to help them understand various departments in an organization.
A cherry on the cake is their new initiative, the I-HUB (Innovation-Hub). Every idea a volunteer has – be it suggestions for better classes, novel ways of fund raising, the library project or resolving disagreement within the teams – I-HUB is their platform to shout out loud! This is a clean and transparent system, true to its heart and passion of realizing dreams and making a difference.
To get in touch for volunteering: You can check out their website or facebook page.