Covid Relief Fundraising Goal: $2500 (Achieved)
(Check for our updates on the bottom of the page)
Donations can be made through PayPal or Venmo @EmpowerandHelp or check. Checks can be made payable to Empower And Help Inc, mail to PO Box 297, Manalapan, NJ – 07726.
We pride ourselves on being a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax-deductible.
We are also a Paypal Confirmed Charity.
Our hearts go out to the people of India as they continue their fight through an aggressive second wave of the Coronavirus. Our fundraiser is a representation of our support and solidarity with India and its people. Despite under-reported Covid cases and deaths, India has broken global records, putting an already weak healthcare system on the brink of collapse and affecting lives across socio-economic strata. A recent study shows that a staggering 75 million people have fallen into poverty since the beginning of the pandemic.
Our India Mentorship Program collaborates with SAATHI, a small, localized non-profit organization in New Delhi. Founded in 2010 by Mr. Deepak Kumar, SAATHI provides free educational guidance and coaching to children from underprivileged backgrounds. Through this charitable organization, we have connected to families that have been financially affected by the pandemic. Education is a fundamental human right that has been in jeopardy since the pandemic began. There has been uncertainty and frenzy in their academic year, with canceled exams and overlooked education quality. The children are distressed and show signs of depression, indicating just how deep the effects of the pandemic are. In collaboration with SAATHI and with the help of our adult volunteers, we have been providing SAATHI students one-on-one educational services since February.
The EmpowerAndHelp collaboration with SAATHI started in December 2020 by providing academic support and educational resources; however, we forged personal bonds with the families over time and learned about their daily struggles over time. These families are single-income homes, and due to the lockdown, unemployment, and COVID-19 illness, they have been struggling financially. We at Empower And Help have been turning away help due to a lack of funds and resources, but the need is dire. We want to help more families when it comes to providing necessities such as groceries and medicines. We would love to support the existing families we work with and reach more families in need. There is a growing need for educational and financial assistance, and with your help, we can truly make a positive impact in the lives of these families.
Your donations will go to the following:
- Financial Support- Funds will be directly provided to families in need of financial assistance, primarily due to unemployment, lockdown, or covid-19.
- Educational Support- We provide free Chromebooks and internet connections to families in need. We will direct your funds towards purchasing and delivering Chromebooks to the children who otherwise would be attending classes on their mobile devices.
- Expansion of the India Mentorship Program- The need to provide educational and financial assistance to more families is growing as the situation worsens in India. We will use funds provided through this fundraiser to expand our program and reach out to families that need our assistance during these trying times.
Updates:
Update 1:
Our partner, SAATHI, based in New Delhi, India, has been working around the clock to set a process in place while funds start pouring in. As an immediate step, 20 most severely affected families will be given a month’s worth of groceries, including – rice, flour, lentils, oil, sugar, tea, salt, among other essential items. Each family’s monthly grocery and utility needs approximate to about Rs. 5000 or 70 USD. For 20 families, that would round to 1600 USD for 1 month only. We need your help to collect the funds and send them to India to begin this process of distributing basic needs to those most in need. Volunteers will arrange the groceries, asses, mobilize, and distribute them as per the need and the number of members in each family. We are committed to making sure that funds are used wisely and carefully.
Update 2 (May 2021):
We are happy to announce that we have collected $2000 towards our fundraising efforts and our first batch of donations is at work now helping families. Sajjad and his family are one such example. Sajjad is a cycle rickshaw puller in New Delhi who has no income in the ongoing lockdown, bringing his family’s income to a complete halt. Evidently, Sajjad had been struggling to support his family of four children, at the time of our grocery donation to him. We were able to meet his family’s current needs with a month’s worth of supplies. He is filled with gratitude and appreciation towards our team’s effort and our amazing donors who made this possible for him and his family. Here are pictures of some of our recipients:
Picture: A snapshot of the “Grocery and Care kit” delivered along with our best wishes to the recipients by the amazing volunteers at SAATHI, New Delhi, India.
Picture: Mr. Deepak Kumar (on the left), founder of SAATHI, New Delhi with Mr. Sajjad, a cycle rickshaw puller severely impacted with lack of work due to the pandemic. He is the sole earner in his family that consists of his wife and 4 children.
Picture: Ms. Meenu (on the right) being given grocery and other basic needs purchased from donations by our SAATHI volunteer. Ms. Meenu is the sole earner in her family and works as domestic help, but has lost many of the houses she works in since the lockdown. Our donations will help her feed her family of 5 for the next several weeks, all thanks to our amazing donors and volunteers.
Update 3 (June 2021):
Contributions from our wonderful donors have been making a huge impact so far, and our recipients express their deepest gratitude for the help they have been receiving. The donations have been making their way to these families in the form of groceries and other basic necessities needed for these families to survive. The 2 months extended lockdown in New Delhi has meant many unfortunate families have had to suffer severe financial constraints, almost at the brink of starvation.
Picture: Co-founder of SAATHI, Sandeep Kumar with Raju and his wife. Raju works at a small shop in New Delhi. Due to the stores being closed in the lockdown, he has had no income for his family of 6.
Picture: Providing the donations to Ms. Puja, a domestic worker. She has two young children aged 3 and 4 and has been worried sick for them since the pandemic started. These supplies are received with a lot of appreciation for our donors.
Picture: Ms. Swati, a domestic worker and a single mother with 5 mouths to feed. She has not had much luck with work during the lockdown so these supplies come as a big relief for her.
Thank you so much for considering a donation to Empower and Help’s India Covid Relief fundraiser. Through your kind support, we can make a more prominent global impact, be more accessible to those in need, and create a fostering environment for passionate and purposeful youth. We pride ourselves on being a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax-deductible. Kindly donate through PayPal or Venmo @EmpowerandHelp or check. Checks can be made payable to Empower And Help Inc, mail to PO Box 297, Manalapan, NJ – 07726.
Empower And Help is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax-deductible.