Many of us want to give back to society but are left wondering where to start. Then comes the thought, nothing moves in this world without money, how do I contribute? Here is the answer. Yuva Unstoppable, a ‘bank’ of volunteers that infuses fresh flood into non-governmental organisations (NGOs), provides the opportunity.
YUVA follows a zero-money policy. That is, change without charging participants.
“I always had the drive to do something for society, but did not know of a platform. YUVA provided me that opportunity and today, I am glad to be able to bring smiles to so many faces,” says Radhika Jain, a member.
Since its inception in July 2005, YUVA has notched up 3,00,000 volunteer hours to wide appreciation from the likes of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, industrialist Vimal Ambani, BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Microsoft India chairman Ravi Venkatesan, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Yale University and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad.
Recently, many retired men and women have shown interest in joining the organisation.
“Today’s youth are not useless, they are used less. Even if you contribute two of the 168 hours in a week to our projects, you can help make a difference to society and spread smiles,” founder Amitabh Shah says.
YUVA aims to inspire people to change the world by being kind. It wants to create a mega decentralised kindness movement around the world. It’s a “flexible volunteer movement” spread across 15 cities and having over 8,000 volunteers who are helping 80 NGOs, giving youth an opportunity to volunteer for two hours a week and inspiring them to do random acts of kindness.
From providing educated young manpower to NGOs and volunteering for orphanages to offering homes to handicapped children, Yuvaites have dedicated themselves to the welfare of society. They help children in terms of education, hygiene and extra-curricular activities. They also run innovative campaigns, such as ‘Free Hugs’, ice-creams for policemen, helping servants with their work, to bring smiles to people’s faces.
“While destitute children are getting value-based education, nutrition and health care, it is the country’s youth who are becoming more compassionate and socially-responsible,” Shah explains.
CEO Parth Vasavada is an acclaimed agent of social change. He has been with Yuva since its inception and wants to build low-cost houses for lower-middle-class families. “I want to motivate people to make their lives more meaningful. I want to make sure they live in peace and harmony,” Vasavada says.