All posts tagged: donate

You don’t need a red coat & white beard to be Santa.

Christmas is the season of giving. We spend cold December mornings going over friend lists and looking for perfect gifts, and come Christmas day, we smile when we see our family & friends unwrap their gifts, and smile secretly as we unwrap ours. Remember the time when we were kids? We would snuggle up into our beds on Christmas eve, but never fall fast asleep until we saw what Santa had got us that year. They say Santa Claus is fake, but to me, the concept of Santa is at the core of humanity. I think Santa lives in each of us, not necessarily as a fat old man with a long beard, but as kindness, love and a desire to make others around us happy. When we were kids, our parents showed us what Santa was like. Now it’s our turn. Let’s play Secret Santa this year to kids who’ve never known why Christmas is merry and to families in need of some holiday cheer. Let’s volunteer and donate for a good cause. Christmas, …

Vision for all

If you wear eyeglasses, I’m sure you can remember what it felt like the first time you wore them. Personally, I was in denial for 2 years before I got my first pair. My bespectacled self realized that my whole world had been a blur. Suddenly, everything was bright and all those blotches had defined shapes. I could see clearly again, thanks toΒ Salvino D’Armate, peace be upon him. Unfortunately, millions the world over, and nearly 15 million people in India can never experience their first time. I shall resist brooding over how this affects their quality of life and how unfair the financial inequality in our country is. I will however mention that the aftermath of unaided poor vision is often blindness.Β  A while ago, a friend told me how some IIT students had found this problem an ingenious solution. Today, I stumbled upon a similar initiative by Lions Club International. Apparently it has been in place for over 80 years! I’m still blown away by the idea, and to prevent further anticipation, here goes: …