Today is Father's Day. While we're pretty sure that your dad will be thrilled with a watch or a mobile phone or an iPad, we suggest you give him something's that's not just special, but REALLY special. And by that we mean making a donation to change an under-privileged person's life in his honor! Which can be done through our Gift a Donation feature.

Yes, we're serious. Our Gift a Donation feature makes for a really nifty Father's Day gift. Ask Ali Akbar who gifted free healthcare to tribal communities for a month, on behalf of his dad. Or Sabitha and Balaji who sponsored a day' s breakfast for abandoned mentally challenged children. Or even Jamshed Kazi who sponsored a month's food and medicines for an elderly person. Over the years, we've seen a lot of our donors make a donation in honor of their dads  (and even their moms for that matter).

So, incase you'd like to give your dad something that's truly different, just follow these steps to do so.

And oh, we'd love to hear about his reaction to the gift! So do write in to us at info@giveindia.org with the details. 

On the occasion of World Day against Child Labour, today, we thought it apt to share the story of Peramma.

Peramma is an HIV-AIDS widow, and herself an HIV-AIDS patient, who belongs to a poor scheduled caste family in Suravarapupalle village, Andhra Pradesh. While her eldest daughter is married, the younger two still live with her.

As the sole earning member of her family, she used to work as a daily wage labourer in nearby agricultural fields. Agricultural work being seasonal in nature, it unfortunately did not provide her enough income for the entire year. With no assets to pawn away too, she was left with no other alternative but to make her two young daughters work on the fields too.

One day when she heard about a local NGO that promotes sustainable and self-reliant rural communities in Andhra Pradesh, she wasted no time in filling in an application. After a routine check to ensure that the details provided were infact true and that she was in dire need of help, she was given a milch buffalo so that she could begin to earn a steady income.

And that's exactly what has happened. Today, Peramma sells 6-7 liters of milk everyday - through the year. In the first month itself, she earned Rs. 4,500 by selling 6 liters of milk daily, at an average cost of Rs. 25/- per liter. Further, she now saves Rs. 750 monthly from the family's own milk consumption costs. Infact, she even puts in the effort to collect grass from open graze lands for her buffalo, and uses the savings on cattle feeds for other needs.

The silver lining is that her children do not need to work as child labourers any more. 

On the occasion of World Day against Child Labour, we encourage you to take a small step for the other Peramma's out there. Because it's so easy to save a family from poverty and their kids from child labour -
Just Rs. 7,655 can support 20 children at a child labour prevention center

Just Rs. 4,500 can educate a child labourer and give him/her hope for a brighter future

A heart warming video to share with you on the ocassion of World Eye Donation Day today. We sincerely hope this motivates you to pass your eyes on, when you're finished seeing.

Last month, we helped organize NGO stall events for two of our Payroll Giving partners, Prudential Process Management Ltd. and Viacom 18. While Viacom marked its community day with a range of engagement activities, Prudential employees celebrated Mother's Day by buying cards and mugs from the stall set up by the Akanksha Foundation. The stalls by NGOs not only helped NGOs sell their products but also provided employees with an opportunity to know more the NGOs – their work, their challenges and their impact on society - thus raising levels of social awareness and responsibility. Needless to say, employees had a gala time. Here's what we heard from the employees at the Prudential office.

"I liked the stall because it let me pick up a lot of cute gifts for my mum while helping out a cause.''
 "It was really nice to see to see the stall by Akanksha selling cards and other assorted items prepared by kids on the occasion of Mother's Day. We used to have stalls from other NGOs earlier but the items available this time and the quality was much better. The stalls gave us employees an opportunity to contribute towards a good cause and buy something that we could use. I look forward to more such initiatives."

"Akanksha means a desire and that's what these master pieces of art by the young children displayed in the stall did to me. Each and every piece displayed had sense of truth and innocence in them which made them simply stunning and beautiful. I wish that my buying of these pieces bring a smile on the faces of the little Masters." 

"The Akansha stall was a true eye-opener of what these little kids are capable of doing. Every item displayed brought a smile to my face. The hopes and dreams the kids revealed in their art so pure and inspiring! Thank you for this beautiful event. Helping for a cause is always a pleasure... I brought a smile to a child's face to remember forever, and a 'gift for my Mum' that she will cherish and treasure…" 

Today, on World Environment Day, we would like to pay tribute to all the little ways that people and organisations associated with us have been doing their bit for the environment.

In December 2010, in partnership with us, MTV & Woodlands launched ECOLUTION - a campaign envisioned towards a greener India. The movement was aimed at developing an eco-consciousness in people through a very simple idea - for every tree planted online, MTV planted one on the ground. The campaign resulted in 59,958 trees being planted!

Since January 2010, MakeMyTrip has been encouraging its air travel customers to offset the carbon emissions generated through their flight; by giving them the opportunity to contribute towards tree plantations whilst they book their ticket on the MakeMyTrip website itself. Known as the MakeMyTrip Green Movement, the initiative has witnessed an enthusiastic response from travelers. In two years, travelers have collectively donated over Rs. 55 lakhs. On ground, this translates into the planting of 3,38,0000 trees and a green cover of over 1,500 square feet.

Thank you Mr. Deep Kalra and the team at MakeMyTrip for making our planet a little greener in a way that you do so best!

Then of course, there are our NGOs, like Tropical Research & Development Centre, Seva Mandir and The Keystone Foundation who implement afforestation projects, give fuel efficient stoves to poor families and more. And last but not the least, our donors, without whose support it may not have been possible to implement these projects. Thank you all for taking out time to make the world a little greener! 

These are the words spoken by Helen Keller, the famous American author, political activist and lecturer. But it was not for these achievements that she was known; but for accomplishing all this while being both deaf and blind! When she was 19 months old, she contracted an illness described by doctors as "an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain", which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis. The illness did not last for a particularly long time, but it left her deaf and blind.