“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
Every individual, no matter what the field, job or activity, strives for excellence. What makes UPAY stand out, are their esteemed and passionate volunteers. The zest, enthusiasm and energy that they bring has helped UPAY touch and improve the lives of many.
To acknowledge these efforts, the organization has organized an award system; wherein efforts of these wonderful individuals are recognized and subsequently rewarded.
The Volunteers Excellence Awards was initiated to reiterate the fact that UPAY is what it is today because of the valiant efforts and determination of its volunteers. So, for the period of April-June 2021, the recipients of the awards are: Mr. Shubham Thakare, Ms. Pooja Anjankar, Ms. Ananya Shetty and Ms. Sanskurti Dhawley.
All throughout his time here at UPAY, Shubham showed a great deal of zest and vested interest in taking the initiative of reaching out to the masses, connected with the volunteers and discussed strategies of engagement with them.
With the help of his team, he raised the number of enrolled students from a mere 5 to 35-40 in his village Isapur near Mouda, is a great achievement indeed. Since the time the centre has been established, Shubham has played a vital role in building the rapport with the community through his quest for excellence and systematic approach. It showed an excellent display of hard work, determination and persistence by Shubham, with the added personal touch of visiting and convincing the family and kids.
Pooja, who is from Rahadi village near Mouda, has been a student of UPAY centre herself. After she completed her schooling she was determined to give back to the community and help UPAY grow and succeed. Her empathetic and problem-solving approach caught the attention of her seniors and she was escalated to the position of the Centre Head at Rahadi centre of UPAY. When COVID outbreak took a toll on the healthcare scenario in India and UPAY decided to set up Health kiosks in villages to maximise the reach of accessible healthcare services, she stood at the helm of the operations and took it upon herself to learn first aid and safety procedures during the health kiosk drives. She displayed great heart and willingness to help the people and teach the volunteers so they could reach out and help more.
She had an undying and relentless attitude of working till a problem was solved. Pooja was encouraged by the other volunteers and took any opportunity she could as a learning and growing experience.
Ms. Ananya Shetty is a Psychology Student based in Dubai who joined UPAY as a content writing intern in September, 2020 and wrote several write ups for the blog of UPAY, and also created fundraiser content for various individual campaigns. When the second wave of COVID-19 hit India, she approached the team to ask them if I could be of any help again.
The team was really impressed by her work ethics and her willingness to contribute towards the Covid-19 relief work and so this time we had a bigger responsibility for her and so appointed her as the Content Head of UPAY. Her unparalleled innovative ideas and contribution has increased its viewership manifold. She changed the way the content department at UPAY works and ensured quality content is delivered by hand holding the budding writers and guiding them throughout.
Sanskruti Dhawley, another young social enthusiast from Pune chapter of UPAY is a teacher every child aspires to have by their side. Currently she is the Secretary of Operations of Pune zone. As an energetic team member, she organized various events, conducted fundraising campaigns, taught math to under-privileged children and designed syllabus and lesson plans for them. Her journey as she describes, was challenging but filled with joy and satisfaction. She has always been passionate about education to the under-privileged and climate change. Her selflessness and willingness to bring a change has paved a new path for her at UPAY.
She is passionately working on project ‘Manzil’ and has already got on board 200 children and 50 volunteers. Her work is characterized by creativity and ingenuity.
All these lovely and hardworking volunteers have been associated with the organization with the best of the interest for the organization and upliftment of the underprivileged children. They all found that joining UPAY changed their lives, as the volunteers present put every effort in making it a memorable experience, teaching them life lessons along with academics.
They are the real changemakers who are now working to make an impact in their communities, bringing people together and helping them understand the importance of education. Guiding, nurturing and walking alongside them in their quest for excellence and learning.
A hearty congratulations to Shubham, Pooja, Ananya and Sanskruti for achieving this milestone.
Wishing you all the best for your future endeavours!
UPAY - उपाय 
One thought on “Volunteers ~ transforming India”