Green Acres Academy students and parents initiate a joint campaign to create a social platform to provide essentials to the needy
Mumbai: In the calamitous situation caused by the global COVID pandemic, The Green Acres Academy, an ICSE school located in Chembur, along with its students and parents, have launched a unique effort to help the daily wage workers, underprivileged and the homeless, impacted by the lockdown due to COVID 19 pandemic. As a joint initiative with the sister establishments, the Acres club and the neighboring Fern Hotel, the Green Acres Academy students their parents, the staff from The Firm and The Acres Club have created a platform where cooked meal packets can be safely be distributed. This noble gesture has been supported by the local Corporator, Smt. Asha Marathe. What started with 250 meal packets per day has now increased to 1000 packets per day, and looks to be further increased to 5000 over the next few weeks thanks to the overwhelming support and response from all the involved stakeholders. The initiative also acts as an announcement to others looking to contribute towards this noble cause and help the less fortunate at this difficult time.
Additionally, the platform built by the school also allows the neighboring residents to donate, either with cooked food or monetary donations, towards the cause, making it a truly local community initiative.
Speaking at this gesture from the Green Acres Academy, Rohan Parikh, Director, The Green Acres Academy said: “We have always looked to imbibe the right attitude and learnings to our students, to ensure they grow up to be compassionate, intelligent and responsible citizens of tomorrow. During these trying times, it was natural for us to rise to the occasion as a community, and our students did just that! And the compassion and sensitivity caught on like wild fire, first involving our staff and the parents and then the entire local community pitching it! We are honored to be able to do our bit for the needy in these times of uncertainty and are grateful to everyone who has joined in this initiative. A special thanks also to Smt. Asha Marathe, our local corporator, who was instrumental in her support for this platform.”
Currently, the school’s student and parent body are cooking small batches of 10-15 meals in their own kitchens and these are then collected, keeping in mind all social distancing protocols, by a team of volunteers, who then distribute the same to the needy. A WhatsApp platform coordinated by team members, who are working from home, ensures the entire supply chain runs smoothly.