Mumbai, 20th October 2022: As Mother Teresa rightly said, “There is no bigger show of compassion than giving.” To develop compassion in the hearts of the students and instill the importance of giving back to society, Jasudben ML School and Bloomingdales Pre-primary have begun a week-long Toy donation drive as part of their Diwali celebration this year.
To mark the beginning of the festival of lights, the school believes in helping and reaching out to the less fortunate children who long only for some love and happiness. Jasudben ML School has chosen the theme #HappyAtSchool for this year to teach students how to spread happiness and positivity which will in turn make them happy at school. Apart from that, the school is inculcating moral values such as “Sharing is Caring” by conducting donation drives.
In partnership with Hamleys, one of the largest toy stores in the world, the school plans on donating the collected toys to less privileged children to brighten up their Diwali. All the collected toys will be handed over to ST. JUDE India Child Care and Reliance Foundation. Students from the pre-primary section up to the 12th standard have collected over 900 toys, with over 400 students donating them to the cause. In return, Hamleys will provide a Certificate of appreciation to each child to acknowledge their support towards these children.
Not just that, the students, teachers, principal and staff donated gently used, pre-loved sarees to the tribal women of Aarey through Nazareth Foundation (The Tribal Tadka). Apart from the toy donation, the pre-primary school has also donated two books and a cupcake to each child of Lions Juhu Center for Children in Need of Special Care as a part of the ‘Joy of Giving’ week. Whereas, the students of Playschool and Nursery donated art materials to Advitya School and the Jr. KG students donated the same to a school run by YMCA, Bandra
Animal care and well-being is a cause very close to the principal’s heart as she is an avid animal lover herself. She believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that says, “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members’. The Principal along with the students from grades V-VIII have raised and donated approximately Rs 40,000/- towards the ‘Hands that Heal Animal Care Foundation’ which is a shelter for injured and destitute animals.
Mrs. Damayanti Bhattacharya, Principal of JML School, said, “The success of these contributions are due to the participation of every student in the school. We are always instructing our students against the frivolous use of things and to donate to the needy and less fortunate.. And witnessing my students taking part in this donation drive gives me immense joy. The festive season is all about bringing and giving happiness to others and spreading festive cheers all along. And we need to remember that we can get pure joy and happiness only when we interact and engage with the intent of helping and caring for someone. The donation program garnered a great response from the students and also from the parents and even the recipients were thankful and happy. JML School will continue with such acts of generosity on a yearly basis.”
For the intra-school activities, on the occasion of Diwali, the teachers of the playschool and nursery students will perform a short skit on the positive ways to celebrate Diwali and the negative effects of firecrackers. The celebration highlights Diwali, as a festival of lights and that it can be celebrated without causing pollution or harm to the environment. As for the primary students, they will come dressed in coloured clothes instead of their usual uniforms and partake in a potluck in their class as well as Diya-making activities.
