MSU Students for COVID-19 Relief in India

**May 15 Update**

We have extended the fundraiser till May 20th to meet our goal. Please help us exceed our goal! 

$15,000 have been transferred already to three beneficiary non profits. 

Read below for further details.

**End Update**

**May 5, 2021: Update**

Thank you Spartans for your generous support in helping us raise funds for COVID-19 Relief in India. We are happy to share that our goal of raising $15,000 was met by May 5, 2021, within 48 hours! The amount has been split equally between the three organizations--Hemkunt Foundation, Enrich Lives Foundation, and the HelpNow Initiative--and the transfer of funds to the organizations is underway. We would like to take this momentum forward and increase the scope and reach of our fundraiser for India. We have identified two more organizations to support, AID India and Child in Need Institute (CINI) in working towards our new, ambitious goal of raising $50,000 by May 15.

In selecting organizations to donate to, our team prioritized regions that were the hardest hit by end-April, 2021. We wanted to spread the donations across organizations supporting marginalized and in-need communities with oxygen, food and groceries, and other medical necessities like free, sanitized and well-equipped ambulances.

As the COVID-19 related devastation continues to engulf other areas in India, we felt it prudent and necessary to include Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal to our list. For the second phase of the fundraiser, we have identified two additional organizations described below:

Association for India’s Development (AID) is providing food support to COVID-19 positive families in rural parts of Tamil Nadu. Additionally, they update the type of support depending on the most urgent need of the community. In the past several weeks they have provided grocery support, protective gear, mental health services, oximeters, and thermometers.

Child in Need Institute (CINI) have set up multiple COVID Sahayata Kendra (CSK) or Help Desks in rural and urban areas to raise awareness on COVID appropriate behavior (washing hands, wearing masks, etc.), and link them to organizations providing emergency COVID relief. Additionally, they are distributing wellness kits to affected families, and mobilising funds to support the district health authorities with emergency gears.
Going forward, we will divide the total amount raised equally between the five organizations. Your donation will go a long way in supporting families and communities ravaged by the ongoing pandemic. Please share this widely within your networks. 

You can follow the two organizations on social media for regular updates on the links below:

AID India: Instagram and Twitter 

CINI India: Instagram  and Twitter 

Coverage

CINI India: In COVID 19 Times This West Bengal NGO Provides Relief To Those Battling The Challenges Of The Pandemic . NDTV.

AID India: AID Responds to COVID 19 . AID India.

***We have created a document with FAQs on the fundraiser. You can access it here to look through them and ask new questions.***

***End Update***

Michigan State University Fundraiser for COVID-19 Relief in India

India is in dire need of support in battling its second wave of COVID-19, as hundreds of thousands of Indians are contracting the virus every day. Officials estimate nearly 400,000 cases, with numbers doubling every few days. Reported daily deaths are in the thousands while experts estimate the actual numbers are far higher. Hospitals, burial grounds, and crematoriums are currently overwhelmed, and the media is flooded with reportage of the humanitarian crisis unfolding and escalating right before our eyes.

It’s likely that every Indian member of the MSU community has loved ones that have been affected by this crisis. We are a group of MSU students and alumni from around the world who have decided to organize a fundraiser to support ongoing efforts for relief. Our goal is to raise $15,000 by May 15th, 2021 and we need your help!

How can you make an impact and save lives?

Indian graduate students and graduate alumni in partnership with the Indian Student Organisation (ISO) and Undergraduate International Indian Student Association (UIISA) have identified three organizations: Hemkunt Foundation, Enrich Lives Foundation, and HelpNow. These organizations are working around the clock on the ground in Gurugram, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Pune, a few of the hardest-hit regions of the sub-continent.

1. Hemkunt Foundation is distributing free oxygen cylinders to COVID-19 patients and organizing relief camps in low-income communities. The foundation is completely volunteer run and their team is able to help 500 patients a day.

2. Enrich Lives Foundation is ensuring that the country’s migrant and daily wage laborers’ communities, who have been most impacted by the crisis, have access to food and groceries. So far, the organization has distributed meal kits and cooked meals to around 35,000+ underprivileged families.

3. HelpNow is an initiative by students of IIT Bombay providing free sanitized and well-equipped ambulances with ventilators within 15-20 minutes to transport COVID patients. Additionally, they provide 24x7 network access to the patients, healthcare workers, hospitals, and testing labs.

We aim to raise $15,000 by May 15th to support these urgent efforts. These funds will be divided equally between the above organisations. 

Your generous donation can help us raise funds for over 40 oxygen cylinders for the Hemkunt Foundation, meal and grocery kits for over 650 families for the Enrich Lives Foundation, and 850 PPE kits for the HelpNow Initiative.

Any amount that you decide to donate will help support families and communities ravaged by the ongoing pandemic. Please share this widely within your networks.

Follow these organizations on social media for regular updates and to amplify their relief efforts. You can also learn more about the excellent work they are doing using the links provided below:

Hemkunt Foundation: Instagram and Twitter

Enrich Lives: Instagram and Twitter

HelpNow: Instagram and Twitter

Media coverage

Hemkunt Foundation: Lending a helping hand with oxygen cylinders . Forbes India.

Enrich Lives Foundation: Mumbai/Angels of Lockdown Still March on For A Cause. Times of India.

HelpNow: HelpNow Ambulances Now Available in Pune Also . Punekar News.


***Jayant Benjamin is the president and the signing authority of the Indian Student Organization (ISO)***

The amount will be transferred to the ISO bank account, and then, to the fundraisers of the above organisations. The process will take approximately 10 days after the fundraiser ends.