Bangalore : Daan Utsav (earlier Joy of Giving Week), India’s largest festival of giving, will commence on October 2nd in the city. Celebrated year on year since 2009, this 7-day festival is a national campaign inviting people from all states, cities, regions, class, community, religion and age to come together and give back to society in whatever way they choose to .

The festival Daan Utsav is an opportunity for people to show their support for a cause close to their heart. The campaign aims to reach out to society at large and persuade people to give their time, money, resources, and talents to create or support events as part of giving. Be it donating resources to the needy or providing the hungry with a meal, people can choose to associate themselves with a cause close to their heart.

Ms. Parul Thakur, General Manager, JW Marriott Bengaluru said “It is a matter of great honour for JW Marriott Bengaluru, to be associated Daan Utsav 2015. Marriott as a brand believes in ‘spirit to serve’, and Daan Utsav presents us with a perfect opportunity to reach out and provide support to those in need. Our aim is to make a difference to the lives of people in society and we will try out best to help them through our various initiatives. JW Marriott Bengaluru will provide a platform for organizations to use for their activities along with reaching out to NGO’s like the St.Joseph’s school for the underprivileged and the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Bank Donation Camp with our activities.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Rajan Narayanan, volunteer, Daan Utsav (Bangalore), said, “Daan Utsav earlier called as Joy of Giving Week is a national movement started in the year 2009, that hopes to engage every Indian in ‘acts of giving’ – money, time, skills, resources or love. The goal is to engage citizens of the country and instil values of caring, civic and social responsibility. The week aspires to become a ‘festival’ of Giving that unifies India across its classes, castes, languages, socio economic strata and the urban/rural divide. Bengaluru with its metropolitan culture has a responsibility to give back more and this is what Daan Utsav 2015 will aim to achieve.”

He added, “This year we have several events that will engage a large number of givers. Platform events such as Under the Stars to support the homeless, EduDaan a way to support Govt schools, Online Rice challenge, Halli habba a way to experience rural India, DaanUtsav booths at 100 Indian oil retail outlets and at all Spar retail outlets have been planned.” He also elaborated on how corporates, 5 star hotels, apartment complexes, schools, colleges, local businesses, government institutions and individuals have extended their support towards the cause this year.”

“The campaign (Edu Daan) is to support lesser privileged government schools in rural areas around Bangalore. Edu Daan aims to help Govt. schools improve infrastructure – classrooms, toilets and enable better learning outcomes. The entire initiative has been structured as a unique partnership with all stakeholders – Schools, Students, Corporates, employees and Govt, creating mass-level awareness; direct impact on education with transparency and accountability in the progress of projects and to create awareness about the need and to raise funds for both hard & soft infrastructure”, said Mr. Raj Rajkumar, Director & Site Leader at TE Connectivity Services.

Ms. Himabindu, President of Vikasana, a social service initiative of IIM Bangalore had this to say. “The festival of giving “Daan Utsav” gives the people of India a great way to support the less fortunate among us by engaging in acts of giving. At IIM Bangalore we are providing a platform for all our students, staff and faculty to celebrate the festival. We have lined up an event for each day of the week that will give the opportunity for everyone at our campus to engage in several giving acts and share smiles.

“We have been celebrating the festival of giving “Daan Utsav” for the last 4 years and this provides an opportunity for all the residents and their families to give back to the society in several ways. Our events are planned to engage each family member especially children for whom we have a sandwich making and distribution activity. We also give away a gift and a sumptuous meal to all the people who serve us each day; such as security staff, housekeeping staff, milk, flower and newspaper vendors, plumber, electrician, etc. In addition we provide food grains on a monthly basis to two homes nearby one for the visually challenged and the other for intellectually challenged, said Kaveri Madhusudan a resident of Sterling Terraces apartment at BSK 3rd stage who have been celebrating this festival for the last 4 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Neeraja (name changed), a girl who lives at Baale Mane, a home for girls who don’t have parents able to care for them, said, “We are delighted that Baale Mane is involved with RECAL in creating this very unique and exciting event called ‘Under the Stars’ where we are encouraging the people of Bangalore to come and sleep out one night in the open to experience and support the homeless and the destitute.” The event will happen at the Indranagar club on Oct 2 from 7 pm.

The last edition of the festival saw over four million people participate across the country. A host of 1000+ events reached out to over 90 towns and cities and was able to raise in excess of 30 crore in cash and kind for various NGO’s that were a part of the campaign last year.