Youngistaan Foundation Honours volunteers who helped during COVID-19 Pandemic

Hyderabad: On the occasion of the NGO's Formation Day to commemorate 7 years of Youngistaan Foundation, the organisation felicitated volunteers for their exemplary work to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities in the state of Telangana.

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From March 2020 onwards, disadvantaged communities were cut off from essential supplies such as food, water and access to medical care. Youngistaan Foundation volunteers immediately met this need by purchasing and/or cooking, packaging and distributing emergency and essential items to people - with the valuable assistance of the Telangana State Police, GHMC, revenue department and other partners. It is remarkable to note that in addition to our existing volunteers, over 1,500 new volunteers signed up in March 2020 to assist people and animals who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Various dignities, such as Addl. DGP Swati Lakra, IPS, Women Safety Wing, Addl. DGP and Rachakonda Commissioner of Police, IPS, Mahesh Bhagwat, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police, IPS, V.C Sajjanar, B. Sumathi IPS, DIG, CID, Women Protection Cell, DCP Malkajgiri, Rakshitha K Murthy, DCP Anasuya Women and Child Safety, SHE Teams Cyberabad among the others congratulated Youngistaan Foundation volunteers and spoke to the young people of Hyderabad, who displayed admirable qualities that upheld the community spirit in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each volunteer was given a certificate to commemorate their heroic efforts during the crisis of 2020.

Founder of Youngistaan Foundation, Arun Daniel Yellamaty, on the occasion said, "Young volunteers are the backbone of our the organization, one of the most important parts of our work is to empower young people to be changemakers, that's what these young people did during the pandemic and deserve every praise." adding, "We are grateful for the 7 years of work we have been doing; it's been tough but again a lot of work and a lot of lives still need to be touched."

The event hosted Games Jockey Issac who engaged everyone with his set of games, the musical artists AWM Band, who played a few popular numbers after which stand-up comedian Raja Sekhar Mamidanna, who is hugely popular with the young Hyderabad crowd, kept the mood of the evening light, as the event was dedicated to celebrating the work volunteers did by sacrificing their lives during the pandemic. The event was held at POSH NOSH, Jubilee Hills.

The organization also introduced Annual Awards for its internal volunteers who contributed 250+ hours during the entire year. Here are the winners for the year 2020- Volunteer of the year (Bright Spark Education Program) to Anala Reddy, (Women of Courage) to Deeksha Chitturi, (Hunger Heroes Food and Nutrition Program) to Mohit Surana.

Youngistaan Foundation wishes to thank our volunteers for their assistance in our COVID-19 outreach which allowed us to make the following impact:

● Delivered groceries to 15,725 families which fed over 20 lakh meals

● Provided 145,430 cooked meals

● Assisted over 60 senior citizens with medical needs and groceries

● Distributed 35,000 fruit and bread packets to migrant labourers travelling on Shramik Trains

● Delivered groceries and other essentials to 75 orphanages, old age homes and PWD homes

● Distributed 15,000 menstrual products to bend the curve of period poverty

● Fed fresh home-made meals to 3,000 stray animals

● Distributed 50+ cartons of biscuits, fresh carbonated drinks and cookies to juvenile homes

● Distributed PPEs to COVID nodal hospitals

● Distributed thermometers and oximeters to orphanages and visually impaired homes

● Organized special webinars to tackle gender-based violence, mental health and breast cancer awareness during the lockdown

Volunteers Testimonies:

"I used to go to the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate for groceries-distribution at various locations. This was followed by lunch distribution to migrant families located at Kokapet, Begum Bazaar, etc. Everyday we use to pack lunches, go to each location, say Begum Bazaar, feed the migrant workers and then go back to the Cyberabad Commissionerate, pick up the food and go to another location. This way we fed 1,000+ people a day. The level of satisfaction you get by volunteering to feed people is beyond explanation and only a volunteer will know what that feels like. This was the best thing that has happened to me, in my life. Thanks to Youngistaan Foundation for this opportunity which I wouldn't have received in my lifetime. During the pandemic, I have even helped by driving cancer diagnosed pet to the veterinarian clinic. I have never been to a pet clinic or had pets, but during this pandemic I have done that as well. I wish YF and the entire team all the very best for their services."

Ramesh - corporate employee and volunteer.

"Every alternate day at around 5 am, I used to take a senior citizen uncle for his dialysis as his children used to live in America. This touched me a lot as he used to be very kind to me too."

Akshita Joseph - student and resident of LB Nagar

"During the pandemic we started remote-learning teaching, we had to make sure the children took this seriously, and reply on time to the tasks that we gave them through voice messages or video messages. So building up a routine was important and it took some time to do that. The important thing that I learned was that learning should always be consistent and in a flow. We cannot teach them one thing today and expect them to remember that many days after. It should always have some follow-ups, casual questions related to that topic and assessments. And teaching effectively, even a simple topic means proper research done on that particular topic by the mentor. All these months this work gave me immense learning, and I am really glad about the decision that I took a year back to be a part of this organization."

Shruthi - corporate employer and volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic