June marks Global Volunteer Month for Morgan Stanley, the global financial services firm. Each day for an entire month, its employees volunteer in their communities. Since the start of the initiative, its employees have delivered over one million volunteer hours in their communities.

Recently, 25 volunteers from different departments at Morgan Stanley, Bangalore were able to spend the day at the Akshaya Patra VK Hill kitchen and the Uttari School on the outskirts of Bangalore. The volunteers spent the morning peeling coconuts, sorting grains, and unloading food before having the opportunity to serve the mid-day meal to the children.

Morgan Stanley has been a supporter of The Akshaya Patra Foundation for many years, and we receive its volunteers multiples times a year. For some, it was their first visit to our facilities, but for others it was a chance to revisit an organization they support.

When asked why they chose to volunteer at Akshaya Patra, Shanks Srinivasan said, “We chose Akshaya Patra because of their transparency and forward-looking partnerships with corporations.” Hitesh added that, “one core value is [giving] back to the society.”

More volunteers are expected to visit the Akshaya Patra kitchens and schools later this month.

                   

On 11 March, 2016, a team of 20 female employees from SanDisk volunteered at Akshaya Patra’s Vasanthapura kitchen. The volunteering was a part of SanDisk’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The volunteers arrived at the Foundation’s V.K. Hill kitchen at 10:30 A.M. After making them familiar with the guidelines, they were taken on a guided tour of the facility. Anilkumar T.B., AGM – Program Management, guided them through the entire process that’s carried out at this gravity-flow-based kitchen, right from the procurement process to loading of food containers in delivery vans.

After the kitchen tour, they spent an hour in the processing area, where they helped Akshaya Patra kitchen staff in cutting and cleaning vegetables meant to be used the next day. They were brimming with enthusiasm all along. Thila, a software engineer at SanDisk, was particularly impressed with cleanliness and hygienic conditions maintained at the facility.

Chaitra Thimmaiah, who was coordinating the event for SanDisk, said that the volunteers are very happy to be in Akshaya Patra’s kitchen. She mused that all of them were so enthusiastic about the whole thing that they wanted to spend more time in the kitchen and not leave so soon.

The next stop for these volunteers was Government Higher Primary School (GHPS), Kumaraswamy Layout. At the school, they interacted with students and served them sweets after lunch. The children were highly enthusiastic throughout the interaction and candid in telling what they plan to become. One of the volunteers, Upasana Gandhi said she was fascinated by this interaction with children, adding that she had never imagined that they would be so proactive.

Another volunteer, Lopamudra Sen said she was impressed with the scale of Akshaya Patra’s Mid-day Meal Programme. She said she herself having studied in a government school, understood why Akshaya Patra’s efforts were laudable and that even she felt like joining the cause in some capacity. Lopamudra had first come across the name Akshaya Patra when she received mails from the Foundation asking for donation. Now, she says, she realises why these mails are important.

On a parting note, Chaitra Thimmaiah described the experience as awesome. She also promised that the next time the number will be larger as they’ll make a conscious effort to spread the word.

Click to view exclusive images of SanDisk Employees Volunteer at Akshaya Patra’s V.K. Hill Kitchen