Project Warmth: Volunteers distribute blankets to needy

In remembrance of the event, city-based NGO IGC started a campaign last week ‘Chennai is One’ walking the streets to donate food to those in need and celebrating the spirit of the city that came together to fight the floods two years ago. 

Now, they are taking the campaign forward with ‘Warmth’, a project to take care of the people on the streets even better, by supplying blankets across town.

“Chennai is starting to become colder in the nights now as winter is hitting the city. The weather is expected to go down till 21 degree Celsius in the end of December and beginning of January. We all enjoy the weather but think about the homeless who sleep on the streets. They might have to bear the cold with torn or old clothes, and our help would go a long way towards keeping them better,” said John Dilip Kumar, who is the founder of the organisation.

After a volunteer pointed this out to John, he came up with ‘Warmth’, through which their aim is to provide cosy blankets for street-dwellers all over the city, especially in the slum areas. “People call us when they have new or old blankets in good condition to donate, and we go collect them and then distribute them accordingly. We have a huge volunteer force built up over ten years in this field, mostly comprising of college students and young professionals,” he said.

John added, “We are inviting people to join us and traverse their neighbourhoods or go on a drive and give blankets to the people lying on the platforms directly. We don’t need cash; just your effort or time.”

Next up, their programmes are focused on differently-abled empowerment, child safety measures, animal welfare, village development and spreading awareness through art and performance. “Since we have volunteers from all walks of life as part of IGC, we are organising them into different teams to tackle each issue,” said John.