Drive to put notebooks in front of needy kids

The seed of "Gift a notebook" mission was sown the day Shubhangi Koparkar read a newspaper report on the unavailability of notebooks hampering the academics of tribal girls in a government hostel.
Stung by it, the education enthusiast decided to take as many notebooks as possible to the doorsteps of needy. And the "Gift a notebook" mission made its debut in 2012. Koparkar collected 1,200 books that year and distributed them in rural areas dotting the city.

"After reading the article, the teacher in me could not keep calm. So, I put up a notice at our business ventures and appealed to all the people I knew to donate at least one notebook," said Koparkar, former professor of microbiology at Abasaheb Garware College.

She chose to distribute notebooks because textbooks are provided by the government and can be handed down one year after the other. Her mantra is simple: collect from people willing to donate and distribute them among children in rural areas, in need of help.

"Gift a notebook" reached out to more people with each passing year. In 2016, 25,000 books were distributed in 14 districts. Today, after five years, she is proudly associated with 50 NGOs.

The notebook collection starts in January and continues till May 31. For the next 10 days, the notebooks are sorted according to the need of every school. The whole Koparkar family is actively involved in this drive.

To expand the reach of the mission, Koparkar has joined hands with schoolkart.com — an e-commerce portal. Koparkar's son, Aniket, who helps in spreading awareness about the drive through social media, said, "The idea of involving an e-commerce portal struck us when pals and relatives from far-off places wanted to contribute but could not as we did not accept money. "

Skimming through thousands of donations she has received, Koparkar's memory halts at the one made by her domestic help to encourage her drive. But she is still waiting for a precious donor. "I am longing for that day when a child will come and hand me a notebook," she said.