BELAGAVI: A group of volunteers here is engaged in collecting old note books from schools to make new books to be distributed to needy students.
This group is led by
Swapna Mali-Patil a post-graduate in social work (MSW) and is working under the banner of Youth for Seva, a non-government organization in Belagavi. These volunteers are studying in different colleges in
Belagavi and they spend a few hours in a week to collect old note books from government and private schools during the end of the academic year.
After collecting these books, they separate blank pages from them and get them binded into 200 page
notebooks.
Swapna Mali-Patil told TOI, "We have been doing this for the past two years and the response has been improving and year by year we getting good response. Last year we were able make about 500 notebooks. This year we have collected nearly 7,000 old notebooks from four schools with the help of volunteers and teachers. We are expecting to get more than 1,000 books binded this year."
"The cost of transportation and binding is compensated by selling the written pages. We get the new books bound during the summer vacations and will be distributing them at the start of the academic year to poor students at government schools,"
Swapna added.
The volunteers also plan to distribute school bags and other study material to poor students and organise a clay model making workshop and competitions to kids by generating funds from philanthropists.
Supriya Kanagale, a college student and volunteer said, "We are thrilled that we are able to spend our time and energy for the betterment of poor students. We are getting great support from school teachers for this initiative."
