It's the season of giving once again, and Reach Lives, a Bengaluru-based NGO, has taken up the cause of promoting positive mental health among underprivileged children through gifts and activities.
Project Christmas Cheer is an annual, volunteer-led outreach program that Reach Lives organizes for children in orphanages, foster homes, and temporary settlements. Last year, the event, which was flagged off by Ms. Meenakshi Krishnabyregowda, resulted in the distribution of over 10,000 gifts to several thousand children.
Reflecting on last year's program, Dr. Senneil Gomes, a program director at Reach Lives, said, "There was so much joy in the eyes of each child we reached. The children got a rare opportunity to participate in dance and music and took home many practical gifts as well. It clearly was a great mental boost for the kids who usually have limited contact with the outside world."
This year, Reach Lives is building on the success of last years event by organizing a much larger outreach program on the 14th of December, 2022. Their volunteers have been hard at work reaching out to the Bengalurean community to collect toys, clothes, stationary, books and snacks.
Mrs. Meenakshi Bedi, treasurer at the organization, stated, "We have received a lot of interest from interested volunteers, especially students of institutions like Ramaiah and Presidency College. We are therefore planning on covering a much larger portion of Bengaluru and bringing gifts to over 6,000 underprivileged children."
Reach Lives plans to keep mental health at the core of all these events. They will be organizing many engaging events at each of the gift distribution sites to encourage participation from children and foster good mental health. For more information, visit www.reachlives.com.
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