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Haritha is a 2^nd year Biochemistry student at Linfield College in Portland, Oregon. She recently travelled to Mumbai with eight other classmates and two professors to volunteer with Atma and learn about local social projects. Atma was thrilled to receive the Linfield students, as they were a passionate and enthusiastic group. Haritha’s volunteer report is the first in a series from the Linfield students.

I learned about the Atma Volunteer trip to Mumbai through my college January term class. I’d previously volunteered at the American Red Cross, a hospital and a soup kitchen, but nothing like what we would do in India. I came into the experience knowing that what my classmates and I contributed would be something valuable for local NGOs in the future.

A typical day in Mumbai meant leaving our room at 9AM to head to either SPROUTS, an environmentally-focused organisation, or CHIP, an Atma Graduated Partner and educational NGO. As a team, we’d work on projects throughout the day, usually finishing after 5PM. These projects ranged from helping prepare rough ground to plant a community garden in an orphanage, to painting murals in kindergarten classes. Our experience was facilitated and guided by Atma and leaders from local organisations. In the evening, we were able to taste a little more of Mumbai by heading out to eat or do some shopping.

I really enjoyed working with Atma: I was thankful of how much they helped us get us introduced and integrated into Mumbai and the social sector.

Atma gave us the opportunity to meet incredible leaders. Anand Pendharkar, SPROUTS Founder, was one of the most inspirational person I met, because he is so passionate about his work towards the environment. Listening to Anand talk about the butterfly effect where small changes lead to big changes in the future was a specific conversation that was meaningful to me.

One of my favourite moments of the entire trip took place while working with SPROUTS at St. Catherine’s Home: an orphanage for HIV positive girls. We were so thrilled when the girls came out and started helping us on the vegetable farm. They even introduced us to some of the games they knew, and by the end of our work at SPROUTS, they were calling all the girls “Didi” and all the guys “Uncle.”

Would I do this again?  Yes, because of the amazing relationships you can build with passionate NGO leaders who are doing their part to build a better future for India. Thank you Atma, for the experience!

Dear Atma Family,

As we enter 2012, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where we have been in the past year and where we are going. We have one very exciting goal for the upcoming year.

2011 has been a milestone year for Atma, celebrating 4 years as an organisation. In 2011, we saw many people join the Atma family who helped to grow our vision and direction. We also saw people leave Atma: most significantly the transition of Lee, our founder. Transitioning the founder of an organisation is no easy task, and something that organisations much older than ours do not dare to take on.

Atma is a 4 year old organisation, and still in many ways a “start-up”. However, we have depth and conviction of a much older organisation.

To me, this conviction comes from a deep belief in our organisation and in our ability to end educational inequality. We are but one part of a bigger movement, but the work we do is integral to bringing quality education to children and young people in India. By building the capacity of NGOs, we are creating sustainable institutions which will be the key to ensuring high quality education to those currently unable to access it.

Atma has the incredible privilege of working with determined and dynamic NGOs from many different fronts in the battle for quality education. The lessons, energy and dedication we draw from them makes us a stronger organisation and better individuals.

Atma was never founded to be a small organisation. With fundraising chapters in 3 countries, Atma has a big mandate. We plan on living up to that mandate in 2012-13. Currently at 6 Atma partners, we have set the BIG goal of reaching 20 partners by March 2013. It will take many people and a lot of hard work to reach this goal, but I know we can do it.

We couldn’t be where we are today without you: your individual support and love has helped us make it this far. I want to take this time to thank you for being part of Atma’s work and for your dedication over the last year.

Atma has big plans for the New Year, and we can’t wait to realize them.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Happy New Year!

With love,

Mary Ellen Matsui

Executive Director, Atma

What if you could volunteer from home to support projects anywhere in the world? What if you could complete a piece of a project in 30 minutes to contribute to a larger project for an NGO like Atma based anywhere across the globe?

Professionals all over the world recognize the value of volunteering, for both personal and professional development. However, volunteer opportunities that are time consuming and require an upfront commitment aren’t accessible to everyone.

Micro-volunteering, otherwise known as virtual or e-volunteering, is defined by working online to complete specific tasks that may fall under the umbrella of a bigger project. Micro-volunteering engages individuals with skills across the areas of IT, blogging, fundraising, HR, research, design and social media. A micro-volunteer can put his or her specific technical expertise towards an NGO project, from anywhere in the world, contributing as much or as little time as they have available.

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The Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH) improves the lives of mothers and children by providing programs focused on preventative healthcare, education, and nutritional interventions to underprivileged communities. Founded in 2005 in Indonesia, FMCH believes that a child’s development in the early years of their life is a foundation for their future educational and personal development.

Malnutrition in children is the result of several factors, most of which fall under a lack of access to resources and education. A limited family income, poor knowledge of basic nutrition and hygiene practices, and limited access to medical support, safe water and proper accommodation all contribute to the issue of child malnutrition. FMCH’s mission is to tackle malnutrition in innovative ways. Through medical clinics, health talks, home visits and cooking and parenting classes, FMCH approaches early childhood development and health from multiple angles. By addressing health issues and malnutrition in pregnant women, infants and young children, and by teaching proper nutrition, they focus on the holistic development of the child and empower women to make smart health choices for their families.

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By Hayley Bolding, Atma Founder

At Atma we believe that any “issue” an organization faces is merely a challenge, and that having a “challenge” rather than “problem” focused outlook encourages innovative solutions towards helping the organization to grow.

Founded to tackle the educational challenges faced by Mumbai’s underprivileged, Atma recognizes that the greatest impact is in building capacity within the key people and organizations creating change in India – the innovative NGOs that are our Atma Partners.

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On Sunday August 7th 2011, Atma was featured in the Midday News as a leader amongst the hundreds of NGOs that participate in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon every year. The Mumbai Marathon provides a fantastic platform for fundraising and cooperation between NGOs across India. Read the complete article, or write to Bronwyn or Lisa at  marathon@atma.org.in to sign up for Mumbai’s largest community event!

An open letter from Summer Starr, Atma Partnerships Director

In 2004, I graduated from the University of Washington. Armed with a BA in International Development, I flew to Kenya to “change the world”. What I discovered was that neither I nor the organisation I went to work with were prepared to utilize my skills in the most effective manner.  As a young person with minimal work experience, I lacked the perspective and skills the organisation truly needed, and the organisation was not prepared to use the skills I did have.

In not being able to make the impact I wanted, I felt disillusioned. This experience pushed me to “step up my game”. I realized that passion was not enough: I needed to gain experience so that I could maximize my impact and contribute in a meaningful way. In addition, I needed to look for volunteer opportunities with clearly defined roles that fit my talents and expertise.

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In 2011, The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon raised 12.16 crores towards charities and NGOs across Mumbai. Through their participation in the Marathon, 138 corporate companies played a large role in the fundraising effort.

Over the past 11 years, the Marathon has grown into a fantastic event for NGOs, corporates and individuals to come together towards creating social impact. Why should a corporate company take advantage of the incredible exposure and community engagement opportunity that comes with the Race day?

Photo by Cory Goldberg

The Corporate Challenge is a category which allows corporate companies to participate in the Mumbai Marathon on behalf of a nonprofit organisation of their choice. Besides the visibility and exposure provided by the large scale event, there are multiple other benefits for corporate companies that choose to engage in the Marathon.

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The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is Asia’s largest marathon, and one of India’s single platforms for fundraising. [1]

In the past, the Mumbai Marathon has served as an incredible event for awareness and fundraising for NGOs across India, as well as to help showcase the social issues they address. In 2010, 107 NGOs chose to participate in the Mumbai Marathon. In 2011, 179 NGOs were registered in the Marathon, collectively raising Rs 12.16 crore. Based on the growth witnessed over the past few years, NGO involvement is expected to continue to grow exponentially.

The key to a successful Marathon campaign for any NGO is having an extensive planning process and clear goals. Preparing for the Mumbai Marathon encompasses much more than showing up on Race Day: planning requires a large investment of time and energy in marketing your cause, finding participants and corporate teams, and completing the registration processes. However, approaching the Marathon preparations in a strategic way guarantees an incredible outcome for an NGO.

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“One of my high school teachers once said to me, ‘If you’re not doing something about it, you don’t get to complain about it.’ The most important thing I have learned over the past 4 years is that talk is meaningless. It’s not enough to complain about the problems we see in the world today, the only way to make change is to stop complaining and start doing. Action does not just speak louder than words, it is the only thing that will create change.”

Atma began with an idea. Mumbai has thousands of NGOs that are founded by passionate social entrepreneurs who have an incredible vision. However, most NGOs struggle with a lack of resources which prevents them from truly achieving their goals and effectively reaching underprivileged children and young adults in Mumbai.

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