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Dear Family,
As of December 2013, the Outreach Child Support project caters to 2874 students every month regularly. Though it may not seem such a big number when compared to other projects working for a similar cause, I would like to emphasise that we have reached thus far purely due to the goodwill of each one of you.
We launched OCS on 6th Dec. 2009 with just a handful of beneficiaries from in and around Cochin, Kerala and in just four years, we have spread far and wide across India. Every sponsor that has joined hands with us has done so only because someone out there cared enough to tell them about the project. We have never resorted to any kind of promotions, rather word of mouth or one-to-one conversations have been the only tool and I think that is the key element of our steady growth.
Many have asked as to why we don’t get corporates involved; they are always looking for ways to utilise their CSR funds. But from the beginning, a core value that we have maintained and never compromised on is that every benefactor must be a person. Sticking to this policy has surely slowed our pace but when we look back, we can proudly say that all of our 2874 beneficiaries are being supported by individual benefactors who have been introduced to this project by another person who is already associated with the project and that is its beauty! Moreover we have discovered that this helps foster warm relationships and a family atmosphere amongst all benefactors, volunteers and associates. I am sure I’ve said it before but I say it again, it is this one thing that I treasure most in the project as do some of you as well.
With the New Year unfolding, we have been pondering 'what next' and in tune with our tagline - ‘reach out with Outreach’ - we are happy to share that various initiatives are being planned. In the pipeline is a residential programme for Class 11 & 12 students where we orient them for life. To be organised in a vibrant and attractive format, it will include input sessions animated by resource persons from diverse areas like Arts, Sports, Creativity, Politics, Business and Public Service. The students will also have opportunities to chat with the speakers, interact with leaders, and take an aptitude test to help them determine what careers are best suited to their skills and interests, amongst others. We are very excited about this and the planning and preparations are already underway. This year we will also be initiating support for needs like medical treatment, house construction/repair in addition to encouraging students for higher studies. We have begun on a small scale and look to increasing this further.
As I assure you there is much in store for the coming year, I would like to add that it also means a greater role for each one of you in the lives of these children in terms of your encouragement, support and accompaniment to make them world class citizens.
Hoping each of you also liked our new mail template and looking forward to your renewed involvement in these new times,
Thanks & Regards,
Subin Jacob | Director | Outreach Child Support
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