First Corporate Workshop...

iVolunteer-Asha group took a big step forward on 26th April 2006, with our first corporate presentation for 70 employees of BEA Systems, Bangalore. Along with street plays, we are looking at more such corporate workshops to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Here is a brief report of the event -

The 1-hour workshop conducted in the office campus of BEA Systems on 26th April 2006 at 5PM, was on HIV/AIDS awareness for the employees of the company.

The preparation for the workshop was a joint effort by the entire group of “iVolunteer-Asha” with the core effort from Rajesh, Gaurav and me (Vijayanand).

The workshop was a combination of introduction to iVolunteer by Anna, PowerPoint presentation from me, volunteering experience shared by Gaurav and Question & Answer session taken care by me, Gaurav and Sunita (the counselor of Asha Foundation).

The presentation gave all the necessary and in-depth information about HIV/AIDS i.e.,

- Modes of transmission,

- Non-transmission,

- Prevention,

- Testing procedures for HIV/AIDS,

- The common myth in the society about HIV/AIDS,

- Services of ASHA Foundation and also

- How volunteering can do wonders when one is committed for the cause they are volunteering for and of course the emphasis on the HIV/AIDS helpline numbers of Asha foundation.

Around 70 employees attended the workshop and the response was extremely good since most of them had lot of questions and were eager to know more about HIV/AIDS. This acted as a great motivation for me and Gaurav and we both enthusiastically clarified all their questions and doubts on the spot and even after the workshop.

This workshop at the BEA Systems would not have been possible without the co-ordination of our able iVolunteer Manager, Ms. Antoinette Lopez, the knowledge given to us by Sunita of Asha Foundation and the dedication and contribution of the entire iVolunteer-Asha Group.

To convey my happiness and satisfaction about the huge success, I would like to repeat the same words, which Gaurav said, while concluding the workshop –

“What's better community service than SAVING SOMEONE’S LIFE”.

This also makes me say -

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we GIVE".

Vijayanand, Bangalore

iVolunteer-Asha Awareness Strategy

The target groups for creating awareness about HIV / AIDS will be:

1. STUDENTS (Age Group between 15years to 21 years)

2. DOMESTIC WORKERS (Like Auto drivers, Coolies, House maids etc)

3. WOMEN
i. Single Women
ii. Employed and Unemployed Women
iii. House Wife’s

4. PROFESSIONALS

The Modes of Awareness among all these Target Groups will be:

STUDENTS:
Conduct HIV/AIDS awareness sessions(Interactive games) at various schools and colleges (1 hour)
Display posters and Banners at various schools and colleges
Note: Student awareness programs will conducted only between July - January.

DOMESTIC WORKERS:
Approaching various unions for arranging awareness sessions(street plays) in factories and industries.

WOMEN:
Approach residential co-operative societies or women development cells for conducting awareness sessions.
Spread the awareness among the female employees in offices though email or through CSR depts or through Women Empowerment Cells.

PROFESSIONALS:
Conduct corporate workshops in BPOs, Call Centers, IT Companies etc (1 Hour)
Awareness through EMAILS, SMS, YAHOOGROUPS, ONLINE COMMUNITES etc.

To conduct the various awareness sessions to all the target groups we require lot of volunteers and also need to do lot of networking. If you are a visitor to this blog and you wish to contribute for this noble cause then either join us as a volunteer or help us to meet the right people in your organization/association/union/factory/schools/colleges for conducting these awareness sessions.

You can email us at bangalore@ivolunteer.org.in or vijayanand.nagaraj@gmail.com or

call us at ASHA Foundation - 23543333, iVolunteer - 41466568, Vijayanand - 9845354568

Introduction to Ivolunteer-Asha

iVolunteer is an initiative of MITRA that is working to create a volunteering movement in India.

volunteering to us means contributing back to the society in term of giving time and sharing skills with those who are in need.
iVolunteer is working through its Volunteer Centers and Non-profit partners to create a volunteering infrastructure that will reduce the time and cost of recruiting volunteers and there by making it easier for volunteers to make a difference in their local community.

At present the iVolunteer offices are located at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Pune. Volunteer centers in these cities will guide you in finding just the RIGHT organization to volunteer for!! (www.ivolunteer.org.in). One such organization is ASHA Foundation.

ASHA spells Action, Service and Hope for AIDS is a charitable, voluntary trust helping HIV/AIDS infected patients, families and society. The ASHA Foundation was established in 1998 by Dr. Glory Alexander and a few like-minded people to take the message of hope to the silent sufferers of HIV/AIDS.

ASHA's mission is to FIGHT AIDS, NOT PEOPLE. We believe that we need to prepare our present in order to enjoy a holistic tomorrow. Awareness is the first step towards cutting short the HIV virus in its devastating tracks. Therefore, ASHA primary aim is to INFORM, COUNSEL, TREAT and CARE.

ASHA Services
Asha has many services and projects (www.ashaf.org) with regard to HIV/AIDS. However, the most important service is:

HIV/AIDS help line and telephone counseling service.

• Toll free No. 1097 (From anywhere in India)
• Tel. Counseling (080)-23543333 (From anywhere in Karnataka)

Volunteers Involvement in ASHA
ASHA foundation has numerous projects in the pipeline. The reach and success of these endeavors depends heavily on the benevolence of organizations and individuals committed to the cause of AIDS victims.
One such endeavor is the need for consistent publicity of the ASHA HIV/AIDS helpline and telephone counseling so that people are aware of the services available. This need led to the formation of iVolunteer-Asha in association with iVolunteer.

iVolunteer-Asha consisting of students and professionals, from different backgrounds, share a common desire to create awareness about HIV/AIDS by publicizing the Helpline and Counseling Services of ASHA Foundation.