Not just cheque book charity

CHENNAI: The children of Udavum Karangal at Thiruverkadu were an excited lot on Wednesday, for they were treated to a special lunch. Right after school, they met four volunteers from the Malli Gourmet Guide, who interacted with them and served a delicious meal, sponsored by Mathsya Restaurant.The drive was part of Malli’s ongoing social campaign, 2012. Close to 100 children from this centre were treated to a post-Pongal lunch. Founder of Udavum Karangal, Vidyaakar, said, “It is heartening to see that people want to take an active part in their giving. Rather than chequebook charity, people like to have the inner satisfaction of seeing how they help,” he said.Shilpa Rao, Marketing Head of Malli, said that the focus was on celebrating Pongal with the less fortunate. “It was overwhelming to see the joy on the children’s faces. We want to address the issue of food wastage, especially in hotels and after functions. More people should come forward and help out such orphanages by contributing what they do not use.” Malli Gourmet Guide describes itself as Chennai’s little black-book of all things food and drink and is Chennai’s first food magazine. Udavum Karangal (Helping Hands), a non-profit social service organisation in Thiruverkadu, focuses on community development.Vidyaakar informed that if people wanted to donate food past dinner time, the organisation had storage facilities. If not feasible to store the food till the time of the next meal, it would be distributed to the people who reside around the area.Those interested in contributing can contact Malli on 24470033.