Cause & Event

An effective, touching and successful idea was that of the People For Animals, which recently organized Neelam Man Singh Chaudhary’s latest play, The Suit, which was a production par excellence and had audiences thronging to Rock Garden for all the five shows. Sensitive, superlative, the director, actors, musicians…were all in sync. Not only did the play had theatre lovers spell-bound, for PFA it meant getting their message across to people in a creative ambience. “Warmth, compassion and a little thought for animals is all that we are looking for and of course, extending our activities in the city, especially our proposed animal hospital and we got such a stupendous response, thanks to all our sponsors and people of the city,’’ says Payal Sodhi. The lady reasons that all the events they have organized previously too, have had superb success rates, for what they plan is always commercially viable and has value for everyone. “You need that for sponsorships and to make PFA a brand. It’s a two-way process,’’ Payal says their gestures of giving blue ribbons to people after the show, made many realize that this was the colour for animal welfare, they treating people to eggless cakes on Children’s Day drove home the point of vegetarianism, promoting their greeting cards for fund-raising, giving small pots filled with organic manure…it was all meticulously worked out. “As a result, we have an order of 550 kgs of organic manure, queries regarding cards and animals and we are overwhelmed,’’ smiles Payal.

It’s all about adding feeling to value, says Atul Khanna of the Durga Das Foundation. The various events that are organized by the Foundation have a cause, be it plays or concerts. “We did an event for WWF and in the recent ones, for instance the Jagjit Singh night, whatever revenue generation is done is pumped into our umpteen social projects involving slum children,’’ adds Khanna.

The members of Chandigarh Adventures, Treks and Sports (CATS) have an action-packed life, be it their biking trips, treks, adventure holidays…Besides all the fun, their social responsibility quotient is also high. “Yes, all our events pack in fun and some serious work. Like making people aware of the importance of blood donation, talking about domestic violence, which is not only physical, but emotional as well, welfare of the girl child…we do our bit without making it seem like a task,’’ smiles Supreet, busy with the preparation of the forthcoming blood donation camp.

The key to a successful event, be it creating awareness or generating funds, pronounces Amrit Pal Singh, Director Rotary Club, Chandigarh is sponsorships. “The main expenses are met by sponsors and not by selling tickets,’’ Amrit is totally involved with the Rotary Heartline project, which supports treatment of poor children suffering from congenital heart disease, with assistance from PGI and Fortis. “We are thorough professionals and honesty is our USP, so we really have been able to touch many hearts by organizing ‘rocking’ concerts by Jal from Pakistan, Parikrama, Indian Ocean, Aryans, with sponsorships from Spice,’’ Amrit says selling space, souvenirs et al adds to the kitty. “The cause is supported and we have the attention and goodwill of many,’’ sums up Amrit. Let the good times roll.