The Kolkata chapter is led by Chapter Chair Sunil Bhandari and General Manager Snigdha Shah. We have an incredible network of young volunteers and interns along with an expert partner network to provide extensive support and guidance to our NGOs.
Kolkata runs a program called Youth for Philanthropy which is designed to educate and empower youth to become our country’s next generation of philanthropists – those who give time, talent and treasure for the common good. This experiential leadership program attracts members of the community who are professionals or business leaders between the ages of 22 and 35 years, to become youth mentors. Each youth mentor supervises a group of seven or eight students from local colleges, who wish to do community service as interns for three months. These interns are assigned to NGOs and work in diverse areas like data management, social media and fundraising, and the youth mentor spends a few hours every month guiding the interns.
So far the program has been very successful with 21 interns and 5 youth mentors working across 6 NGOs in the first cohort of YFP and 48 interns and 6 youth mentors working across 9 NGOs in the second cohort.
Anahat Foundation, an SVP Kolkata supported NGO, has been able to increase the income of their beneficiaries, allowing these women a dignified livelihood.
SVP Kolkata NGO partner Mitti Café joined in the Covid relief effort by providing free nutritious meals to those in need, like the homeless and daily labourers. Mitti Café’s differently abled employees were so proud that they could help others in their time of need.
The SVP Kolkata partner meeting, featuring Saumya Lashkari, a CSR and philanthropy professional, proved to be a big draw for SVP partners across India. Saumya’s insights on reimagining grant giving were very useful to all who attended.
