Students from Grades 6 to 9 of the CHIREC International School (IB), Hyderabad just ran a campaign on the crowdfunding platform Fueladream.com and raised a whopping INR 61.27 Lakhs in just 3 weeks.
The objective of the campaign was to distribute unique back-to-school kit among kids studying across Telangana that in turn will impact their health and education.
Each “Back-to-School Kit” costs INR 900 per annum and is made by the NGO Greensole. These kits are unique. The school bags and mats are made from discarded clothes while the footwear is made from old shoes.
The plan was that each student at CHIREC would have a goal of INR 27000, which would benefit 30 rural children. Remarkably, these 174 students collectively raised a total of INR 61.27 Lakhs, resulting in a significant impact on 6,800 rural students. They were taught the art of crowdfunding by the team from Fueladream.com and that made a big difference to the amount raised.
Ms. Sanchita Raha, Principal at CHIREC International School (IB), Hyderabad says “Our goal is to empower students to realize their potential and improve the lives of others. Through this crowdfunding initiative, students have learnt to be responsible, sensitive citizens and be equipped with the right modern tools to make a social impact. This life- skill will empower them to undertake initiatives to initiate meaningful change and thereby assume the role of change agents.”
8 students raised over INR 90000 each (i.e. enough to impact 100 students with back-to-school kits). The top 3 students – Varsha Venugopal (Grade 9), Rishi Skanda Davuluri (Grade 6) and Hrishik Alluri (Grade 6) raised massive amounts of INR 4.67L, INR 3.36L and INR 2.46 L respectively.
Mr. Ranganath Thota, Founder of Fueladream.com which has pioneered the school crowdfunding program in India and has already done over 17000 student led campaigns across India says, “Students learn and grasp the concept of crowdfunding very quickly and are most enthusiastic about helping others. The students at CHIREC International School have been able to make a massive impact very quickly.”
