Juniors donate 8,000 Indian garments
30 Kare Corp. donations are photographed on Jan. 21, 2023 (Instagram/@kare.team)
With their intricate designs, myriad of colors, and plethora of fabrics, Indian clothes are an essential element of culture to many South Asians. However, since around 350 million Indians worldwide earn salaries under $326.22, many are unable to afford traditional attire.
Inspired to fight against this issue, juniors Nidhi Kashyap and Thanvi Gudur, decided to host a donation drive for lightly used Indian clothes through their nonprofit organization, Kare Corp.
“We decided to hold the drive because we received news of a homeless shelter in Chennai (India) with a large need for clothing,” said Kashyap. “[And, since] most Indian clothes are lightly used and reserved for special occasions, [we thought] they would be perfect for donation.”
In order to gain support, Kare Corp. took to marketing.
“We started out by creating flyers and advertising our clothing drive on all platforms. Quickly enough, we started receiving donations and had to close the drive two weeks early due to the overwhelming response,” said Gudur.
Although the collection process ended on Feb. 10, Kare Corp. is still sending out clothes.
“We have shipped out clothing to an organization called Saree Strong, and we will be sending out approximately 8,000 articles, or 30 boxes, of clothing by the end of this month,” said Gudur.
Kashyap noted that the hardest part of the process was the immense amount of feedback and overabundance of donations.
“As a youth team, we initially lacked the resources to handle this,” said Kashyap. “However, our volunteers came together to help organize our donation space, and [Thanvi and I] took care of all messages fairly well by working together.”
In the future, Kare Corp. plans to host more philanthropic events.
“We plan on hosting a fundraiser to raise money [for the] shipping costs of these clothes,” said Kashyap. “Apart from this drive, we plan on hosting several other charity events, including a Turkey earthquake relief drive in the near future.”
Kare Corp. hopes this donation drive will help many Indians across the world.
“We hope to give Indians in need an opportunity for a choice in the clothes they wear,” said Kashyap. “Providing them with Indian clothes will create a sense of self-expression and choice in their identity.”
To support and participate in more donation drives and events, visit Instagram/@kare.team.
