CHENNAI: They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But sign up for a fundraising baking workshop this Sunday and you will reach several tiny hearts; irrespective of whether your baked goodies sit well with the stomach. The Guardians of Dreams, a Bengaluru-based foundation is conducting their first ‘Joy of Baking’ workshop in Chennai with the hope of raising `1 lakh, that will go towards helping children in orphanages and shelter homes.
After similar events in Bengaluru and Kochi, over the last few months, Veena Balakrishnan, one of the volunteers who co-ordinates for the group from the US, says they are very excited by the response so far. With close to 100 volunteers across Bengaluru, Kochi and now Chennai, she adds, “So far, we have adopted orphanages in Bengaluru and Kochi, and we hope to do the same for our Chennai chapter by the end of the year.”
Hoping to help with everything from scholarships for higher education to helping adolescents source documents like birth certificates when it is time for a job, co-founder Sujith Varkey says the foundation has many dreams, just like its name.
“The idea is to fill the gaps in research and also introduce more full time staff into the system,” says the lawyer-turned-full time social worker. And to think, the 20-somethings who founded this NGO will be doing all this with the help of a baking lesson involving chocolate chip muffins and blueberry cheesecake!
Sujith adds, “That isn’t all. We also have golf and football tournament to raise funds in the works.” Eat, play, love – right?
The fundraising baking workshop is slated for April 3 at the Trident. The early bird registration fee is `3,200 per head and is reduced to `3,000 if registration is in groups of three or more. The workshop will be held between 2pm and 7pm. Contact 9043186982 for details