Most charity drives hand children a bag of whatever was donated. In Kolkata, 150 children from orphanages got to pick for themselves.
The kids, aged 8 to 15, spent the day at the Axis Mall store of Express Baazar, the retail chain also known as Baazar Style Retail Limited or Style Baazar. The event, called Project Muskan, was run with Lions Club International and supported by the Lions Club International Foundation. Members of the Leo and Lions Clubs came along.
Each child was paired with a Leo volunteer, who played something like an older sibling for the day. The volunteers helped them find their way around the store, talked through choices with them and sat down to lunch together. The children picked clothing, essentials, snacks and treats. Express Baazar also gave them special gifts.
The company’s managing director, Shreyans Surana, said watching the children shop “with confidence and excitement was truly inspiring.” He added that the company believes “every child deserves the opportunity to dream, choose, and feel special,” and that retail “can go beyond commerce.”
Aayush Bagla, Past Leo-Lion Board Liaison for Lions Clubs International, described the aim from the volunteers’ side. The goal, he said, is for young Leo and Lions members to feel empathy “when they help the children shop, when they help the children choose and more importantly when they enable the child to enjoy and smile.”
Lions and Leo Clubs members lead Project Muskan as a flagship effort for children from underprivileged backgrounds. Lions Clubs International counts over 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries and geographic areas.
The children left with the things they had chosen.
