Want to know how shopping from a local vendor can help underprivileged children?
DNA: Mumbai - 12 October 09:
These young IITians - Nikhil Dhoka, Amit Kumar and Devendra Rane - have produced a unique concept card called the Community Card.
With this card, consumers are privy to a special royalty programme that combines shopping from your local vendor or a meal at a local restaurant with charity. It works just like a regular cash-back offer at any store. When you buy goods worth a certain amount from the vendor who holds the card, as a consumer you get a certain small amount of cash back.
Now, while a percentage of this amount returns to you (your reward for shopping with the vendor), another small percentage goes to NGO Child Rights and You.
The idea occurred to the threesome in a restaurant in Powai. Nikhil recalls, We saw a little urchin girl wailing as she was very hungry. We bought her some food which solved her problem, but realised that it was just a temporary solution. We had to find a permanent solution to the problem of children going hungry.
He adds, We realised that if we give incentives to people to donate, they will be more than willing to contribute and so, we decided on the cash back idea. It's quite a paradox that Indian consumers are filling the pockets of foreign companies. This programme boosts businesses of local vendors.
For the community: Amit Kumar and Nikhil Dhoka
