Lockdown Art for Children affected by COVID
a Fundraising Campaign
(CLOSED)
IMPACT OF THE PROJECT:
Small, school-going children came forward to submit their art and broke their piggy banks to donate for the education/welfare of their underprivileged friends.
We thank the parents/teachers for coming forward and partnering so wholeheartedly in the project.
The ebook on the project is available on all geographies via Amazon.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the toughest times of our lives. There have been nation-wide lockdowns, migrant crisis, massive school dropouts, and more that we never even imagined in our worst nightmares. However, trying times can push us to test our limits and motivate us to do things we would never do otherwise. The lockdown forced everyone to stay in the confines of their homes but, ironically, it motivated some people to think outside the box. A lot of people indulged in various meaningful creative activities to beat the stress and the negativity that the pandemic brought. Such meaningful creative engagements not only provided them a way to channel their energies, but sometimes even helped build resilience during these tough times.
This project brings to you a digital exhibition, through an assorted collection of creative endeavours that helped people unleash their inner creativity during the lockdown. This will be coupled with the cause of offering help to children affected by COVID19.
SUBMIT YOUR ART AND DONATE TO THE CAUSE
1. TMYS invites individuals to share their work of art and donate for the well being of COVID affected children.
2. The Lockdown Art project is being launched in collaboration with the Akshaya Patra Foundation. The project will work towards raising funds for their Happiness Kit, details about the content of such kit, the beneficiaries and the disbursement are mentioned below.
3. A virtual exhibition will be curated by our esteemed editors from the submissions made under this project. The editors are listed below.
4. Longlisted art, their date of creation and the story behind it will be exhibited on TMYS social media profiles.
Selected contributions will be shortlisted by the editors to be published as a digital book.
5. TMYS will NOT be involved in any kind of financial transactions. All donations will be made directly to the Akshaya Patra Foundation. TMYS is only the campaign and content partner, promoting the need for such contributions.
6. The Longlist and the Shortlist will be updated on this page.
7. Last date of Submission: 31July 2021
8. The exhibition dates: 1 August to 20 August, 2021
9. Digital Book Publication: September, 2021
Submission Guidelines and FAQs are detailed below.
EDITORS:
Dr. Pinaki De - graphic artist and illustrator, professor of English Literature.
Dr. Shobna Nijhawan - professor (Hindi - York University).
PROJECT LEAD:
Anukampa
Varnit Aggarwal
The Cause:
"The vision of Akshaya Patra Foundation “No child in India will be deprived of education because of hunger” is attributed to twin objectives: (1) Ending classroom hunger, by providing nutritious mid-day meals in government schools and government-aided schools and (2) Make basic education accessible, encourage more and more children to enrol in schools. A hot meal becomes an incentive for children to attend school and prevent dropouts. We feel honoured to call ourselves the world’s largest not-for-profit run mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food every school day.”
Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation
In India, school closures have impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary education and 28 million who were attending preschool education in Anganwadi Centres. (*Source: UNICEF Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives
of 600 Million Children in South Asia.)
As a result of COVID-19, an estimated 400 million informal sector workers in India “are at risk of falling deeper into poverty during the crisis” according to the International Labour Organization. This will also reduce the number of children going to school and more children will be joining the workforce as unskilled labour. In the case of girls, it is estimated that nearly 10 million secondary school girls in India could drop out due to the pandemic, putting them at risk of early marriage, early pregnancy, poverty, and violence.
Pre-COVID, Akshaya Patra was successfully running the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme, which fed 1.8 million children studying in Classes 1-8.
Due to Covid-19 outbreak which led to Nationwide lockdown and the schools were nonfunctional from 10th of March’20, the Mid-day meals could not be provided to children. It caused a serious distress in daily lives of the disadvantaged sections of the society.
Akshaya Patra's COVID RELIEF PROGRAM introduced *HAPPINESS BOX* to help these children in the pandemic situation.
The Happiness Box includes:
1. Ration kit and immunity boosters for malnourished children with deficiency of Vitamin-D & Iron as they are more prone to COVID-19 infection.
2. Hygiene maintenance with inclusion of Sanitary Pad, Soap, Tooth Paste & Tooth brush.
3. Learning boost with Note Books, pens , pencils, Crayons set, activity Workbooks.
Disbursement of the ‘Happiness Kit’ to MDM beneficiaries happens at their school premises, where student’s parents pick up the Kits.
Submission Guidelines:
1. The art submitted should have been created in or after 2020.
2. Art categories for the submissions - dance, music, cooking, painting, knitting, pottery, graphics/cartoons/comics, interior decoration, photography and gardening. Feel query us (form below) if you think your work doesn't fall under these categories but qualifies as art.
3. Please note that TMYS editorial team reserves the right to use their discretion while putting up the entries received on their social media. We will NOT be putting up the following kind of submissions:
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book/short film/ad film promotions
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any content which promotes or criticizes any individual, body or group.
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Any content with political intent or undertones
4. If there are submissions in the categories listed in point (3) above, the donation will be processed. However, the artwork would neither go up on our social media accounts, nor will it be considered for the virtual publication.
5. Multiple submissions from one contributor will NOT be processed. If multiple submissions are made, the editors will consider only the one that suits best.
6. For each art contribution, a minimum of ₹550 needs to be donated. Contributors are welcome to donate more than ₹550; we leave it to their discretion. All donations will go to the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE THE DONATION.
This is a non-refundable payment. Please take a screenshot of the donation. Make sure that the amount donated and your name/details are clearly visible in the screenshot.
7. Submission procedure: Fill out this form. The form will ask for the following, we suggest we keep you them ready while making the submission:
(i) A video (for performing arts only) or an HD photograph
*** Please Note: a selfie or a casually clicked image does not qualify for a professional submission.
(ii) The date of the art.
(iii) A short story or poem, sharing the context/story behind the art in NO MORE THAN 250 words.
(iv) The donation receipt/screenshot against the payment made.
Last date of all submissions: 31 July 2021. From 1 August 2021 the submission form will be disabled.
The submission will mean the contributor agrees that the artwork belongs to the contributor and the contributor owns complete right to share it with TMYS for the purpose of this project. The responsibility against any claim for plagiarism or copyright violation will be borne by the contributor and not by TMYS.
F.A.Q.s
Q. What are the important Links for the project?
Ans. The form for art contribution and the link for donation.
Q. Who can contribute?
Ans. The contributor doesn’t need to be a practicing or a professional artist. As long as you have something creative to showcase and it falls in the categories mentioned above, you're welcome aboard.
Q. Can I contribute if I am an NRI or reside outside India?
Ans. Yes! Your contribution is welcome.
Q. Can I share my child's artwork and write the story/poem myself?
Ans. Yes, collaborative submission between parent and child, friends, cousins, relatives, colleagues, etc. will be very much accepted and also encouraged. We request parents to engage their children in this project so they spare a few moments for those who are less privileged and develop the practice to help.
Q. What’s in it for the contributors?
Ans. Your art and the composition behind it will be shared across the social media handles of TMYS. This will inspire many others to take up art as a respite to the times.
Your donation will support a noble cause.
Promoting such art on social media will help generate awareness about the need to stand by the COVID affected children. It will get people to think and be kind, if not encourage them to come forward and contribute directly towards a change. There has to be a beginning. You could be one.
Q. What is in it for TMYS?
Ans. TMYS is in no way related to the Akshaya Patra Foundation. This project is nothing more than a supporting framework for a cause that deserves serious attention and is an important need of the hour. TMYS is helping in the fundraising and promotional work for providing Family Kits put together by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. These kits are designed specifically for children affected by Covid -19. The disbursement and benefits will be rolled out by the Akshay Patra Foundation . The method of disbursement is explained above in their declaration. TMYS will cooperate and conform with the process - legally and emotionally.
Q. Can I donate just the amount without the artwork?
Ans. Yes, but submission of any kind of artwork is hghly encouraged.
Q. Can I participate anonymously?
Yes. We will ensure privacy but mention the donation amount.
Q. Why wouldn’t I make the donation directly to the foundation?
Ans. Of course you can do that. But your participation in Lockdown Art for COVID Children will help us promote the cause and generate awareness. It will allow more people to engage, participate and respond to the cause and the need. This is about the future of a generation. Hence the effort.
The FAQs are based on expected queries that people may have. As we receive more queries, we will add the relevant ones in the FAQs.
For any query, please send an email to cause.tmys@gmail.com with "Query" as subject line.