Make A Difference (MAD) is an Indian

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, working to ensure better outcomes for children in orphanages and shelters across

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Make A Difference works with nearly 3460 children in 67 shelter homes across 23 cities in

, delivering impact through a fellow-managed volunteering model of 4,255 young participants. It is currently run by Jithin C Nedumala. Make A Difference is registered in

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

, with a core team based in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, and operations spread across over 24

n cities.

History

Make A Difference was founded by Jithin Nedumala in year 2006 when he was 19 years and Sujith Varkey, together with Gloria Benny, Kavin K K, Santosh Babu and Jithin John Varghese. These six founding members fleshed out the concept of Make A Difference and formed a founding team with friends, peers and members of the community. The NGO had been set up to work with children in need of care and protection and majority of children had undergone

adverse childhood experiences Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass various forms of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction experienced in childhood. The harms of ACEs can be long-lasting, affecting people even in their adulthood. ACEs have be ...

(ACE). According to organisation, ACE is an unforgettable, traumatic experience of abuse, neglect or domestic harassment experienced by a person during childhood days and some examples of it are physical abuse, mother treated violently, loss of a loved one, emotional neglect and experiencing a natural calamity and in some cases obesity, alcoholism, depression and early death too. As per organisation's principle only a safe and stable nurturing relationship with a caring adult can help the victim not only to recover from the trauma but thrive in the real world and keeping this in mind they launched the campaign nationally in 23 cities in

where MAD have its volunteers and offices. The first generation of Make A Difference started with the recruitment of teachers via a presentation made by Jithin, Sujith and Kavin to friends and peers in 2006. Approximately 20

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

signed up, and the first chapter of MAD was set up in

, soon after which the organisation formally registered as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

society. From that point on, Make A Difference grew exponentially. Others to have played seminal roles in the growth and success of Make A Difference have been Samarth Agarwal who served as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

from 2011 to 2012, Sanjana Kuruvilla who has been on the board since 2008. Make A Difference remained completely student and

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

driven until 2010, when the size and complexity of operations drove the need for a full-time workforce to provide strategic and operational support for city teams around the country. This was the same year that

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

chose Make A Difference to be one of the four non-profits she visited on her trip to

. and the organisation which was not taken as seriously and was struggling to get tie-ups with NGOs until than found itself flooded with lot of calls from individuals and organisations wanting to collaborate with them. Till 2010, MAD had around 800 volunteers who used to teach more than 2,800 children in 10 cities and about 30 students from their five centres in Mumbai met

on November 6, 2010 at the university of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in Fort during her visit to

that year. Gloria Benny, one of the founding members, parted ways from the organization later on, to start her own organization.

Events

Back-a-thon is an event organized to create awareness among public. In this, the participants would walk back indicating illiteracy should be removed from a child's life.
Dream Camp is an event organized periodically by the organization. The camp is intended to provide the kids, a stress free environment where they could explore the world, understand and develop confidence towards achieving their dreams. In 2019,MAD

conducted an online campaign through social media with tagline "BrokenIsBeautiful" and offline campaigns being conducted through awareness sessions in city colleges in addition to an on-ground event at David Hall Art Cafe, Fort Kochi in the evening after a cycle rally at Fort Kochi. The campaign is launched as a part of spreading awareness about Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACE).

Awards and recognition

* Make A Difference's work in India was recognised by Michelle Obama who chose Make A Difference as one of the few organisations to visit on her trip to India in 2010. * Make A Difference was one of four NGO's called to launch the Queen's Young Leaders Trust via the first ever Royal Google+ Hangout in 2014. * 2014 - eNGO Challenge Award: Winner, Communications and Outreach category. * 2014 - Website of The Year India: Winner, Charities Category.http://websiteoftheyear.co.in/past-winners/

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.makeadiff.in/
Annual Report
Children's charities based in India