Rajasthan Cosmo Club Celebrates 28th Foundation-cum-Project Day; AR Rahman's Blazer Auctioned

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 20/03/2022: On Sunday, March 20th, Rajasthan Cosmo Club, a charitable organisation dedicated to helping the poor and underprivileged people of India, held its 28th Foundation cum Project Day event. For the first time RCC and all of its sister concerns - RCC Platinum, Rcc Diva, RCC Magnum and RCC Bangalore came together to showcase all the philanthropic activities carried out by the organisation across India. Held at the prestigious Music Academy at TTK Road, Chennai, the event was attended by the who’s who of Chennai.

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After a welcome speech by the club’s president Sripal Kothari, the program began with lighting of lamp by all the dignitaries followed by a small presentation highlighting the achievements of RCC over the past year. The highlight of the event was an auction of the Oscar Award winning composer A.R. Rahman’s most cherished blazer to help raise funds for Smile Stores, a flagship project of the RCC Foundation. The bidding war was intense and the lucky bidder to take the blazer home was Mr Pramod Chordia & Mrs Manisha Chordiya for a sum of Rs. 7,00,000. 

SMILE STORES is an initiative taken by RCC to encourage the masses to do their bit to serve the poor and needy. These stores provide gently used clothing to the less fortunate for prices as low as RS 20 - Rs 40.  “We have found that people sometimes feel ashamed to take free clothes, so we charge a small amount so that there is no shame in owning the clothes—in fact, we hope that it gives them pride instead! These clothes are collected from around the world with just one goal: making sure everyone has access to a full wardrobe that makes them feel comfortable and confident. 

These are not just random old clothes—many of them are even celebrity hand-me-downs! We collect nearly 2 lakh clothes each year, and our dedicated team of volunteers sorts out all usable clothes and sends them to the laundromat where they are put through a rigorous cleaning process using nanotechnology to ensure that they're not only clean, but also safe to wear.” Added Suresh Gundecha, Managing Trustee of the foundation. 

“One of the best parts about being a part of the Smile Foundation is seeing people feel good about themselves, whether it's by showing off their new pair of shoes, or getting a smile from someone across the room when they're wearing something they love”., said ABHAYA JI Srisrimal Chief Donor for Smile Stores. A presentation on "Smile Store" clothes bank program revealed that the clubs' goal is to extend this store to 100 numbers sooner or later, not less than six, seven years. 

Confident that this will be an annual affair, the executive committee found it appropriate to have a clothes donation drive in which they invited members of society, friends and relatives to come forward in donating old clothes that they no longer need. The members brought in large bags of clothes which were sorted and packaged into smaller bags at the venue on the day of the event.

The chief guest for the occasion was Minister of Handlooms & Textiles Thiru  R. Gandhi. In his speech, Gandhi praised the organisation for its dedication to helping those in need and improving their lives. The minister also spoke on the continued success of Rajasthan Cosmo Club's efforts to provide clothing to those who cannot afford it through its Smile Store clothes banks. He was also joined by Sri Deepchand (MD Paceman Finance India pvt ltd and Philanthropist) at the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Arvind Baheti , secretary of the foundation said - “As you know, this is a big day for us as we celebrate our club's many achievements, as well as its many generous members. We have grown into an organisation with over 700 members and thousands of volunteers, who are all committed to philanthropy and charitable activities. This year's event is particularly exciting because it is for the first time that all of our chapters—RCC Platinum, RCC Diva, RCC Magnum and RCC Bangalore—are coming together to showcase the many ways in which we've been giving back to our society over the past years. We've worked hard to improve lives in our society, and we're excited to share with you all the things we've accomplished!” - added Sripal Kothari, president RCC.

“This is exactly what we had envisioned when we founded our organisation,” said Hemant Duggar, convenor of foundation day program. “I think we can all agree that it is a good feeling to know that we are contributing to making the world a better place."

The event also saw the distribution of beds, pillows, bed sheets, nurse uniforms and medical equipment to 10 hospitals across Chennai including Adyar Cancer Institute and various other hospitals under the Sri Jain Medical Relief Society. The combined cost of this donation was approximately seven to eight lakhs. 

Following the distribution of medical supplies, a live hair donation drive was held under the aegis of RCC Diva's project "Hair To Hope." This project aims to help cancer patients suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy by donating real human hair for wig production. The drive helped raise awareness about the cause while also improving many lives of children and women undergoing cancer treatment. The foundation was also able to donate 50 sewing machines worth Rs 50000 each and three fully functional food carts fitted with cooking stoves to underprivileged families as a means to earn their livelihood. 

This was followed by the inauguration of a Reverse Osmosis Plant donated by RCC Platinum to the Government Kilpauk Medical College & Government Royapettah College. RCC Magnum also used the opportunity to distribute skill development scholarships to over 50 beneficiaries. The event concluded with a musical performance by Mumbai based music maestro - Vicky D Parekh.

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