The situation in India is becoming worse day by day. The cases have been increasing and the NGOs, fundraising organizations, the frontline workers and the Government have been working continuously against the spread of the virus and containment of it.
Wearing a mask and maintaining social distance are not the only things that matter in these hard times. A lot of people are facing many difficulties and here are some simple but effective steps you can follow in order to help your community to fight during this unprecedented time.
If you have certain skills, you can use them to educate the people about the ongoing situation and support the community. Let’s say if you are a content creator or a social media influencer you can create content about awareness or something related to the ongoing situation in the country.
A graphic designer can design posters about the precautions to be taken, coming up with some informative posts or you can even create posts for some NGOs or Fundraising organizations and help them serve the community.
Educating your community
If you are a fitness enthusiast or a nutritional coach or even a social media influencer then you can share tips with your community on how to take necessary precautions, providing different techniques to stay safe, different breathing exercises to help increase oxygen levels.
If you don’t have a community to share you can build your own community in these hard times and help people stay fit and active. Make them practice yoga or make them active through certain physical activities. You can educate them about the importance of nutrition and how it helps them during these times.
Community help
Sharing positivity
Since most of the news or information which is consumed by people is negative, you can try sharing something positive. If you are a musician you can create new covers which people would enjoy or organize certain virtual jams which would keep the people entertained.
If you are a social media influencer or a motivational speaker you can share positive thoughts and keep your community motivated.
You can check in with your family members, friends your neighbours or your known people. Call them up to check on their status just to ensure that they are fine. Speak to them for some time and always try your best to help them in case they require your help.
Check in with your Family
If you are unable to help try finding someone who can help them in that case. Always support each other and being there for each other is very important during this hard time.
Social Media post
Always cross check what you share on your social media account. Ensure that you don’t share any fake news, double check to find the facts and always post factual news only after you are convinced and find it legitimate.
Try not to share any hateful posts or any triggering posts on your social media profiles. Try staying away from all the negative posts and information. Support a budding creator or a business that is trying to help people during these times and finding solutions for their problems. You can share memes or some funny videos on your social media platform.
You can share useful stories or posts on your social media account. For example, posts such as Covid helpline number of your locality or if there are any NGOs providing meals for the affected family or oxygen cylinders as your post may be helpful for some family which we would never know.
Share useful stories on social media
Always try supporting NGOs and fundraising organizations and a small help from your side can contribute a lot to the organizations and certain families. You can even share details about the Plasma donations or any help which would help the members in the community who are going through a difficult time.
Staying home is the most important and the best way you can help the community. It would cut down the spreading of the virus and ensure that you go outside only if it very necessary. Every time you go out take the necessary precautions such as using double masking or using an N95 mask, sanitize and maintain social distance.
FAQ
How can I help my community?
Get involved as a volunteer, Support local businesses, Tidy up, Help your neighbours, and Donate things. These are few ways to help your community.
Why is helping the community important?
It will enrich your life, familiarize you with your community, and connect you to people and ideas that will positively impact your perspective for the rest of your life.
How can I protect myself and others from getting COVID-19?
Avoid close contact with people who are sick, Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash, Maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and other people, and Wear cloth face coverings in public settings.
Conclusion
Take all the precautions so that you and the members of your family would remain safe and secure. Do your part of the help in order to support the community and together we can break the chain and cut down the rise of the cases in the country.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Mom’s Belief.
Mom’s Belief is a start-up, that empowers parents of special needs children in the absence of accessible and affordable services. Founded in 2017 by Nitin Bindlish , Mom’s Belief has a clinical team of Child Psychologists, speech & occupational therapists & special educators who work together to provide training to parents & professionals who care for Children with Development disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Learning Disabilities, Intellectual disability, global development delay, and Cerebral Palsy.
For its innovative model, Mom’s Belief was awarded as the most innovative project by Zero Project at the United Nations, Vienna in 2019
Lets go through the Success Story of Mom’s Belief and get a glance on Mom’s Belief Founders, Business Model, Funding, Growth, Revenue Model & more…
Established in 2015, Mom’s Belief launched its programs in early 2018 after three years of research and development.Mr. Nitin Bindlish created the program to empower the parents of special needs children with teaching tools and professional support, motivated by the simple intent to improve the lives of families who know the day-to-day challenges inherent in supporting a special needs child. Mom’s Belief has developed thousands of resources and teaching tools that accommodate the learning styles of children with special needs and has touched 3200+ lives till date.
Mom’s Belief assigns a master level child psychologist to each family which connects with parents using video conferencing, phone, email, and instant messaging. The psychologist helps parents to identify goals and create monthly individualized education plans (IEPs) and also get the teaching tools delivered to there home every month. Mom’s Belief also supports schools and therapy centres to enhance the therapies they offer for special needs kids.
Mom’s Belief – Founders and Team
Mom’s Belief was founded in 2015 by Mr. Nitin Bindlish.
Nitin Bindlish | Founder of Mom’s Belief
Mom’s Belief has a team of child psychologists, speech and occupational therapists and special educators who work together to provide guidance and training to parents and professionals who provide services for children with developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, Down syndrome, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, and cerebral palsy. The team also addresses behavioral and mental health issues and is led by senior clinical leaders who are associated with Stanford University and Sir Ganga Ram, Max (Gurgaon), AIIMS and VIMHANS hospitals in the New Delhi area.
Mom’s Belief – How it Started?
Mom’s Belief was created out of a desire to address the overwhelming need for special needs support in India. Their special needs support services address the struggle that parents of special needs kids face. It’s reported that there are 52 million children who show signs of a developmental disorder such as autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, ADHD, or intellectual disability. But there aren’t enough qualified professionals available to treat them.
Imagine what it must be like to have a 10-year-old child who is non-verbal, a 14-year-old child who struggles to dress him or herself, or a five-year-old child who can’t hold a crayon. Then imagine what it would be like to have no access to a professional who can help you. That is the reality that these parents face every day. Mom’s Belief was created to empower these parents with professional guidance, knowledge, and resources so they can help their child.
The mom’s belief name was inspired by Founder & CEO Nitin Bindlish’s vision of a company that empowers mothers to transform the lives of their special needs children because they firmly believe that a mother knows her child best and there’s nothing more powerful than her belief in her child.
Mom’s Belief Logo
The logo shows a mother cradling her child that portrays her warmth, love and support for her child.
The mom’s belief company’s tagline is“Actually You Can!” which reassures and reaffirms the belief that parents can play an active and important role in the development of their child with special needs, with the right guidance and support.
Mom’s Belief – Work Culture
Employees at Mom’s Belief are encouraged to take initiatives in their work and work on execution instead of waiting for permission to go ahead. Some of the main highlights of Mom’s Belief’s work culture are:
Taking initiative: As a company that uses an innovative model to empower parents as co-therapists and support children with special needs all over the world, Mom’s Belief employees are constantly motivated to take up innovative initiatives across various functions.
Encouraging transparency and open culture: The leadership team is highly approachable and this encourages employees to take up initiatives.
Creative thinking: Being a young organization, Mom’s Belief is ready to push boundaries in the field of health & wellness and is driven to come up with creative solutions to modern health needs.
Mom’s Belief – Competitors
The company have no competitors in India. There is no organization or individual who provides a home-based neuro-developmental program that incorporates training and learning resources for the parents of special needs children.
Mom’s Belief – USP and Innovation
Mom’s Belief’s has a Iconic Home Program where parents are connected with one of child psychologists, who completes a neuro-developmental profile of the child. The parents and psychologist then create an individualized education plan that is specific to the child’s needs. Once the education plan is in place, the psychologist customizes resources and teaching tools to support the education plan. The library of nearly 1000+ resources enables them to provide a highly tailored program for each individual child.
The resources are delivered to the home and after one month, they collect them, create another education plan, and then send a new set of learning resources. Parents receive training from a child development expert so that over the course of time, they become knowledgeable, skilled and effective therapists for their child. The mandatory training is delivered in weekly, one-hour sessions. Training sessions can be held at the company’s R & D center, or via video chat platforms such as Skype, Facetime or WhatsApp video.
Mom’s Belief – Business Model and Revenue Model
Mom’s Belief is largely a direct B2C company where a person enrolls in the program for a certain period and pays upfront for the enrollment. The company;s monetization model is highly unique for the industry.
Mom’s Belief offers a monthly subscription model that covers an initial assessment, customized resources that are delivered monthly to the home, and ongoing mentoring from an experienced child psychologist. Parents of special needs children are accustomed to paying fees for regular therapy sessions, and for some, the fees are exorbitant. Mom’s belief provides ongoing professional support and resources at a cost that is far more manageable.
Mom’s Belief – Funding and Investors
Mom’s Belief is a social enterprise and was funded through businesses and private investors with whom they have long-standing relationships. Mom’s Belief’s home-based program for families is a subscription-based program, and they make the program available at a more affordable price point for families in the EWS category.
Mom’s Belief – Startup Challenges
One of the key challenges that Mom’s Belief faces is encouraging parents to believe in their capacity to support their child with guided therapy. Parents are still encouraged to believe in the old model in which the therapist or psychologist delivers the therapy while parents stand by passively. Yet it’s known how effective parental engagement can be and several studies conducted in the UK have also demonstrated the effectiveness of supported parent engagement for special needs children.
Many parents are held back by the belief that they need special training or knowledge to provide support for their developmentally disabled child. The startup’s program provides dedicated hours of training and ongoing mentoring to the parent, which helps them realize that they can have an impact. In fact, the tagline is Actually You Can!
Over the past 3 years, the team have worked effortlessly to create a model that empowers parents, caregivers, and professionals and also create an ecosystem that fosters the use of tools, resources, training, and expert guidance to work towards a world where no child with special needs is left behind. And to further this cause, they have expanded their services to locations like New York, London, California, UAE, and Kuwait in addition to being India’s largest holistic care provider for children with special needs.
Currently, there are 113+ centres all over the country working with mom’s belief which provide special services like occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, as well as structured learning, and counselling.
“Having touched 3200+ lives is just the tip of the iceberg, as we are continuously working on expanding to new locations around the world and in India, where we aim to have 200+ centres pan-India by the end of the year 2020. We are also focused on leveraging technological developments in the world of innovative healthcare to help us reach and change a million lives in the next few years”, says Nitin Bindlish, Founder of Mom’s Belief.
Mom’s Belief – Awards
Mom’s Belief was awarded as the most innovative project by Zero Project at the UNITED NATIONS, Vienna in 2019, for its innovative model that supports the parents of special needs children and the professionals who work with them.
Also awarded in the fifth edition of the International Business Excellence Awards 2019 in Dubai the brand bagged the prestigious award for contribution in the Wellbeing and Health category. Mom’s Belief has also been awarded the ”Promising Brands” of 2019 by The Economic Times.
Mom’s Belief – Future Plans
The mission of Mom’s Belief is to improve the lives of one million children over the next ten years using a network of one million parents and professionals. To achieve this mission, they are expanding their team to increase their reach across India and into other countries where the demand for services is strong.
The UAE, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam are part of the plans and they are building networks in some of these countries, so they can take these plans forward. Mom’s Belief is also working on creating an active community of parents of special needs children in India so that they have a platform to share their struggles as a special needs parent and coping strategies that have worked well for them so that other parents can get the help they need and deserve.
This community will be a space for parents who are willing to ask for help, and to share effective parenting tips with other such parents who are struggling to get their life back, which includes being able to provide the best help and care for their children while at the same time living their life to the fullest, in order to avoid burnout and maintain personal wellness.
Mom’s Belief has a clinical team of Child Psychologists, speech & occupational therapists & special educators who work together to provide training to parents & professionals who care for Children with Development disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Down Syndrome & more.
Who is Mom’s Belief Founder?
Mom’s Belief was founded in 2015 by Mr. Nitin Bindlish
What is the status of Mom Belief’s Funding?
Mom’s Belief is a social enterprise and was funded through businesses and private investors with whom they have long-standing relationships.
How does Mom’s Belief make money?
Mom’s Belief offers a monthly subscription model that covers an initial assessment, customized resources that are delivered monthly to the home, and ongoing mentoring from an experienced child psychologist. Parents of special needs children are accustomed to paying fees for regular therapy sessions, and for some, the fees are exorbitant
Volunteering is a fun and easy way to explore your interests and passions. It provides you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management, and organization. Volunteering is meaningful and interesting way to relax and escape from your day-to-day routine of work, school, or family commitments.
However, for many of us, our hectic schedules, personal responsibilities and glorious chores leave little room to do any volunteering. Luckily, though, there are numerous online volunteering platforms that allow you to do meaningful volunteer work from the comfort of your home.
Let’s look at 5 Beneficent Websites for Online Volunteering
5 Beneficent Websites for Online Volunteering
1. United Nations Volunteers
The United Nations Volunteers programme offers countless of online volunteering opportunities across the world. Like the rest of the UN’s efforts, this programme strives to boost sustainable human development.
United Nations Volunteers
Finding an opportunity that fits your interests on the UNV website is simple. Just select your region such as Asia pacific; your country. After that click on current opportunities and then navigate through the various opportunities that come up to find something that suits you.
Be My Eyes connects blind and low vision users with sighted volunteers or company representatives for visual assistance through a live video connection. In more basic terms, it allows users to have a sighted person on demand through video chat. App users can request assistance in over 180 languages, and volunteers can lend their sight and help with everyday tasks.
Be My Eyes
All you have to do is download the app and join as a sighted volunteer. Whenever a blind or low-vision person needs help, you’ll receive a live video call where you can communicate with them directly and help them out.
3. VolunteerMatch
Finding an opportunity on VolunteerMatch is pretty simple just add your location and click on find opportunities near you. You can find opportunities across a variety of sectors including arts and culture, computers and technology, advocacy and human rights, and health and medicine.
VolunteerMatch
4. Catchafire
If you want to use your professional skills for good, Catchafire helps you connect with non-profits in need of your expertise and contribute to meaningful projects and initiatives. You can choose from one hour calls or full length projects.
Catchafire
5. DoSomething
DoSomething is one of the largest youth-led non-profit organizations around, it pushes for social change through both its online and offline campaigns. You can volunteer online by joining one (or more) of DoSomething’s campaigns and use the platform to act on different issues.
DoSomething
Volunteering surely is an important act that everyone should take up at least for once in life and you can volunteer to make this world a better place to live. No matter whether you are a college student traveling abroad during your gap year or a retired personnel, you can always join a volunteering program and make a difference.
Needless to mention, Coronavirus has affected every aspect of human life. Lockdowns and social distancing particularly has had immediate effect on several banking activities. Thus, at the same time, many efforts are being made to raise funds and help startups and SMEs. Experts in the sector have greatly underscored the need for focusing on digital channels and platforms during times like these. After the coronavirus wiped $7.6 trillion off the world’s stock markets in four days, global health groups are asking companies, governments and even the public for billions of dollars to fight the contagion. The World Health Organization(WHO)set up a website seeking contributions from anyone in an attempt to raise at least $7 billion.
On Tuesday (March 24) evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the whole country has been put on lockdown and had announced INR 15,000 Crore package to strengthen the Indian healthcare infrastructure in India. The fund will be used to develop testing facilities, personal protective equipment and procure more isolation beds, intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ventilators. Moreover, the government will be using the fund to train paramedical and medical staff helping in treating affected patients. Earlier in the day, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had relaxed timelines for filing taxes and raising default thresholds for avoiding bankruptcy proceedings. She had added that the government will soon announce a package to address the coronavirus impact on the economy.
In one such efforts, Prime Minster of India, Narendra Modi announced a special emergency fund for the nation to fight crisis like COVID-19 on March 29. Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected. Hours after the announcement, entrepreneurs and celebrities from various walks of life have come together to show their appreciation.
Ratan Tata
Joining a number of India Inc leaders who are doing their bit in their own way, Ratan Tata has committed Rs 500 crore for protective equipment for frontline workers, respiratory systems for treatment of increasing cases and testing kits in the fight against COVID-19. In a tweet on March 28, Ratan Tata shared a post detailing how Tata Trusts and the group companies will help as India battles to contain the spread of COVID-19 crisis. Ratan Tata tweeted, “COVID-19 is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time.” The amount would be used for personal protective equipment for the medical personnel on the frontline, respiratory systems for treating increasing cases, testing kits to increase per capita testing, setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients, and knowledge management and training of health workers plus the general public.
Following Ratan Tata’s announcement, N. Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore in support towards COVID-19 and related activities. He said in a statement, “We will work together with the Tata Trusts and our Chairman Emeritus Mr. Tata and would be fully supporting their initiatives, and work in a collaborative manner to bring the full expertise of the group. In addition to the initiatives articulated by Tata Trusts, we are also bringing in the ventilators necessary and are gearing up to also manufacture the same soon in India.”
Mukesh Ambani
One of the top business tycoons of India, Mukesh Ambanihas also contributed in his own ways. In collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital has set up a dedicated 100-bed centre at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai, for patients who test positive for COVID-19. Reliance Industries Limited is enhancing its production capacities to produce 100,000 face-masks per day and a large number of personal protective equipment for the nation’s health-workers to equip them further to fight the coronavirus challenge. Reliance Industries has donated Rs 500 crore to PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES) Fund to help government in the fight against coronavirus.
Similarly, other companies in India have come forward to contribute. Digital payments company Paytm said it aims to contribute Rs 500 crore to the fund. For every contribution or any other payment made on Paytm using the wallet, UPI and Paytm Bank debit card, the company will contribute an extra up to Rs 10, Paytm said in a statement. Also, Flipkart-owned PhonePe also launched a donation drive and said it aims to contribute up to Rs 100 crore to PM CARES Fund towards fighting coronavirus crisis. Infosys Foundation has also committed Rs 100 crore to fight COVID-19. Uday Kotak, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank announced a Rs 60 crore donation. On March 22, Anand Mahindra, CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra also offered the group’s hospitality arm as a medical care facility and said the group will work on how its manufacturing facilities can manufacture ventilators. Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday announced Rs 150 crore donation to the PM-CARES Fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak and said it has set aside over Rs 500 crore per month to support about 1.60 lakh contract workers. JSW Group, an Indian business operating in metals and mining has announced contributing Rs 100 crores to the prime minister’s citizen assistance and relief in emergency situations (PM-CARES) fund in the light of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. Paint and decor company, Asian Paints on Monday has announced contributing Rs 35 crores towards Covid19 Relief Fund.
However, startups and small businesses were getting anxious about the support from the government considering the pressure they are facing to keep the operations running smoothly in the light of funds being scarce and market demand being low. This combined with the pressure to plan for remote teams due to the lockdown across India. Amid the country-wide lockdown, startups have been calling for a relief package for small businesses and the startups which are struggling as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hamper daily life. A Reuters report has now said that the India government may bring an INR 2.3 Tn ($20 Bn) relief fund by the end of the week for the poor sections of the population and businesses. For this, various entrepreneurs have showed willingness to help.
Mark Zuckerberg & Bill Gates
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, has announced plans to team up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate USD 25 million to a research fund exploring possible COVID-19 treatments. Separately, a coalition backed by Bill Gates and Norway is considering a crowdfunding campaign as they seek to attract about $2 billion to speed up development of vaccines. Mastercard and charity foundation Wellcome are also partnering with Bill & Melinda Gates as part of the initiative, which started with $125 million in seed funding at its launch. The goal of the project is to develop affordable treatments to COVID-19 that can be distributed at scale.
In the same way, Facebook wants to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) survive the coronavirus pandemic. Now it is offering $100 million in grants to 30,000 companies in over 30 countries. Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, said on her page on Tuesday (March 17) that the social media giant(Facebook) wants to “do our part” to help with the “enormous challenge in front of us.” To that end, the company is extending a total of $100 million in cash, as well as credits for advertising, to a maximum of 30,000 eligible small businesses.
Similarly, Facebook’s Head of Health Kang-Xing Jin said in a blog post that Facebook is also supporting COVID-19 fact-checkers with a $1 million grant, in partnership with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The funds will be used to launch a program to increase capacity during the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook has also opened a special hub to help SMBs during the pandemic, and is planning virtual training through Blueprint, its free e-learning training program. The company’s goal is to assist companies “in this new and unsettling environment.”
Alan Joseph
