Retail mall VR Surat hosts workshop for needy children

Held on Christmas Day at the Festival Park at VR Surat, Balakalakaar, an initiative of AIESEC in association with Virtuous Retail, provides underprivileged children from the city’s municipal schools, orphanages and slums, with a wonderful opportunity to express themselves through art with an innovative painting workshop.

From various  locations across Surat, 600 of these children are from Pratham NGO affiliated to Municipal Schools in slum areas such as Unn, Mithikhadi, Navagam, Pandesara, Amroli, Kasod; 400 children are from Vatsalya Dham Orphanage, Kamrej; and 200 are from Umra Surat Municipal Corporation School No. 3.

By involving some of the top corporate houses in the city, prominent personalities and NGO partners, AIESEC, created a first-of-its-kind platform at VR Surat wherein people from all these different walks of life come together to empower children through art.

Dhruv Jain, Vice President, Finance & Business Development, AIESEC in Surat, said, “We at AIESEC Surat are happy to partner with VR Surat which provides perfect platform for creativity, culture and community.  Both Virtuous Retail and AIESEC believe that there is an artiste in every child. Balakalakaar is an initiative that aims at bringing smiles to the faces of underprivileged children. 

“With Virtuous Retail’s support, we have endeavored to build an environment that helps improve the quality of life of underprivileged children in our city.  It is through the creation of an opportunity to help them discover and develop their potential in art forms of various types.

“At VR Surat, thousands of children demonstrated that art is the expression of creative skill in a visual form such as painting or sculpture. AIESEC seeks the help and support of the corporate world and prominent personalities in Surat to help us provide a platform wherein these children get to showcase their talents.”

Paresh Mishra, Director-Operations – Western Region, Virtuous Retail, said, “VR Surat is pleased to partner with AIESEC in supporting the cause of providing a sustainable solution of helping underprivileged children express themselves creatively.  VR Surat has always laid great emphasis on bringing people closer as a Community Center.

“While we celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Gujarat and the merriment of the holiday season with KhoobSurat Festival, we also draw people’s attention to the cause of underprivileged children in the city through Balakalakaar. We are grateful to Shri Rajendrabhai Patel for gracing this occasion and spreading the message.” 

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