There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

​I ​got to know about Let’s​ Spread Love Pune ​through Facebook and just fell in love with the concept. I was waiting to volunteer and was glad that it materialized on ​FRIENDSHIP DAY (7TH AUG 2016) ​

Definitely wanted to do something more meaningful and worthwhile this weekend. I had joined the Facebook group, filled the volunteer form but had innumerable questions. Kunal and ​Ashutosh​ were patient enough to provide me all the details. As this was my first drive, I was asked to just participate and observe how it goes. We met outside chinchwad area Pune​. The turnout was good. It was great to meet people from diverse walks of life. Volunteers were from different companies like Accenture, IBM, Infosys, Capgemini, Amazon, etc.

 We walked as a group towards the venue although unsure about the exact location but we managed to reach by following the cars that had other volunteers. We reached the spot by 2 PM. It took a long time to get the kids form a queue. They were all super excited and it was challenging to make them sit as they were hyperactive. The kids were very smart, they recited the English alphabets and Marathi sung. We took selfies with kids as well as group pictures. The food boxes were first distributed to senior citizens and later to the kids. This was the second time that the event was planned “Daan Ustav" and it was across Pune 18k food boxes were distributed to the slum inhabitants previously. Not sure about the count this time but I heard that the number of kids were higher today. Kudos to them for being part of this noble cause.

 The kids were amiable and curious to know our names. They had a photographic memory as they remembered the volunteers from the last event that happened here. They gave high fives, shook hands, hugged and some even kissed us. We were touched by their affection and their smiles were priceless. Almost all of them spoke in Marathi​ and I was glad I was able to communicate. Many of the volunteers were almost famished by the time we had done with the food boxes distribution. Hats off to everyone’s enthusiasm!!​

It is seemingly difficult to manage such a large group but Harshil & team have done a commendable job in handling the group so efficiently. It is at these times that you realize that internet and technology too could be a boon when used constructively. Anand was saying that some kid asked him why he is doing all this and he replied that he just wanted to see them smile. and every event too was a big success and I will for sure spread the word and get more will involve much people as I can in to it, Yes, Let's Spread Love Pune