Giving Tuesday: Stories Of Happiness With ImpactGuru

GivingTuesday was started as a movement based on a simple idea back in 2012 to unleash the power of giving. It is celebrated as a day that encourages people across the globe to transform their community by doing something good. It can be anything from making someone smile, helping someone in need, community-based activities, donating food, clothes, or other resources. Each one of us has something to give and every act of kindness counts. 

GivingTuesday is celebrated globally every year on the first Tuesday following Thanksgiving. However, we at ImpactGuru celebrate the joy of giving every single day, by doing what we love the most - empowering the aam aadmi to do the extraordinary! Thousands of people across the country who are in urgent need of financial help can start a free fundraiser on ImpactGuru to raise money for various causes all year-round. The best part is that the act of giving by our esteemed donors also continues to do wonders throughout the year. So, we decided to celebrate giving and givers of all types by sharing some heartwarming acts of kindness and determination this Tuesday.

Read: Why Does “Giving” Make You Happy?

We bring to you a few fundraising campaigns that inspired us and the country! Here are some stories of hope, determination, courage, and kindness that we witnessed on ImpactGuru recently - 

A Single-Mother Stands Strong Against All Odds, For Her Daughter!

We read an anonymous poem once-

A Real Mom:

Emotional, yet the rock.

Tired, but keeps going.

Worried, but full of hope.

Impatient, yet patient.

Overwhelmed, but never quits.

Amazing, even though doubted.

Wonderful, even in the chaos.

Life Changer, every single day.

Every single line of this beautiful poem holds true for Manju, a single mom who stood tall and determined for her daughter. Keeping aside her own hardships she fought like a true warrior for her daughter. 

Manju Was Tortured For Expecting A Girl.

In the 6th or 7th month of her pregnancy, her husband forced her into sex-determination sonography. When they got to know that they were expecting a girl child, all hell broke loose. Her husband beat her up and tortured her for days. When all his violence did not make her give up the baby, he left her to fend for herself and their unborn baby. Alone but adamant, Manju gave birth to a beautiful girl and named her Khushi - the little angel who was her biggest source of joy.

Manju and Khushi were living peacefully for a year despite struggling to make ends meet. However, sometimes we wonder how cruel fate can be? The little angel was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. For years Manju struggled to keep her daughter alive. When Khushi turned 6, her health started deteriorating further and needed urgent heart surgery. The surgery was said to cost around ₹5 lakh. Manju had no funds left to pay the high cost of her daughter’s medical treatment. 

Not one to give up, Manju started a fundraiser and shared her story online. The response was heartwarming. People connected with her story of trial and courage, helping the fundraiser raise over ₹4.8 lakh! Khushi’s heart surgery went well and she is recovering well at home with her mother. Because of a mother’s determination and abundance of love and support from kind donors, Khushi will now live with a healthy heart.

Read: A Tribute To The Single Mothers on #ImpactGuru

A Shepherd Father Turns Hero To Save His 4-year-old Son

A daily wage worker, Ramanjaneyulu looked after his family and never gave up in the face of poverty. However, fate had a different trial waiting for this hard-working father when his 4-year-old son Mohith was diagnosed with the rare Severe Aplastic Anemia. While Anemia is a term casually used in today’s world, Mohith’s severe condition has him bleeding from every corner of his body. While most children do not have to worry about their bruises and cuts, Mohith can not afford to get injured. His injuries permanently turn black on the skin, worsening the wound due to his rare condition. 

Despite his son having a disease with a 70% death rate, having to pay hospital bills of over 30 visits, traveling 250 kilometers to get his son treated, the determined father did not give up. In his difficult and testing times, Ramanjaneyulu turned to ImpactGuru with hopes to save his child.

The result? Over 1000 people shared his story of agony and determination and over 3800 donors came together to raise over ₹36.9 lakh! 

With a father’s determination and the generosity and kindness of many well-wishers, Mohith is doing well post his Bone Marrow Transplant. Oh, and yes, his heroic father was his bone marrow donor! Even in the face of so many struggles, we saw sheer determination and kindness triumphing all odds!

Read: Here is to every daddy's love, seen on ImpactGuru - A father's day special

A Gift Of Love And Life: A Husband Turns Donor To Save His Wife!

In 2015, Yogita More, a loving mother, and wife discovered that she was suffering from fatal liver disease. As the sickness took over, she was not able to do basic household chores by herself. Her daughter was only 2-years-old when her disease was diagnosed. Yogita felt guilty for not giving enough care to her daughter, however, she found a great mother in her mother-in-law. Yogita’s mother-in-law is no less than a wonder woman who didn’t only tirelessly take care of Yogita’s daughter but also looked after Yogita. 

Recently, Yogita’s health started deteriorating and an urgent liver transplant was the only way out for her healthy survival. Luckily for Yogita her husband turned out to be the right match for liver donation. But, unfortunately, this transplant was not something that her family could afford. Her husband is the sole breadwinner and also lost his job as he had to accompany her for countless hospital visits. The middle-class family had already spent ₹7 lakh for Yogita’s treatment. In these dark and testing times, her husband Vinod More turned to ImpactGuru to save his wife’s life. 

With the kindness and generosity of around 1500 ImpactGuru donors, he was able to raise ₹21.8 lakh on his wife’s fundraiser. Vinod was able to donate his liver to Yogita and the transplant was successful. Both the husband and wife duo are recovering well. This unparalleled act of love, sacrifice, and kindness has our whole heart!

Some Brave Fights Against Cancer! 

On Fighting Fate And Making Impossible Possible

Little Yashee had never known her siblings. She was born to a farmer’s family much after they had passed away. The family hoped to start afresh but fate had other plans. 13-years-old Yashee was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The treatment cost seemed earth-shattering. At their greatest time of need, the family turned to crowdfunding. Yashee’s fundraiser raised over ₹15.5 lakh with the help of around 1200 donors on ImpactGuru! Today, a Bone Marrow Transplant and several chemo cycles later, Yashee gets to live cancer-free.

On Not Giving Up And Fighting All Odds!

A divorce is something that breaks you emotionally and Ankita, too, had to go through that pain. Her daughter, Manvi who was just 1.5 years old then, was her only source of strength. Ankita started coaching students at home and managed to make Rs. 8,700 per month to at least put a roof over their heads and give Manvi a decent education. The mother and daughter duo were living a simple peaceful life. But all of this was too good to last. Tragedy struck them in the form of a deadly disease, just the name of which sent shivers down their spine.

13-years-old Manvi was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Without cancer treatment, her single mother would lose the person she loved the most. Cancer was beginning to eat up their savings and Manvi’s strength. In this time of need, Ankita gathered her strength and started a fundraiser on ImpactGuru to save her only source of living - her daughter. Many kind people shared and re-shared their story of courage, helping the little girl’s fundraiser raise ₹10 lakh! Today, Manvi is recovering well and is at home with her mother. She has started her maintenance therapy and is ready for their new beginning.  

Read: World Cancer Day 2022: Spotlight On India’s Fight Against Cancer!

Big Changes Start With Small Actions

Thousands of people have come together to save lives on ImpactGuru. With the means of crowdfunding, we connect those in need with those who can help. If these acts of kindness motivated you to extend your support to someone in need, here are a few things that you can do-

1. Start a free fundraiser for someone in need.
2. Donate to a cause that you resonate with.

The practice of crowdfunding plays an important role in making ‘asking’ and ‘giving’ successful in a larger way where individuals and communities come together to raise or donate funds for various causes. ImpactGuru, India’s leading online crowdfunding platform has hosted various types of crowdfunding campaigns to help those in need. Also, giving everyone a chance to give back to society by helping the ones in need. While continuing in our efforts to make healthcare accessible and affordable to the patients in India, we promise to bring back more stories of hope and kindness in the coming months.