Chennai is an amazing city to live in, only because of the people that live here. So if you’ve enjoyed living here, then for 2020 why not give back to the city that has given you so much by volunteering at any of these organisations. Note that almost all of these organisations accept help in any form, so if you would like to go a step above and donate clothing, food, money or even time - they would be most appreciative.
Be A Part Of Something Bigger By Volunteering With These Non-Profit NGOs In Chennai
The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust
This institution is a world-famous reptile zoo that is a 30-minute drive down ECR. The zoo is a well maintained and an organised institution looking to make a difference to how people view scaly friends. Volunteering here will involve everything from raising awareness about reptiles to visitors and cleaning enclosures. Wildlife enthusiasts looking to start a career, this is for you.
Bhumi
Moving from our four-legged friends to humans, Bhumi is a large pan-India NGO that aims to educate and mentor underprivileged children in slums and villages. Following an orientation process for volunteers, you can pick a Bhumi learning centre that is convenient for you and help teach kids basic school subjects. Volunteering at Bhumi is made easy by the fact that their hours are flexible and mostly on weekends.
Thuvakkam
Tamil for 'A Beginning', Thuvakkam is an NGO that functions in education for the underprivileged, cleanliness of public spaces, traffic safety, women’s empowerment and environmental issues. Being such a broad focus NGO, you can choose the areas that you would like to work on. They also organise events like cleanup drives, educational programmes and sapling plantation drives throughout the year so there’s always something to work towards.
Udhavum Ullangal
The literal Tamil to English translation for Udhavum Ullangal is 'Helping Hearts Home'. Simply put, it is a home for destitute and abandoned children. They are only based in Chennai and currently have a boys and a girls home in two separate locations. They’re a small organisation with a packed orphanage. You can spend a day playing and even working with the children here. It is worth specifically mentioning that this organisation is in desperate need of support both financially and otherwise, so any effort that you can spare them would be greatly appreciated.
Goonj
This pan-India NGO has built its name by creating channels for giving from those that have to those that need. While they are predominantly involved with supplying clothes and other basic needs to the underprivileged in villages and slums, they are also on the lookout for volunteers who can help their cause. The best part about what they do is that they’re looking for volunteers who can help them in any capacity, so if you’re great at making Powerpoint presentations, you can do that. Or if you’re fluent in local languages you can work as a translator. As long as you have a skill set to offer, they have work for you.
Chennai Volunteers
This entry is slightly different from the others. Chennai Volunteers serves as a portal for budding volunteers to find and work with NGO’s across the city. Their tie ups with NGOs and solid infrastructure make it easy for you to find a non profit that does the kind of work that you want to do. This also means the freedom to pick volunteering work that suits your schedule and your interests.
Teach For India
This pan-India NGO has now become a movement, supporting the spread of education in the country. While they are predominantly into providing teachers and leaders to schools that cannot afford them, Teach for India also takes donations and trains teachers to provide primary and secondary education in the countries most cut-off regions. They conduct a number of Fellowship programs every year for university students and working professionals to reach out to the education system at the grassroots and make a change. Apart from academic education, Teach For India is also on the look out for those willing to teach extra-curricular arts like theatre, dancing and painting too.
Team Everest
This NGO is popular for its two-year fellowship program where Team Everest pays a stipend to complete the tasks laid out by the fellowship. They encourage everyone to dedicate at least a day in a year to volunteering and offer other volunteering programs suited for school and college students, corporates and families to bring about the change. They even accept donations and conduct an art contest for the volunteers where 100% of the prize money is donated to a social cause.
AID India
This NGO has won multiple awards for their work in the education sector. They believe in becoming self-aware and breaking the cycle of generational poverty by providing quality care in health, education and shelter. They also are working towards making underprivileged schools more competent by providing technical services to them.
TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation
This NGO is a subsidiary of the TT Ranganathan hospital. They offer to detoxify and give psychological therapy to individuals fighting addiction. They work with a diverse set of individuals from different walks of life fighting alcoholism and drug abuse. They also provide family counselling to the individual's families too. They conduct camps in neighbourhoods where such traits are most prominent and spread awareness about the same.
World Vision
With centres across the city, this NGO is out to spread as much awareness about self-care as they can. They conduct sensitisation programs for children and women who haven't received a full education. They cover the importance of nutrition, hygiene and water sanitisation, extensively. They also offer workshops for underprivileged families to improve their financial health and provide for their children.
