How often do we think about our social responsibility? When was the last you planted a sapling contributing to the nature? When was the last time you helped a stranger? When was the last you helped someone’s life get better? When was the last you donated a meal? When was the last you taught an underprivileged kid how to write? When was the last you distributed your old clothes to someone in need? Whenever such questions are asked, the answer is “I want to but I do not have enough time” or “I want to but I need to earn a lot of money to help others” or “I try to but what if my friends laugh at me” or “Why should I do this?”

Well, if your answer were any of these, or another, which is a reason to save yourself from being blamed as socially irresponsible, then what you read next is sure to help you take action NOW!

“I never thought helping someone will help me become a better person. Whenever I thought about helping others, I would think what if my friends laugh at me. i3 has made me realize what I truly missed by not involving myself in contributing!” said Rakshitha, i3 delegate of season 9, Bangalore, who has impacted upto 5000 people through her social projects in a matter of 10 weeks, and is currently volunteering herself to take up more such projects and execute them. Each of the delegates, who have continuously involved themselves in executing various projects, feels the same. Their thoughts have changed from “Will it really help me if I impact the society?” to telling others “You must also try helping someone! It will help you more”; reason being the change that they see in themselves.

All the delegates (aged 19-23), some of who weren’t sure about their dreams, some who did not know how they could reach their dreams, some who were confused about priorities in life, some who wanted to build their profiles and the others who wanted to explore opportunities, were continuously given themes to work on, for 12 weeks, where each theme led to innovation of new social initiatives which impacted thousands of lives. At the end of 12 weeks, there have been vast transformation in each of them; an overall development as a person.

The last theme for the delegates was DIY – Do It Yourself. The delegates were asked to innovate and come up with a concept themselves – a cause that there were interested to work for. A lot of creative ideas were planned and implemented. Reshma IH, a student of VIT Bangalore, who wanted to help solve health issues, remembered about a great recipe that could help those suffering from blood pressure. She began to share about it with people in her surrounding and when there were purely positive responses from everyone, she knew she could share it with many others. She got the recipe printed on sheets of paper and started distributing them to as many people possible. Not just in India, she got connected with people from other countries too, who supported her initiative and began to share it with their circles. In a matter of one week, more than 3500 people were aware about this miracle juice. “I really wish this helps someone who is really in need! I have myself seen a lot of people suffering from BP, and when we were asked to come up with our own idea to implement, I decided that this was the one! I am sure I won’t stop here. I will continue to volunteer and work for as many causes possible and contribute my bit to the society. I also have a personal benefit in doing this. I have been able to communicate far better now, my confidence has increaseed, I can courageously do anything in my life today!” she states.

Monika, a computer science engineering student from Bangalore named her project as ‘i3 – Gift A Book’, which focused on helping the students who are not privileged to buy reference books for their education. She began to collect the used text books and notes from students who do not need them anymore, and began to distribute them to those who required them. “I feel proud that I have become one of the reasons for them to grow!” says Monika, who was the reason to impact more than 650 students as a part of the project. Naveen, a student of BMSCE Bangalore, named his concept as Project30, since he wanted to work on various causes. He became the reason to redistribute more than 150 clothes, redistribute 50+ books and also collected more than 12000 sheets of paper which were left unused, to bind and donate them to children. Mallika, a student from VIT, who wanted to help feed the hungry, collected biscuit packets from shops and distributed them to the needy. The change these delegates have brought in the mindsets of others, the impact that they have created through their projects, remains as a permanent gift in the lives of those who have been influenced, inspired and impacted.

Shriya Satish, a delegate who is working with an event management company, also involved herself in creating an unforgettable impact. The project was named ‘Dance it Out!’ which focused on creating awareness about how dancing can help get rid of stress and problems eventually. She adds, “I wanted to encourage people who are stressed, to join dance/Zumba/aerobics classes and see the difference. The concept also involved teaching the underprivileged kids to dance and make them join classes for free as I'm into dancing and I know instructors that can help!”

More such ideas were implemented by each of the 20 delegates who have been actively involved in giving back to the society, and also learning lessons that has made them fly with colours today. Each of them has gained huge respect from their circle of network, for the efforts in becoming the reason to create a change. Their family is proud of the transformation they have had in a matter of 12 weeks’ time. The platform of i3 has certainly made a huge change in their lives. The delegates have proven that passion, with a platform can help anyone achieve heights!