new passion - white collar social/enviornmental works...

all over the world...white collar social/enviornmental works are heatingup as new passion...superficial?

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Is charity the new fad with Indian youth?
Source: ChilliBreeze

With multinational giants offering irresistible pay-packets and perks to Indian youth, one needs a strong character to walk away from such lucrative opportunities. Surprisingly, that’s what many young people seem to be doing today. Contrary to the general belief that today’s youngsters are self-centered and materialistic, hordes of youth are consciously choosing philanthropy over dazzling careers. And how do they make a big difference in the lives of the less privileged? Here’s how!


Selfless youth: doing their bit

Call it an internal awakening or awareness of social responsibility – young Indians want to do more than just donate once a year to charity. Some contribute in a small but significant way, like tutoring their housemaids’ kids or spending time with the elderly in old age homes on weekends. Yet others chuck their jobs and plunge into full-fledged social work by founding voluntary and non-profit organizations. Interestingly, while the older generation ventured into social work only post-retirement, more and more youngsters are contributing towards the social sector while pursuing their careers or even swapping their professions for full-time social causes. Moreover, youngsters aren’t opting to be volunteers because they’ve nothing else to do. In fact many rank-holders choose to work with NGOs and make a career out of it.

Motivating the youth

Many B-schools in India have started noticing that youth are consciously choosing social work as a career. Hence they’re roping in facilitators and experts in the field to guide the youth. Some premier institutes, in an effort to make the youth more socially responsible and sensitive, have introduced projects involving contribution to society as part of their curriculum. These projects range from rehabilitating slum children to organizing health and awareness camps. If B-schools are so accommodating, can the corporate sector be behind? Multinational Companies (MNC) are chipping in, too. A majority of the corporate giants have tie-ups with non-profit organizations and are actively involved in events ranging from blood donation camps, outings for destitute children to funding employment projects.

Government’s contribution

While B-schools and MNCs are encouraging the youth to contribute towards social causes, is the government actively involved? Besides usual tax exemptions for donations, there are no other incentives or benefits for young philanthropists. Small voluntary non-profit organizations, often founded by young Samaritans, have to register themselves as trusts or charitable institutions to claim tax exemption on income earned.

Are these signs of growing philanthropic awareness among India’s youth? Do India’s youth need to participate more actively? How can the government encourage philanthropic culture among the youth?

Source: http://www.window2india.com/cms/admin/article.jsp?aid=6751