Philanthropy

Letter from our Founder

It was the autumn of 2013 in Jamshedpur, India, when I had my first rendezvous with Daan Utsav: Joy of Giving Week. I was then a student of XLRI, Jamshedpur and the festival of giving was lovingly called Jamshedpur Joyfest by our college and the city. 

In the following year I came back to my hometown, Calcutta (Kolkata, West Bengal) and decided to celebrate Joy Of Giving Week with my social enterprise, PaperCup. It’s been a heart-warming journey ever since. 

Over the years, friends, family, other promising city brands and clubs joined hands with us. In a decade that seemed to pass with a blink of an eye, we reached the lesser fortunate in orphanages, old age homes, NGOs, the settlements across the Ganges and beyond. 

Our giving was in all shapes, sizes and colour. For children, it was stationery, books and food, for the adults, it was ration and clothes, for the ones in the old age homes it was cultural stage performances of dance and music. It seemed right to make our giving bespoke. For maybe, they all need different things at different times. For some it is food, for some it is education and for some others a warm hug can work magic. 

I’m glad that after almost a decade, the legacy continues. 

Although I no longer live in India, the Joy Of Giving to me is pretty much transcontinental and I sincerely hope in the years to come there will be abundant ways in which I transcend my philanthropic endeavours (in private and public) across borders. 

The young and vibrant Team of PaperCup under the beautiful leadership of my Father, Mr. Tapas Guha continues to inspire me to do greater good for this world. 

I urge you, dear reader, to do any random act of kindness every year during the Joy of Giving Week (October 2 to October 8) to celebrate this festival of philanthropy.

Best Regards, 

Somrwita Guha

Founder, PaperCup