The students of Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi have started a fundraiser for students in need of financial assistance to help them attend online classes during the pandemic. A second-year student of the college, Aishwarya Reddy, ended her life burdened by financial stress.
The online fundraiser — Spread the love: Relief fund for students of Delhi's LSR College — is being hosted by ourdemocracy.in till November 23. The campaign aims to collect Rs 5 Lakh and has seen an overwhelming response of Rs 2.04 lakh in the first three days.
The students are now working on how to distribute the funds to the students. "We have sent out a form, which was vetted by political scientists and experts we know, to various social media platforms including facebook and WhatsApp. Anyone who is in need of funds can fill that form and we will get in touch with them. They can then provide the necessary documents and we will help them as much as we can. We had thought of a cap of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per person but that can vary according to someone's need. We believe it is better to help a lesser number of people totally than to give everyone a token amount," said Khushi Bhasin, a third-year student of the History department.
The vetting process might be taxing on the students but they are willing to put in the time and effort. "At a time like this we need to stand beside those who need the support especially when we are in a position to help. The students' union is also helping us with the process and we have divided the work among the 30 of us who have been an integral part of the campaign. We can definitely take out an hour from our day to help those who need the support," said Khushi
