Celebrating our Day of Grace 2014

You are invited to warm your heart on a wintery evening.

Event: Angel Xpress Day of Grace Concert
Date: 25th Jan, 2014
Time: 7:00 pm onwards
Venue: Bandra Fort Amphitheater

A 15-min Dance Extravaganza by our Angel Xpress Children will be followed by music from awe-inspiring artists like:
Sunita Bhuyan
Geetu Hinduja
Ayushman Shrestha

January 2012 One Facebook post asking for clothes for slum children had 3000 people calling to offer help. The intent behind Angel Xpress Foundation was born.

Every year since, we salute the people who created this movement, by acknowledging and appreciating our volunteers and donors, who have been supporting this cause.

About us

Angel Xpress Foundation provides a platform for educated adults, to fulfill the education needs of underprivileged children; and nurture a better future where they can make responsible choices. We currently reach out to 500 children through our 3 centres, located in public parks and promenades across Mumbai city. Here, children from slums find access to their affluent educated, neighbors who care to spare 2-3 hours / week to teach them English and Math.

We also conduct English classes for over 1000 children at select vernacular-medium Municipal (BMC) Schools, and promote extra-curricular activities with the help of volunteers, trained teachers, and educationists. We see our work as one step to shape the future of first-gen learners, who tend to stray in the absence of appropriate adult guidance.

To know more or join us visit www.angelxpress.org

Please watch

This Diwali, the smiles of our kids and volunteers are outshining the fireworks

Have a look at the Diwali celebrations at our centers

A sparkling new Angelxpress Centre: Say hi to evening classes at Santacruz

When the Kamla Raheja Park authorities relented in September, 90 kids joined our evening classes, taking the total number of children at the Centre to nearly 500. Volunteers like Ipomea, Sana, Saunskruti and Meenaal Sata rush to join us as the place and time is now perfect.

 

Bright futures: 1000 students across 5 schools

Five new teachers have been appointed for our in-school English program, at fournew BMC schools allocated to us. Besides Gauri and Meena at Chapel Road School, Mysha, Aparna, Sana, Alifiya and Varija are excited to introduce children to a working knowledge of English. Yay!

Moments of Brilliance

Shaalu Wadhwa opens up her heart to over 200 children as they experience Kidzania

Teacher’s Day Out – when kids threw a party for their beloved volunteers

Heartfelt thanks to all kids and moms who celebrate their birthdays with our kids– Drishti, a 13 year old Jasudaben student says “at least these kids will appreciate the treat”.

Jamnabai Class IX kids and mothers take extra-curricular classes every Saturday for our Juhu kids. Thank you!

15 year old child prodigy Maulik wrote a book and his mother Pooja Jain donated sale proceeds from the book to us. Thank you for your big heart.

Angels of the Month

Thumbs up to Shweta Dingwaneyand Shivani Borade, sprightly young girls who have displayed exemplary commitment by sparing time consistently to teach kids at our Bandstand center.
On the other end of the spectrum two seasoned volunteers, Krishna Sarbadhikary and Sunita Nath, are inspirations to affluent homemakers who can spare an hour or two to teach in their neighbourhood.

 

Thank you for your contributions but can we know who to thank??

By donating anonymously you will put us in the bad books of the IT department and we may end up having to pay taxes on your contribution rather than using it for teacher salaries and food for the kids that you have intended.

Please follow up any direct transfer with a mail to angelexpressfoundation@gmail.com – with your Name:        
Gender (M/F)                    
Age:            
Address:                       
Ph. No:                        
Email id:              
PAN:   (required if donation in a year is over Rs. 10000/-), 
Bank Name:          
Chq no/Transaction no: 


How to contribute: You can drop cheques off at the center closest to you or transfer funds to Account Name: Angel Xpress Foundation, Savings. Account no 912010064061671, Axis Bank, IFSC Code UTIB0001624 and SWIFT Code: AXINBB028

A Glowing Report Card: We are now at 3 more BMC schools

Thanks to glowing reports by the Head Master of Chapel Road School where we conduct our in-school English Programs; we have been awarded 3 more schools. We are delighted and hope that these 800 additional students will help us hit the targeted figure of being able to impact 2500 children every year far sooner than expected.

Juhu welcomes Angel Xpress

The fourth Angel Xpress center was launched in Juhu, Tilak Udyan, with support from Rotary Club of Bombay Airport. In a month, the centre is off to a flying start with over 90 students attending. Read why people like you are signing up to volunteer.

We got covered

In the current issue of Forbes India as freedom evangelists for children in India.

In ‘Chai with Lakshmi’ as one of its 1000 stories on an Inclusive India

Events

An inclusive independence
Bandra Bandstand Residents Trust along with Priya Dutt Roncon, Baba Siddiqui and Karen Dmello, invited our Bandstand children for the flag hoisting at the promenade.

Reasons to Celebrate
Blessed are those who choose to celebrate their birthdays and special occasions at our centers by sharing their good fortune with those who are not as privileged. We thank you. Watch people take delight in spending time with our kids.

Good Health Camp
A word of thanks to Rathna Venkat Iyer, a Santacruz volunteer, who organized a Wockhardt Foundation health camp for 150 of our kids.

Volunteering opportunities

Colaba (5 pm – 6 pm)
With the monsoons behind us, its time for Colaba-ites to stir their social conscience and sign on for volunteering so we can re-launch classes at the Colaba Woods Park.

Santacruz W (5 pm – 6 pm)
We are also planning to kick off evening classes in Rajesh Khanna Garden (Santacruz W).

To volunteer, contribute, celebrate or make a difference in any other way, connect with Anubha on 9930070086 or Beenaa at 9820244562.

Raining toys at The Angel Xpress Toy Give-away, Santacruz Centre

There is abundance for everyone who desires and can intend innocently. The Angel Xpress Toy Give away was nothing but a universal conspiracy to fulfill the deep desire of children to own a toy.

What started with a doll that our volunteer Aparna Kanda donated spiraled into a grand plan for a “toy give away” event on a happy Sunday morning. Beautifully executed with support from a lot of generous givers and supporters like Ruchita Dar Shah (who runs First Moms Club on Facebook), the event inspired many mommies to come forward and donate. Read the First Moms Club coverage here.

Musical Mirth on World Compassion Day

Renowned artist and performer Sunita Bhuyan came to play for us at our Bandstand Centre on 30th June. Not just our children and volunteers, but hundreds of passersby gathered to listen to her violin, and sang along. We overheard many saying; this was the most fun evening they had in a longtime.

Our kids get a drive up to our centres

12 odd kids who come from about 2 kms afar are inevitably late for class and often arrive wet as they walk the distance. A post and a prayer for conveyance later, we found Nelson, owner of a fleet of school buses, who instantly agreed to ferry the kids for free, with us just paying for the fuel. This has helped push the number of kids attending our classes from that school to nearly 20 in the last few days.

Taiwanese tricks for Mumbaikars

A three min coverage by Voice of America inspired 17 medical students from Taiwan to come looking for us. With music and drama they taught our kids little tricks and provided entertainment in interactive sessions.  Have you found us yet? for directions call Anubha at 9930070086.

Oppportunity to Give

To volunteer for any of the exciting opportunities below, write to anubha.sharma@angelxpress.org 

Juhu welcomes Angel Xpress: Tireless efforts of Juhu resident Avani Dalal bore fruit when an Angel Xpress center finally came through in Juhu, with support from Rotary Bombay Airport. Today, one day away from launch scheduled for the 1st of August, over 50 children and 35 volunteers have already signed up and are eagerly awaiting the formal launch on 1st August. Sure enough, Juhu residents sport a healthy social conscience!

Growing from English to Maths and Science: Our pilot project inside Chapel Road BMC School, Hindi medium has found huge success: not only are we teaching English to classes II – VII, we are also taking Math and Science classes. The BMC ward office has now requested us to support yet another Hindi medium school in Khar in a similar capacity.

Kicking it up: Class VII kids from Bombay International School held a 3-day football training camp for Class V and VI kids of Chapel Road BMC School, Bandra. Having got a taste of the fun, our kids are eager to learn more. So if your kids love football and are excited to coach younger kids, write to us.

One of India’s finest musicians composes for us

This month, the highly popular and talented Vishal Dadlani strummed up some tunes for us

It began when Tina Thadani came to shoot us for an international film project that she had been awarded. She gave us this incredible gift of a video that speaks volumes of the work we do. Vishal Dadlani's stirringly beautiful music has added soul to her beautiful piece.

Do take a look and share to spread the word. Please click here if the video below doesn't play

Good news to share!

We are happy to share that this month, we have started teaching English to class 3 and 4 inside a BMC Hindi medium school near Lilavati Hospital, Bandra; marking a new phase for Angel Xpress. Two teachers have been appointed for the task by us.

We also noticed that the school happens to be short of teachers and class II and class V has had no class teacher for a couple of years now. Anyone willing to come and teach these kids - even for an hour a day? You can come in from 10.30 - 12.30 in the morning or 3.30 - 5.30 in the evening.

We got covered

Happy to see our work at the Santacruz Centre, Aru Pandey, a visiting feature journalist from Voice of America did a beautiful video story on us. It tells our story in two quick minutes.Watch it on:

Thank you Manju Gupta (our first supporter and teacher at Angel Xpress) for helping make this connect! 

We got (really) generous donations

Glamorous enough to be in-front of the camera, Tina Thadani came to film our Bandstand Centre to show her friends in New York that “people actually do care”. The lady kept coming to play and teach the kids; and then last month she kept a donation box for us at one of her parties. The figure she came back with left us slack-jawed at the generosity of her friends. It went over six digits and showed us the huge hearts that blessed people can have.

We won support from MCHI Credai

An erstwhile volunteer at Bandstand, Rameet Gupta Gidwani constantly has her hand out demanding support for us. Recently, she made the most of an opportunity to sway a decision for a large contribution by MCHI Credai’s CSR initiative in our favor. With angels like her supporting our initiative, can our dream of setting up 10 centers be far away?

We turned heads, we turned hearts, and we also turned 1

At Bandstand: The first anniversary of our Centre coincided with Krishna Sarbadhikary’s birthday – little wonder then, that the veteran teacher helmed our celebrations with style. She grooved to song ‘Auntyji – get up and dance’ with Mayank, a young volunteering English teacher who has also been teaching hip hop to the kids after class. From ‘Bezubaan’ to ‘Komdi Padali’ to ‘Addicted to Love’, here is an album alive with kids having a blast.

At Santacruz: Thanks to a few hours put in alongside classes by Aparna Kanda & Pratishtha Manchandani (both volunteer teachers and Kangaroo Kids moms) and Angela Nagarajan (Founder, “Musical Mushrooms Grow Up with Dance”), our kids put up beautiful performances on 5th May 2013. They recited English passages with elan, sang “Hum Honge Kamyaab” and more, drawing heartfelt appreciation from the audience. Check them out on:

A viral that makes us happy

Tejas Datta, a core member of our communications team, tried a hand at a poster for Angel Xpress and ended up creating nothing short of an inspiration!

The poster has generated some 13000+ views in 10 days and has gone viral. The word is spreading. If you know a student, share this with them:

AXF is now Colaba-enabled

Madhuri Sharma of Colaba has been in touch trying to understand how to get an Angel Xpress Center going over the last six months.

Her persistence and support from Manab Sarmah, Shikha Goyal and few other residents of Colaba has helped classes begin at the Colaba Woods Park. About 10 adults have committed 2-3 hours a week to teach 40 odd kids from 5 pm – 6 pm, Monday – Friday. The Colaba team could do with some help. If you or someone you know lives in town and wants to support this initiative, call Madhuri at 9821822878 or Shikha Goyal at 9619561164.

People around Juhu who can volunteer for a 9 am–10.30 am batch or for evening classes from 4.30 pm – 6 pm in Santacruz (W) are welcome. Call Anubha Sharma at 99300 70086 or Beenaa Advani at 98202 44562.

Dancing Towards a Brigher Future

Aparna Kanda, KKEL mom, exclaims: “No dance experience, no studio, no music and hardly any practice! Just one visit by a choreographer, three dedicated volunteer teachers, and a whole lot of joi de vivre… the enthusiasm to live life to its fullest! The kids were undoubtedly the highlight of the show! Shall we resolve to give them more reasons to smile every day? Can we show them we care?”

When it comes to shaking a leg, can anyone stay away, least of all when they are 12 of the youngest from our Santacruz Centre? 

These sprightly dancers participated at Kangaroo Kids (KKEL) Pali Hill’s Annual Day Concert, thanks to Arati Nanavati and Pratishtha Manchandani, KKEL moms and dedicated teachers at Angel Xpress. The ladies turned into avid dance teachers overnight with help from Deepika from KKEL. 

A beautiful coming together

Aparna Kanda, Arati Nanavati and Pratishtha Manchandani are highly qualified moms of young children who have put their own careers on the back burner in the interest of a better future for their children. These ladies did not hesitate in sparing time to volunteer when it came to contributing to a brighter future for children born with lesser fortune.

The inspiration behind our Kangaroo Kids Pali Hill (KKEL) performance: Endless thanks to Vidhi Chawla, Principal, KKEL Pali Hill and Divya Punjabi of KKEL H.O. for letting us speak to KKEL parents. 

Here's to Shiny New Centres

A month after the launch of our PUT A BRICK IN OUR PLAN campaign, we have collected enough money to afford four teachers for volunteer shortfalls in our existing centers. We now look forward to collecting funds to set up new centers.

The vision behind our campaign: That every school going child from the slums of Mumbai has access to an educated adult who cares! By March 2015, 1000 such children will sit in open air classrooms in parks and promenades across the city, and 100 affluent adults will come every morning to give an hour of their day to help these children learn.

Joy of Forwarding (Bus Ride)

The humble Forward button on the email has turned out many a blessing for us. This month it took our kids on a memorable joyride. 

Shweta Dingwaney’s Bus of Joy 

When Shweta Dingwaney forwarded our newsletter to her friends, a beautiful initiative was born – 70 of our overjoyed kids went on a 2 hour trip across Mumbai in an open bus. We got “smiles unlimited” from kids who’ve seen little more than home and school. That’s one of the reasons they love “tuition” 

Joy of Forwarding (Trip to the Zoo)

See what a Facebook share did for us: On seeing our Facebook post Ankita Bagri connected with us and organised a trip to the zoo for seventy of our children, courtsey Maheshwari Mandal. 

Marion's Magic

Special thanks to Marion Gerlick of Germany, a Mumbaikar for 10 years and a volunteer teacher at Angel Xpress. 

Here’s some amazing inspiration from Marion:

After almost 10 years in Mumbai, having turned into a jobless mum because my kids finished school and left the nest, I Googled through Mumbai's NGOs to see whether I could do something useful . I didn't want to "polish" doorknobs and be part of a fundraising team. I wanted to be hands on. Then one day last year I read about Angel Xpress in the newspaper. Amazed about this project, insecure whether I could be of help there without speaking Hindi, I just went to check it out and couldn't help staying back. The first day, 15 little angels jumped and yelled around me, quite a noisy and wild challenge. But I could feel the eagerness to learn and the gratefulness for the attention of what became my “gang”. I signed to be there only twice a week, but found myself being there as often as I could. Being at Bandstand takes only 90 minutes, but it fills my heart the whole day.

What a rewarding moment when they all come running up to me with a big smile and a loud “hello teachaaaaaaaa". What a lovely experience when they pull out their notebooks and pencil and eagerly ask for homework. Sometimes there is no mood for homework, sometimes the mood is set to play or just fool around or search teachaaaa's bag for chocolate. Not every day ends up with a new learned number or a new word, but every day ends with a big smile and bright eyes for the time dedicated to the few who haven’t had the chance to be born as privileged as us. 

 It is just overwhelming, when suddenly "teachaaaa, rubber" turns into " teachaaaa. I want rubber" into "teachaaaa give me rubber" and then ends up into a clearly " teachaaaa, give me rubber pleasssssssse". This progress does not come overnight. For some of these angels it might not come at all, because they need more attention and we are too few volunteers. Nevertheless they come, they try, they smile and they hug you with a “thank you, teachaaaaa". If some of them experience their own success and can suddenly add numbers or can finally understand that 16 is not the same as 61 and then prefer doing maths over the generally more tempting colouring of trains and houses or Ganeshas, then I know that each spent moment at Angel Xpress is so much more fulfilling than I ever thought it could be.

To read more of our beautiful testimonials from our volunteers and supporters, please visit http://www.facebook.com/notes/anubha-sharma/sharings-by-angel-xpress-volunteerssupporters/10151497469154469

4 .. going on 40

He is 4 and he can write tables 10 times his age - up to 40. Small wonders like these need big guidance from people like you. Won't you show them the way? 

Our Kiln

Here are the people who “PUT in BRICKS” this month, our foundation is getting stronger with your support:




*Thank you for your extra-large contributions :)

Want to make their tummies happy?

Want to make their tummies happy?

Here's the food roster which would love to feature you as a donor on one of the empty slots. So please open up your hearts and give:

Colours of Delight

 This Holi, our Santacruz Centre was awash with joy. One of our Santacruz volunteers Aparna Kanda brought in some gel colours and the kids got to dip into an early Holi.