Thousands of volunteers from the UK and abroad gave up their time to improve the lives of people within their community for the international day of ‘selfless service’ Sewa Day 2013. In its fourth year Sewa Day had a significant global impact with new regional volunteer teams in Asia Pacific, the Russian Federation and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the UK, people participated in community social action projects in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol. More importantly, hundreds of voluntary and community organisations, schools as well as companies were involved with projects helping to add real value to the local economy and build thriving communities. During last year’s Sewa Day, volunteers collectively undertook tens of millions of project hours, which generated in excess of £11 million of value for Britain. This year’s effort is expected to exceed 2012.
Key facts of Sewa Day 2013:
– Over 75,000 volunteers took part
– Volunteers from 25 countries (including Australia, Bosnia, Hong Kong Kenya, Russia, UAE and USA)
– 250 projects (UK/ World)
– Global corporate partners such as BP, Canal & River Trust, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, PwC & The National Trust amongst many others
– Support from leading politicians and Asian celebrities Navin Kundra and Avina Shah
Thomas Dahlberg, from the Danish Association for the Disabled People said: “I want to thank you from all my heart for your great effort. Helping us with a complete cleanup of our cellar storage was quite a hard job carried out in a most efficient and satisfying way. We are indeed grateful and pleased with the outstanding SEWA concept -maybe we Danes have something to learn from that.”
Arup Ganguly, chairman of Sewa Day commented: “From getting things started in Australia through to finishing off in the US, October 6 shined bright as a beacon for all things good in our society as thousands helped others, whether through improving the environment or supporting the vulnerable and less fortunate.
“I am very proud of the effort each volunteer put into working on their project. Sewa Day bridges the gap between communities and I saw firsthand how different groups of our society can work hard together to put a smile on somebody’s face”.
About Sewa Day
The first Sewa Day took place in November 2010. Over 5,000 people, of all ages and from all walks of life, participated in over 130 projects across the UK. By the second Sewa Day, which took place in September 2011, the initiative had gone global with 15,000 people taking part in projects across 15 countries. In 2012, 50,000 people to take part in over 20 countries.
Each project organised is based on at least one of the guiding principles below:
– Help relieve hardship / poverty
– Bring a little joy
– Help the environment
Sewa Day is an initiative of Sewa UK, a secular, non-political UK registered charity, (No: 1135425. Visit and sign-up at www.sewaday.org.