It’s not a cake walk !!

Meet our very own Deepam Yogi, Ex Head of Marketing iVolunteer who currently Heads Operation at Social Access Communications, A marketing and communications Professional her strength lies in bringing people (things) together to provide unique, strategic and structured solutions to situations at hand. Committed to social change and an active volunteer herself, she believes that each one of us can impact social change if we have the intent to start with ourselves. She is passionate about social media and thinks it’s one of the biggest platforms to drive change today. If you don’t find her at her desk, she would probably be outdoors climbing a mountain or capturing the world around her through the tiny of her camera. .. or take a GYAN workshop , Why  ? let’s here it from her

What does volunteering mean to you?

I volunteer Kos its my human responsibility. I’m fortunate to have received help throughout my life to do simple & small things and I’m not ashamed to accept that. I’d be ungrateful if I keep moving forward and not look around to extend help to those around me. For me volunteering is equal to helping another. And that does not mean helping only those who we refer to as underprivileged, everyone needs help. Sounds preachy right, but if you sit down to think, we are all volunteering all the time, we just need to be aware and extend help to those who really seek it.

How did you get introduced to GYAN, what motivated you to volunteer for it?

I was an employee of iVolunteer and was aware of the concept…my biggest observation of the social sector is the fact that it is full of passionate people working almost desperately to bring about a change. In doing so they would go upto any extend to reach out to as many people as they can. They are open to learning, open to collaboration, open to new concepts, new mediums. The modestly of the development sector to acquire knowledge for the common good of people motivated me to share my limited knowledge with them.

How would you describe your experience of taking a GYAN session?

GYAN is an interesting concept for exchange of skills. It reminds me of my school days where we exchanged notes with classmates simply kos she/he was more skilled in a particular subject than I was. The training session was insightful for me as I was able to hear the social media challenge of real problems from real people, not brands and their assumed problems.

Does the fact that the training is volunteer led have any significance on the takeaway / impact of the session?

I feel the exchange is far more constructive than any form of paid coaching. The impact of the session is largely dependent on the motivation of the volunteer kos anyone can have the depth of knowledge but everyone does not have the motivation to teach it for free and that too to people who are out there to change the world. Having said that, I also want to point out that’s it’s not a cake walk. Just kos it’s volunteering and training NGOs, one should not take it lightly. It’s a huge responsibility kos the NGOs are very open to learning and genuinely go back and attempt what you recommend.

Having engaged closely with Non profits, do you think trainings like GYAN can have a significant impact on the sector? If so, why?

Yes, training like GYAN can have a huge positive impact on the development sector. The small group concept of these sessions helps participants to address their specific queries as well as get a valuable opportunity for peer learning. NGOs not only get access to skilled volunteers but also open doors with the corporate sector. It facilitates a dialogue between the NGOs and corporate, which in my opinion has been lacking. The new company’s bill 2013 means approx 15000 cr odd rupees will be floated in the development sector from the coming financial year (2014-15). Training like GYAN is will definitely go a long way in enabling the development sector to prepare them to tap into this resource.

Do you recommend it to other professionals? If so why?

Definitely, I recommend it to all those who are willing to take a litmus test of the depth of their knowledge by addressing REAL challenges and if successful , gain the satisfaction of seeing its impact on the REAL world. In other words if I were to take a session for 8 students I will probably expect only 2 to apply it to their benefit however, if I volunteer for GYAN I am sure that my sincere efforts will bring a change in the work of at least 6 of the 8 NGO’s

Thanks Deepam.. I am In , hope I Qualify to volunteer for GYAN  !