# Bag for Cause - Initiative to Empower Underprivileged Women

#BAG FOR CAUSE

Go Plastic FREE, Save Nature, Empower Women

I am passionate about giving back to society and making a difference. One of my principles in life is to make positive impacts in this world in my lifetime. I was inspired by an article about how life is like a candle that will ultimately burn to ashes, but the only difference between the candles is the legacy one leaves behind. Thus, I set my mind to live my life meaningfully by helping people whenever I can.

I strongly believe in “Giving is not just about making a donation, it is about making a difference” which is evident through my initiative #Bag for Cause in lieu of plastic ban in Maharashtra, idea was to recycle old clothes and empower women for daily livelihood. #Bag for Cause is about saving environment along with empowering needy women. I collected old saris, dupattas,shirts,rough cloth and old clothes from family and friends and gave them to the women to stitch for Rs 20/bag. I thank each and everyone who support me in my initiative which has encouraged me to continue to create employment for the underprivileged women.  

 I appreciate how helping others could be so enjoyable, as I realized that I also have the power to make a change. The fact that people can benefit from my help is not the only reason why I like volunteering. Helping those in need also serves as a reminder for myself to live with gratitude, which is important as it enables us to be optimistic and feel contented with life. Moreover, I believe that giving and receiving is an invisible cycle. As long as I have the ability, I wish to be the one starting a cycle of kindness, helping many others along this cycle. Hence, knowing that helping people and giving back to the society is beneficial to both myself and others, it is something that I am very passionate about.

A DREAM COME TRUE - MAHARASHTRA PLASTIC FREE

Mumbai Plastic Free ! Wow a dream come true for me !!! I was thrilled after reading this article yesterday in the newspaper and felt a sense of achievement by advocating people to preserve the nature by confronting environmental abuse and championing environmentally responsible solutions.I urge my family and friends to help the government to be successful in this endeavor by supporting them by educating all around us who will be unhappy with the ban.Lets work for solutions rather than looking at the problems created by the ban. Kindly discourage any kind of ridicule or disparage for the government in your socializing or get together   A genuine effort will go a long way !        Let’s make Mumbai Plastic Free- 

Rgds, Rajvansh Rungta.               naturalisgreenshoppingcart.blogspot.in-- 

MY SOCIAL MEDIA "CAMPAIGN FOR REFUSE THE STRAW"

Inspired by “Milo Cress” I am proud to launch this campaign “Refuse the Straw”. Giving up plastic straws is a small step, and an easy thing for people to get started on. I urge all my family and friends to help me in this mission to make it a straw free Mumbai and then we move on to India 🇮🇳. 

 So Pledge to be Straw Free          

1) Ask for no Straw when eating out or on the go.Did our ancestors or great grand parents ever used Straw ??? Think .                     

 2) Choose reusable straws when you or a guest needs one . It’s available on Amazon.    

3) Encourage others to go strawless.                                       

4) Each one Reach one. Each person invites one restaurant to consider offering straws to customers instead of serving a Straw with each drink automatically. It’s very simple n effective! So let’s tell them    

 Last but not the least I would like to hear back from you on this .. visit my blog naturalisgreenshoppingcart.blogspot.in and read my article Be Straw Free & COMMENT-- 

Thanks and Regards,

Rajvansh

REFUSE THE STRAW !!!! CAMPAIGN

I was reading this article in Times of India dated 5/3/2018  "BAN STRAWS" by Daniel Victor and suddenly there was an ardelaine rush which promptly inspired me to research on the topic and be a part of the movement to spread awareness. I researched on the campaign and found that :

It started so innocently. A kid ordered a soda in a restaurant.

“It came with a plastic straw in it,” Milo Cress recalled. He glared at the straw for a while. “It seemed like such a waste.”

Not only did Cress yank the plastic from his drink, but he also launched a campaign, “Be Straw Free,” targeting all straws as needless pollution. He knocked on the doors of restaurants in Burlington, Vt., where he lived at the time, and asked managers not to offer straws unless patrons asked. He was 9 years old.

Today Cress, 15, is one of the faces of a growing movement to eliminate plastic straws. They have been found wedged in the nose of a sea turtle, littering the stomachs of countless dead marine animals and scattered across beaches with tons of other plastics.

Why single out pollution as small and slim as a drinking straw?

Straws are among the most common plastic items volunteers clean from beaches, along with bottles, bags and cups, conservationists say. Americans use half a billion straws every day, at least according to an estimate by Be Straw Free, based on information from straw manufacturers. That many straws could wrap around the Earth 2½ times.

The slightest wind lifts plastic straws from dinner tables, picnic blankets and trash dumps, depositing them far and wide, including in rivers and oceans, where animals often mistake them for food.

And they are ubiquitous. Nearly every chain restaurant and coffee shop offers straws. They’re in just about every movie theater and sit-down restaurant. Theme parks and corner stores and ice cream shops and school cafeterias freely hand them out. DO WE REALLY NEED ONE ???

But they are starting to disappear because of the awareness campaign Cress and dozens of conservation groups are waging. Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom bans them, as do the food concession areas of Smithsonian Institution museums.

Keith Christman, a managing director for plastics markets at the American Chemistry Council, which promotes plastics manufacturers and fights attempts to ban plastic, said in a National Geographic article two months ago that the group would do the same for attempts to eliminate plastic straws.

The movement was growing at a slow, steady pace when Cress joined it six years ago, but it exploded after a YouTube video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck in its nose went viral in 2015. The cringe-inducing effort to pull the plastic out of a bloody nostril outraged viewers — 11.8 million so far.

Cress has launched a website on the issue, partnered with several organizations that support the cause and testified against straws in the Vermont legislature. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) cited Cress’s activism in a 2013 proclamation that made July 11 a straw-free day in the state. The Plastic Pollution Coalition estimates that 1,800 “restaurants, organizations, institutions and schools worldwide have gotten rid of plastic straws or implemented a serve-straws-upon-request policy,” said Jackie Nunez, founder of a group called the Last Plastic Straw.

Its our turn now ....

SO LETS ......

I request all my family and friends to be a part of this campaign and help me take to a level where we can together make a difference. 

Join MILO in reducing waste by taking the pledge to go strawless or adopting an "Offer First" policy at your restaurant or business. Get the whole community involved and follow Milo's lead: 

"One person can make a difference for our environment !"

As a consumer

As a business or restaurant
As a community

Take the pledge to go strawless

Commit to ask for your drinks "strawless" when eating out or on the go. 

Keep reusable straws at home to offer house guests who prefer or need to use a straw. Find great reusable straws for purchase. 

ITS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

Each One, Reach One

Reach out to at least one restaurant or business in your community about the Be Straw Free campaign. Together we all make a difference.

Adopt an Offer First policy, a best practice of the National Restaurant Association, by asking customers if they would like a straw with their drink, rather than providing one by default

Proclaim your community straw free by adopting an offer first policy. 

Organizations & Clubs 

Reach out to all the restaurants or businesses in your community about the Be Straw Free campaign through Each One, Reach One.

KINDLY VISIT 

http://www.ecocycle.org/bestrawfree/one FOR MORE INFORMATION.

LOOKING FORWARD FOR EACH ONES SUPPORT.
REGARDS,
RAJVANSH RUNGTA

NDTV BEHTAR INDIA CERTIFICATE - " I DID FOR MY COUNTRY" WHERE THERE IS A WILL ...THERE IS A WAY !

I Rajvansh Rungta have to admit I am overjoyed by your recent generosity.  I suppose the word is “gratified.” I’am gratified that you believe in my work enough to give me a grant. Thank you for your trust in me. I’am sure this will go a long way to make my country a better place to live.Thank you for renewing your support and your generous grants for my Behtar India  Campaign which has gained me a certificate of Achievement.I sincerely thank my school Aditya Birla World Academy for giving me this oppurtunity to help save the environment.

REGARDS,

RAJVANSH RUNGTA

*#Rally for Rivers

The rivers in India are all holy. Our Indus, Kosi, Saryu and Yamuna are sacred to us. They all play an important role in our agriculture and promote our trade.For Indian, a river is like a temple. And, what is more, it is our own mother.A mother, we know, has to suffer for her children. Our rivers have a similar fate. Eminent environmentalist and winner of the 2001 Raman Magsaysay award for community leadership, Rajendra Singh has said that if the Ganga isn’t saved then India won’t be saved either. And nothing is more true than his contention.

Lack of consciousness among people of India regarding significance of river is nowadays a universal phenomenon. No one cares about the health of a river and due to this; situation is becoming from bad to worse.

The latest numbers are saying our rivers have depleted by *40%to 60%* in one generation!! Can we stop and take a moment to think of what we are leaving behind for our children? A *water-less* planet!! What should be done? A nationwide intervention to *restore* our rivers. Who can do it? *Each one of us.* How? Register your support by a *missed call* on *8000980009* What will a missed call do? Sadhguru is rallying across 13 states to create awareness and will present a policy document to *Govt of India* on behalf of the people of India. The bigger the number of calls, the louder the voice of India. Read below to know more http://isha.sadhguru.org/rally-for-rivers/#moment-section When can we do it? *NOW* !! Spread out the word to everyone you know. Every single missed call matters!! *Let's save our rivers.

* Join the movement and say *#RallyforRivers. Rajvansh Rungta

I DID MY BIT ...DID YOU ? on WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY....

World Environment Day (WED) is a campaign celebrated every year by the people worldwide on 5th of June. This campaign was established to raise the global awareness among people about the environmental issues as well as take positive environmental actions. It is handled by the United Nations Environment Programme and was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. It is a day to especially focus on the current environmental conditions to make environment better. It is celebrated by the people in more than 100 countries. It is the day when public and politicians get stimulated through awareness programs regarding environment to enhance the political attention as well as public actions. This day was created to promote people to work for environmental issues and become active agents of the sustainable and eco-friendly development worldwide.

On this World Environment Day 5^th June, 2017, let us all, as individuals, Pause and Think! Pause, because it provides a break from what we are engaged with, at a given moment. It takes your mind away from the routine, and the thinking attached with it. It provides an opportunity for a fresh look. And fresh look is what we need to have on the practices we all follow as individuals that impact our environment negatively, and become aware of how can we adopt practices that are sustainable for the environment.

Do you fall in the category of those who are high on the list of contributors to environmental degradation? The answer by most of us might be a “no”, with a routine thinking mind. But, if we actually analyse our actions we might find that the reality is quite different! We should not just stop the environmental degradation, but promote its conservation, and above all, work towards its restoration. Are we really doing our bit, as an individual or just satisfying ourselves that we are?

Four of the biggest challenges that we face are:

1. Climate change
2. Pollution of air and water resources
3. Deforestation
4. Water scarcity.

So how we, as individuals, can contribute to environmental protection and restoration? Obviously by following practices which are environmentally friendly.

In my last blog I had mentioned about seed bombing an initiative by ffroge headed by Mr. VIKAS MAHAJAN. I would like to thank him for introducing me to this unique and simple way of contributing to the environment. For over 3 weeks I collected seeds of  fruits like Lychee,Sweet-lime,Watermelon,Melon,Lemon etc with the help of my mother and my neighbours.

I would like to specially thank aunty  Rashmi Paharia for her dedication and contribution of seeds.

On 4th June Vikas uncle organised a seed bombing workshop at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse which included a session on seed bomb making. I was unable to attend the session due to my on going IGCSE board examinations but I send my seeds to Nehal Aunty through my Mom whom I cannot thank enough for her constant support and encouragement. My Mom learned and made some seed bombs and I plan to make them after my exams.

Congratulations !!!  Vikas Uncle for being covered by Bombay Times on  WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY and inspiring younsters like me.... Looking forward to hold or attend a seed bombing workshop with your help and guidance. THANK YOU.

REGARDS,

RAJVANSH RUNGTA

NATURALIS.