The third-year students of the NSS Unit at V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education, (VMSIIHE)-one of the Top Hotel Management & Culinary art institutes in India, raised funds from a bake sale and donated 13 pairs of football shoes to the students of St. Anthony’s High School, Cuncolim.
As a part of their curriculum, students of VMSIIHE are required to conduct a compulsory CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program during the second year.
“After brainstorming various ideas aimed at helping the community, we finally zeroed in on an activity that would benefit the youth” explained Saloni Bhandurga, a third-year student who was part of the organizing team. She added, “We’ve seen a lot of kids play football without proper football shoes. Hence we felt that buying young players a pair of football shoes would be a minimalistic need which we could meet.”
The students of the NSS Unit organized a bake sale within the campus to raise the funds to purchase the shoes that they would later gift.
“In Goa football is a passion. We felt we must do our bit to motivate students to play sports and achieve the goals they set for themselves”, says Sachin Das, another student of the organizing team.
The plan on the day of the event was to host a friendly match between the high school students and the college students wherein they would award the thirteen students the football shoes post-match. However, the plan had to be shelved due to covid restrictions.
Said Ronnie Oliviera, a faculty member at St. Anthony’s High School, “The students are extremely grateful to VMSIIHE for choosing to support their passion for football and for raising funds to purchase shoes. Such initiatives help in motivating children and promote the culture of football in Goa.” Speaking on the cancellation of the scheduled match between the students of VMSIIHE and St. Anthony’s High School, he added,
“The student practiced a lot in preparation for the match. They were very disappointed when it had to be postponed. It was regrettable that the event couldn’t take place, but it still made a group of enthusiastic children very happy.”
