How YOU Helped Us Raise 54 Lakhs in 5 Days for Kids With Cancer!

This is the story of how each of YOU helped us raise 54 Lakhs in 5 days for kids with cancer. But before we get into it, let’s backtrack a little bit.

It was at the beginning of 2021 when the power of kindness by my You Care community which has supported me through the last nine years of my work in integrative and lifestyle medicine, hit me. I ran a crowdfunding campaign to build a new wing for a wonderful home for the elderly called Amazing Grace in Guirim, North Goa. It was started by Ms. Josephine D’Souza, who is a nurse and is home to 25 elderly residents – both women and men.

The home back then was cramped. There was a dire need to expand and give residents space and privacy and also welcome more of them. The construction had already begun but the funds were insufficient. The total cost for completion of this massive extension that would be double the size of the existing home at 4420 sq was 75 lakhs.

My family and I have already funded the initial 35 lakhs. When the campaign was declared open for people to contribute, more than 216 funders came forward to surpass our goal and generously helped us raise Rs 45,97,923. The construction is now complete.

Your love and generosity continue to fill my heart with nothing but deep gratitude.

More than a year and a half later, on October 21, 2022, I reached out to our followers, the You Care community, and clients again with a simple ask. I joined hands with the NGO Helping Hands to fundraise for a cause very close to my heart.

We aimed to raise money to support 220 midday meals per day for the next 6 months for kids with cancer.

They travel miles to Tata Memorial Hospital for their chemotherapy, radiation, and medications from different corners of India. 90% of these kids belong to low-income households, and more than 50% are malnourished. Malnourishment can affect their ongoing cancer treatment, double their rate of dropping out of therapy and increase the risk of death.

One wholesome and nutritious meal can make a big difference in fighting aggressive cancer treatment.

It only costs Rs 180 for one meal.
It takes 40,000 per day and 9 lakhs per month to keep this program afloat.

Every meal follows a cancer protocol and is cooked with care at the Taj Sats kitchen associated with the hospital’s catering service.

I began by contributing 10 lakhs for the first 5555 meals and needed support to reach the goal. It did not matter if someone wanted to donate 1 meal, 10 meals, 100 meals, or all the meals. Every little help counted.

I love taking lessons from every initiative I take. Win or lose – there is always a lesson or an experience. This lesson was to stay focused on the vision and dream. To keep winning and moving irrespective of what people think and say.

On Day 1, we started to get trolled. Some sent nasty messages about Rs. 180 being too much for a child and that it should be Rs. 18 instead. Others tried to pull down Tata Memorial and our team. My team kept sending these messages to me, asking what to do. And I told them, “Ignore, delete, and block. While they troll us, let’s keep winning.”

Yes, there were some naysayers, but the generosity and kindness of hundreds of others outweighed them.

In less than 5 days, people from across the world came together to complete this fundraiser right from South Africa, Trinidad, Canada, the Caribbean, Vietnam, Japan, Europe, and Ukraine, among other places. These are people I have never met but am connected to over the years, who poured in their wishes and support. Many of my less privileged patients also came forward and said, “Luke, we would like to put Rs. 180 for at least one meal for a child. We will feel happy.”

Here we are as a community who have reached our goal with happy hearts. And the trolls continue to be miserable where they are.

We raised 54 lakhs to support meals for the next 6 months! More than 927 of you came together to make this happen. As you read this, we have already crossed Rs 64,01,456.

Along with their generous donations, they sent beautiful messages, prayers, and blessings to the kids.

I wanted to thank you for helping us reach this milestone. Deep and heartfelt gratitude for each of you who contributed. There is no greater joy than being the hand that feeds someone in need.

Your generosity reminded me that no matter how dark times get, there will always be kindness in this world.

The fundraiser will continue to stay open for just 8 more days. We hope to help Tata Memorial raise funds to cover meals for the entire year. Every donation gets an 80G tax exemption.

Share this within your circles. Let us continue to impact lives together.

You can contribute here

With gratitude,
Luke Coutinho