In a pile of so many Happy New Year messages I hope this one meets your eye. And in case if you are about to move on in a few seconds than let me immediately say a BIG THANK YOU to you. The complete Team at ProjectHeena strives to work hard to make a difference and add value to the world. We strongly believe that great things happen when you do good to others. Having said that it would have been difficult to achieve whatever we have without your support.

To briefly state here are the numbers from 2013

• 46 Registered Non-profits
• 1178 Awesome Volunteers
• 3370 Hours of Volunteering
• 54 Volunteering Tasks successfully closed
• 1500 Social Media Friends
• Crazy Number of discussions

I am a person who keeps expecting more, more and more. So before you will read these numbers, my expectations are already raised. But at the same time I know how ‘short of time’ we all are and when I see people volunteering for more than 3000+ hours that deserves a #Salute No doubt a bulk of this happened with the help and support from Bhumi whose volunteers were not just accredited but certified on the platform.

We are growing

We are packing some real punch for the new year. Operationally more and more NGOs are joining us, Thanks to our Community Manager Kanupriya. We are also launching ProjectHeena SOCH which will help us connect with the Student Community to drive things ahead.

On the tech front Jigar and Nikhil have been great pillars. We have made small tweaks on the website, the last time you checked out. You can login with Facebook and LinkedIn, map exact location so that volunteering notifications are more precise, a profile completion indicator, an Achievements tab to highlight your Karma and a private dashboard for social campaigns that we plan to do. Next we are planning to get some exciting features rolled too. We always wanted to start the Donations module but as you know, it will be something which redefines how people donate online. I keep this secret to next year!

We are also rolling premium corporate features and would love to know what you feel about Corporate Social Responsibility!

Stay with us!

I hope you are following us on Facebook and Twitter and at times do read the awesome articles on our blog that Kanu and I break our heads on. There are several stories that as a Social Entrepreneur I have to share but I guess we will keep this message crisp for today.

We took the leap of faith and started ProjectHeena because we thought there would be many who would join us to do good. We have made a small community and would love to scale it from here. Have great fun this new years eve and out of many resolutions that you have, do consider Giving Back a part of you too in the list.

Do Good
Be Awesome

From a recent Volunteering activity we did in Mumbai

Here’s to a great 2014!  Cheers!

Today is a nice day to open up fellas. 12/12/12 is a date we all will remember living. And as misfits of ProjectHeena, rather than throwing some online discount codes or doing some mystical Indian voodoo, we have a better alternative. How about planning how we can change the world!

Seems crazy? Good. We know we are trying to build something really crazy. But we also know that there are a few crazy ones like us who would come forth to Change the World! Here is a quick description of what we are up to.

About Project Heena

Project Heena is a platform that helps people connect, collaborate and create success. In simple words our intent is to make people in need of help reach out to experts who can generously help them with a few hours of their spare time. No one pays and no one earns! (Repeat that twice)

We all have a craving desire to live beyond this material life. A thought to add value to others; where skills will shine beyond a measly paid job. There are many less privileged than us. There are many who would achieve significant successes only if they get your helping hand for some time. Some of these are really worth. How will you connect to them?

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela

We all have unique skills. We all have cause that we want to support. Only thing we don’t know is how to support the cause, whom to help and whether this can be done as conveniently as possible? At ProjectHeena that’s the exact problem we are solving.

Why will people use ProjectHeena

In the purest form ProjectHeena is supposed to be used by people who do not want to die with a guilt that they only worked to fill their tummy and live life like a selfish animal.

While we can describe, in great depths, the ‘joy of giving’ it would be difficult to explain you if you have never tasted it.

Helping someone with their cause has many advantages

1. Contribute to the society over and above your job
2. Be part of a mission and contribute to its success
3. Sharpen your skills by doing work you love
4. Test additional skills which can’t be used to earn wages (Like Singing, poetry, any form of art)
5. Teach others so they become independent
6. Support a cause you always wanted to
7. Network with likeminded people
8. Do good Earn Good Karma
9. Just for the heck of it
10. Most importantly to make a dent in the Universe!

Will you hop on to the call? Some will and some won’t. Probably that’s the difference between doers and the one who are always on fences. That’s the difference between people who live a life of satisfaction and the ones who just live in the rat race. It’s not about leaving everything and marching to the Himalayas for a sabbatical. It is about the few hours that you contribute just to see someone smile.

For Startups/NGOs/Nonprofits and the ones seeking help, the immediate advantage is to engage people who can provide their expertise in accomplishing great projects. We know you are short of funds/hands and every damn thing that is required! Why not stand on the shoulders of giants!

Most awesome things in the world come at no charge!

But I have a question. Rather a couple of questions?

Yes we know you have a ton of questions. A few very logical ones like “How will this work?” and a few sceptical ones like “What’s in it for you?” We won’t shy away from clarifying your concerns. We know what we are doing and want to reach out to you. In couple of weeks we will talk more. Talk about what we are building, talk about everything to do to Change the world. But you need to take a stand. Start somewhere.

I invite you to just hit the homepage and join the ProjectHeena joining list. There are no commitments to be done. We are just building a list of people who care to take action. The ones who will be very close to our hearts and we want you to be a part of that. Please sign up here and let the Change Begin!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” - Margaret Mead