October 2025 Issue #73
We are there.. Need you too!
From April through September 2025, Goonj has extended its disaster response operations across 65 districts in 20 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and more.
Working with our local team members, grassroots volunteers and partners, our teams have been at the forefront of relief efforts, channelised over 40,000 relief kits and other materials to the affected by floods, cloudbursts, fire, landslides and conflicts.
Joy of Sharing Month
October is our Joy of Sharing Month, when the Goonj family comes together with tremendous energy alongside Daan Utsav. This year, sharing takes on an urgent meaning: “Dil ki suno… Kuch karo…” Stand with the communities affected.
In the first week of October, over 70 camps were held across 20 cities, including Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.
Explore ways to participate:
Community Stories
Second Innings with Purpose: The Inspiring Volunteer Journey of Mrs. Gouri Chatterjee in Kolkata
After a life in cancer research in the U.S., Gouri Chatterjee returned to Kolkata, not to retire, but to rebuild and mobilised collection drives at her apartment in Naktala, her journey with Goonj is a quiet, steady act of care.
Goonj.. it! Fly High!: How Delhi Malayalees Association Turned Their First Collection Drive Into a Creative Celebration of Giving
At a Goonj collection drive, the Delhi Malayalees Association turned material sharing into a celebration of purpose. Students painted Gullaks, wrote heartfelt messages, and pledged to carry the spirit of sharing into their everyday lives.
Highlights
The first Goonj Climate + Circularity Hub came to life during New York Climate Week as an immersive, inclusive space to pilot fresh formats for climate action centred around voices of communities closest to disaster.
The emphasis was on working together. Conversations were deep and meaningful, focused around unique events and new perspectives. It was created in partnership with GROW+.
All the events happened within the four walls of a first-of-its-kind participatory exhibition of Disaster & Dignity with photographs by Anshu Gupta: From a vibrant launch featuring folk traditions from Western India, to a Climate Data & Storytelling mixer with Youth Ki Awaaz and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and a powerful screening and workshop of The Resilient River with Neelambaree Prasad, founder of ClimArts.
At the core of the Hub was a Rethinking Disasters Co-Creation Circle on Societal Alliance for Resilience and Response to DIsasters (SARRD) initiated by Goonj that brought people from many countries and sectors together for a generative discussion on resilience.
The space also hosted the screening of Hemal Trivedi’s short film Where the Light Enters You, the immersive Imagining Future sound meditation with Building New Bonds, and a thought-provoking final talk by Fred Ritchin on impactful imagery in the age of AI.
The Hub became a much-needed global space for deeper connection, experimentation, and true collaboration— one that Goonj will continue to anchor and expand far beyond this first iteration.