In
April 1995 an organisation was set up to
cater to the needs of the elderly, starting
with the publication of the magazine Dignity
Dialogue. In a year's time this organisation
eventually grew to add services along with
the magazine and came to be called Dignity
Foundation. The Foundation is premised upon
scientific developments in the fields of
Geriatry and Gerontology. It offers structural
opportunities to exercise the choice of
how to live young in chronologically advancing
years.
Objectives
Provide
information to seniors through publishing,
holding seminars and discussions.
Undertake
various services for their support and welfare
and enable them to live productive, meaningful
and interesting lives, drawing upon their
knowledge, skills and experience.
Construct a database
to determine needs of senior citizens in India
and devise ways to meet them.
Build awareness by dissemination
of such data.
Institute
services that cater to needs.
Mobilise
senior citizens into an identity group.
Undertake
advocacy with government and public welfare bodies.
Milestones
In Research Database :
Documentation of views of
seniors on productive ageing
Case studies of elder abuse
Case
histories of loneliness and depression
Attitudes
on marriage and remarriage, housing, investments,
second careers
In Dissemination:
63 Practical Life Changing
Tips @ Rs. 10/-
12 issues of Dignity Dialogue
per year @ Rs. 30/- per issue
Grandma's
Remedies @ Rs. 10/-
Yogasanas
for Dignitarians @ Rs. 10/-
In Services :
The goals
of the Foundation are two fold. One is to rid
the minds of the senior citizens of the fear that
age means decline and retirement means loneliness,
isolation, loss of prestige and so on. The Foundation
works assiduously to re-instil in the elderly
minds the confidence that age and productivity
are not mutually exclusive. It does this by utilising
their experience and maturity in activities that
serve the needs of the community. The other goal
is achieved by attending to the needs of the elderly
whose social support systems have weakened or
are non-existent.
The
philosophy of productive ageing propagated
by Dignity Foundation has found practical
acceptance in a very large measure in
Mumbai city and other cities which have
a clientele of magazine subscribers. In
Mumbai alone over a thousand senior citizen
volunteers participate actively in the
services provided by the Foundation. The
volunteers range in age from 50 to 85
years.
Dignity
Foundation is registered as a society
under the Societies Registration Act of
1860 and also as a Public Trust with the
Charity Commissioner of Mumbai.
The
Foundation is managed by professionals
in the field of Management, HRD, Social
Work, Psychology, Sociology, Marketing,
Editing and Printing and Finance.
The
President of the Foundation is Dr. Sheilu
Sreenivasan whose passion for the cause
of senior citizens launched the organisation
in 1995. She is an MA in Psychiatric Social
Work from Madras University and took her
Ph.D. in Mumbai University in Sociology.
After a seven year period in research
she joined the publishing firm, Macmillan
India and became Corporate Manager in
Bangalore. She then became Head of Publishing
in Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Mumbai in 1987. She specialised abroad
in academic publishing and has been the
recipient of many awards from reputed
organisations in India such as Rotary
and Times of India for her social work.
Dignity
Foundation is funded by subscriptions to the magazine
Dignity Dialogue, fees for membership of the Foundation,
donations from philanthropic organisations and
individuals and sponsorships from banks and companies
for specific projects.
The mobilisation
of a financial corpus for the Foundation is the
crucial need of the day. The nucleus of a corpus
has been set up with the help of donations.The
Central Government has given permission to the
Foundation to receive donations from abroad under
the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act. Many
individuals have registered their support for
the cause.
Dignity Foundation would appreciate
financial support from all those who recognise the
cause taken up by it. Donations to the Foundation
enjoy the benefit of Section 80-G of the Indian
Income Tax Act.
