India's COVID battle: IIM, ISB alumni collaborate to raise oxygen funds by reviewing resumes of MBA Aspirants

• IIM, ISB alumni have come up with an innovative way to not only raise funds to import/deliver oxygen concentrators to hospitals to help people affected by Covid-19 but also to help aspirants seeking guidance regarding their resume or application to get into the B-school of their choice.
• The campaign has been able to garner immense support with its collection reaching 2 lakhs in mere two days.
• The group previously helped students get admission into ISB, Stanford, Rotman, Kellogg, Haas, INSEAD, HBS, IIM PGPX so far. 

With the critical, urgent situation that India is facing due to the second wave covid, numerous platforms are coming forward to aid and assist the ones in dire need. Sadly, various platforms and people try taking untoward advantage of such circumstances. In this scenario, the most obvious obstacle that arises between people who genuinely want to help and people who desperately need that help is, the question, which source or platform is reliable? Is the donated money even reaching the ones in need? Or is it being diverted somewhere else? These apprehensions turn away the potential donors who can make a huge difference with their contributions.

Initiatives like these have taken the charge of diluting such apprehensions. A concept of resume review and essay guidance was given a new turn by Shaonli Nath (ISB, NIT Warangal), Akshay Goel (ISB, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology), and Sudheepta Gubbala (IIM A, NIT Warangal) when they asked service seekers to donate a specific amount for purchase of oxygen cylinders so as to help people affected by Corona.

The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has spared no one. We are all engulfed by heart-breaking news of the unfathomable number of Covid deaths, depleting oxygen supplies, dearth of ICU beds and cremation ground, patients waiting in hope outside hospitals to get admitted, and the disheartening news of various people losing their near and dear ones. In these unprecedented situations, platforms like these have sought widespread support.

The initiative now has a strong support base with alumni across the globe from renowned B-Schools like Columbia, Darden, Duke, Harvard, INSEAD, IIM A, IIM B, ISB, LBS, MIT, Oxford Said, Rotman, Stanford GSB, and Yale SOM, participating as volunteers. They all come from diverse backgrounds of consulting, marketing, supply chain, impact, tech, family business, product management, finance, analytics.

In an interview with Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) Akshay Goel revealed, “people were really glad when they found a verified link to donate and were happy to contribute”

These B-school alumni are offering resume review, essay guidance to global MBA, MS aspirants who donate INR 5k or 10k, which goes towards the life-saving healthcare equipment and supplies, to help hospitals cope with the significant stress on their system. Their initiative is like an arrow aiming at two targets, one, and at the fore, to increase the Oxygen Supply in India and second, to guide B-School aspirants. The Mission is not just B-school aspirants specific, anyone who wants to be a part of this change and contribute to it can donate for this urgent cause. 

Revealing the intention behind this mission, Akshay Goel shared that their, “motive was to come up with a creative way to raise funds for the much-needed oxygen supply and to simultaneously help students get into the B-School of their choice.”

Explaining the services they are providing in detail, Akshay shared, “We are providing two sets of services, one is resume review for a donation of 5k and the second one is resume plus application consulting for a donation of 10k. The application consulting will include a Statement of Purpose and building a strong profile. In general, the agencies who professionally undertake the task of guiding aspirants with these tasks charge a hefty amount. Since we are working for a social cause we have discounted the prices heavily.”

Having reached the target they had set for this cause they are now planning to diversify and expand the nature of their contributions by starting a platform that will provide healthy, hygienic food to anyone who is unable to fend for themselves. “We are now looking forward to getting in touch with various NGOs to start another campaign of providing food delivery services to the ones in need,” told Akshay discussing their future plans.  

Be a part of this thoughtful cause, and help save lives by donating to this verified mission through the link provided https://forms.gle/WEs69rKEHCaU4bsK9 

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