Mumbai Couple Turns Ganpati Gifts into 400 School Kits

When guests arrive at Pooja and Dipesh Dedhia's Mumbai home this Ganesh Chaturthi, they're greeted with an unusual request: bring school supplies instead of sweets.

The couple is turning their celebration into a stationery drive for 400 students at an Adivasi Ashram Shala in Khadavali. Every notebook, pencil box, and set of colors donated during the festival will be packed into complete school kits that children can use throughout the year.

For Pooja, a nutritionist, and Dipesh, a banker, this is just an extension of how they already celebrate. Their eco-friendly Bappa gets immersed at home in water mixed with seeds, which later nourishes their plants.

This year, they wanted their celebration to reach further than their living room. Last year's pilot effort created 40 stationery kits, and the children's reactions convinced them to think bigger.

The couple knows firsthand what consistent showing up looks like. Through their Matoshreee Foundation, they've served fresh breakfast to over 100 people from underserved communities every Sunday since July 2023. They're now on week 167 without missing a single Sunday.

That same commitment drives their stationery initiative. Coordinating supplies for 400 kits means managing vendor relationships, tracking requirements, and ensuring everything reaches the right hands.

The Ripple Effect

What started as a small festival offering is becoming a movement anyone can join. The couple accepts donations until September 20, and you don't need to be in Mumbai to help.

People from anywhere in Maharashtra, India, or even abroad can contact the foundation directly. Pooja and Dipesh share vendor details and stationery requirements, so supporters can coordinate contributions for one kit or several.

Each kit contains everyday items many of us barely think about: notebooks, pens, drawing books, geometry boxes. But for a child who might not have their own supplies, these simple items can transform how equipped they feel to learn.

The idea reflects what Ganesh Chaturthi means to the Dedhias. It's about welcoming Bappa into their home while carrying that spirit of generosity beyond it.

An offering doesn't have to stay at the altar when it can become colors filling a drawing book or a geometry box tucked into a schoolbag for the year ahead.