Blue Lilac—created by Aditi Srivatsan and Neha Govindarajan—is a student-run nonprofit organisation founded in 2023. Blue Lilac has partnered with local organisations and homeowners associations, to build six libraries and donate over 4,700 books to schools, impacting more than 3,000 underprivileged students.
Driven by a desire to give back to the community through education and inspired by the belief that “Knowledge is the only thing that no one can take from you,” the founding members realised during their summer before 11th grade that they didn’t need to wait until they are older to make a meaningful impact. And with that, Blue Lilac was born. The team quickly got to work organizing donation drives. Aditi led all the administrative efforts, while Neha and Tanushri, their Executive Director, focused on executing the drives.
“Book donations have been the cornerstone of our progress. The first donation is a memory all will cherish for a lifetime. When I started volunteering with Blue Lilac, I was simply excited to make a difference, but I didn’t realise just how fulfilling it would be,” shares Aditi and Neha.
Now, the team is looking to expand their reach. Their primary goal is to provide as much educational aid as possible to underprivileged children, increasing the number of students impacted and the volume of books donated, while also welcoming more partnerships.
“We’re excited to begin hosting financial literacy and public speaking workshops for children and expand into various types of educational support, beyond just book donations. We encourage others to contribute to causes they believe in, just as we did. Those who share our passion can make a difference by joining Blue Lilac, whether by hosting book drives at their schools or communities, donating old books, or volunteering their time. We hope to encourage people, no matter how young they are, to make a significant impact on your community—by taking the first step,” shares the founders.
To volunteer or donate books, email: [email protected] or visit their website at https://bluelilacchennai.weebly.com/
