Christmas is celebrated throughout the world. It symbolises joy, hope and generosity. Christmas is also the time to give back to the community. With that thought in mind, the Social work club of Thames has been conducting Christmas events as one of its fundraising events since a few years back. This year's Christmas event was titled "Christmas-Fest: A Winter Carnival”. The theme was white and silver to also symbolise the 25th year of Thames International College.
The event officially started at 11 am with a lively introduction by the Emcees and a spirited entry of Santa. There were an assortment of stalls with enticing baked goodies, tantalizing food stalls, various handmade crafts and trinkets, stationeries and other daily necessities. The lighthearted banter from the emcees kept the crowd entertained. Lots of musical and dance performances reinvigorated the festive atmosphere in the event.
The main agenda of this event was to raise funds and promote our social-action project for the 2025/26 tenure i.e. P3: Proud Period Project. The P3 project intends to promote period health and hygiene along with reusable cloth pads which is a safer and affordable alternative to regular industrial sanitary pads to the people in the remote areas. It also attempts to reduce stigmas around menstruation and encourage young girls to embrace the biological procedure without any feeling of shame. It is an initiative to reduce any kind of infections such as RTIs and UTIs along with other health issues that arise due to unsanitary practices during the menstruation period.
From this event, the Social work club of Thames has managed to raise more than Rs. 45000/. It includes the revenue from the event and sponsorships from various sources. For this reason, it can be said that the purpose of the event was conveyed to the participations in a successful manner.
Along with the various performances there were various games such as musical chairs, gingerbread competitions, balloon bursts, bingo and so on. With the hope of spreading kindness and joy among the participants, SWCT also organized a secret santa and wishing tree where participants could gift their loved ones and also make their wish anonymously. It was a successful initiative considering the number of participants. The participants not only included Thamians but also students and alumni from other colleges as well. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the event and getting soaked in the Christmas festivities.
The event ended around 5 PM with the open dance where the participants got a chance to dance along with their friends and acquaintances. Overall, the event was successful in raising funds for the P3 project. It also created beautiful memories for all the participants. The Christmas event is a sweet reminder to cherish all the love and kindness that we receive and also give back to the community.
