MAGIC BUS

Organizational Vision
Citizen Base Strategy

Organizational Vision

Magic Bus brings the community together to enable lasting change for children and at-risk youth by offering choices and opportunities to develop life skills through creative expression, sports and outdoor adventure activities. Magic Bus has created a win-win strategy by combining its efforts to integrate the under-privileged children into healthy social environment and the intent of corporate donors to be pro-active and incite positive social change as part of their corporate social responsibility plan. Partnering with socially responsible businesses to acquire volunteers, funding, and infrastructure, Magic Bus also helps its donors to improve the quality of their staff teamwork, communications, and leadership skills, which are indispensable assets in the business world.

Employees at a particular corporation serve as team leaders and mentor groups of 10 children, while the corporation sponsors particular program activities such as raft building, outdoor sports, and visits to computer centers, police stations, parks, and historical sights. This variety is due to the fact that a company usually synchronizes the activities that it sponsors with its line of work; for example, a company investing in sports can sponsor sport sessions, while an IT corporation can support day trips to computer centers. Partnering with businesses exposes children to positive role models and provides Magic Bus with opportunities to diversify its support base, expand its volunteer network, and incorporates its mission within the community. Magic Bus is the only organization in India that uses sports and recreation to help destitute children-street and slum kids, orphans, children of construction and sex workers gain a better understanding of themselves and the value they can bring to their communities. Its unique mentoring program focuses on helping these children develop the skills and confidence they require to tackle life's challenges. To be successful and self-sustaining in the long run, Magic Bus required a talented pool of volunteers who could serve as mentors, as well as financial and in-kind resources. Thus, Magic Bus sought to work with corporations that were open to new forms of partnerships and wanted to create social impact in their communities of operation.

Citizen Base Strategy

Recruit corporations to provide financial, human resource, and in-kind support

Magic Bus looks beyond ad hoc philanthropic donations to more strategic and mainstream involvement to create a win-win scenario for itself and the corporate partner in the long term. The organization partners with socially responsible corporations to gain volunteers, funding, and infrastructure for its mentorship programme. Employees serve as mentors and the corporation can sponsor specific programme activities. Each mentoring session requires a minimum of four team leaders from the corporation. They are expected to motivate the children through a range of activities including raft building, rock climbing, art, sports, etc. Add value to the corporation by offering opportunities that are intrinsic to its strategic goals By offering corporations with an opportunity for their employees to mentor less privileged children, Magic Bus helps companies move beyond a purely philanthropic approach to social responsibility. Participation in the programme also helps the corporate volunteers gain valuable teambuilding, teamwork, communications, decision-making and leadership skills. This is often a more cost-effective alternative to human resource training programs that the corporation may otherwise pursue.