This non-profit store gives shopping mall experience to the underprivileged

A non-profit store started by three friends-turned-entrepreneurs in Chennai is giving a shopping mall experience to the underprivileged

It was the floods and cyclone during 2015 and 2016 in Chennai that made three friends, Jey Bala, Ajith Kumar and Shivaji Prabhakar realise the need for “dignified living for the poor”.  During the rescue operations, while many from across the country came forward to help the needy, they also took advantage of the situation in getting rid of their old tattered clothes. As the basic necessity of clothing became a major support required after moving to shelter homes for the people, some clothes proved to be not worthy even for the homeless. After all, they too deserved clothes in good condition.

This was just one thought. There were incidents where the three friends had noticed how people from underprivileged backgrounds would not be able to walk in to — or not allowed to enter — big shopping malls or stores. Further, there were children from these backgrounds studying in colleges where they had to be at par with their peers – at least in terms of clothes. “Often, clothes become a determining factor, and can ruin the confidence of the child in such circumstance where one’s personality, demeanor and confidence revolves around the attire they wear,” Prabhakar, one of the co-founders of Thuli, a non-profit store that’s providing an experience of a shopping mall to the underprivileged.

Bala, Kumar and Prabhakar have always had a philanthropic bent. And, when they ran a social media post a month before launching Thuli in February 2018, they were overwhelmed by the response they received from people who wanted to come forward and donate to Thuli. 

So, how does Thuli work? “Thuli provides people from underprivileged background a shopping experience with dignity for free,” says Prabhakar. Its aim is to bridge the rising gap between the communities who are privileged to shop with a good income versus a community who are not so privileged because of their income status, and for whom shopping is a nightmare because of the rising costs and lack of confidence to enter a good shopping complex or mall.

“To instill a sense of pride and confidence, and to value whatever is being shopped and make a budget for the entire family, we give a gift voucher for a price value ranging between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000, with which they can shop against the price tagged on every dress and accessory,” says Bala. The organisation functions by collecting items from people across the country and sort them based on quality. Those identified as first quality are laundered and then hung up at the store. Those that fall under the second category are given to orphanages and other homes.

To say they have received support from their friends would be an understatement. What they have received is a way to run their business free of cost for the underprivileged. “A friend who runs a chain of optical stores across Chennai supported us from the time we launched by having his stores act as a collection center for the general public to deposit their contributions,” says Kumar. The logistics of collecting from various regions across the state and help it reach Thuli Collection Center at Chennai with no cost involved is born by Parveen Travels. Meanwhile, Hotel Aloft and Hotel Raj Palace support with laundry by providing 2,000 clothes washed and ironed every month. “Many leading corporate companies have now started supporting us by collecting sanitary pads, dresses, toys, stationary, etc,” says Prabhakar.

While the organisation has not partnered with any NGO, they only seek their support in identifying the needy and getting them referred to their store. The three co-founders feel they are yet to face any teething troubles as they have had a smooth ride since they launched. Ask them about the reaction of the people coming to their store, Prabhakar says, those who visit the store are spellbound by the variety and number of collections. “There is a sense of joy and satisfaction when the children get to try on clothes in the trial room and purchase them too — something they couldn’t afford to do till now”, he adds. 

Prabhakar likens the idea of people helping Thuli to “a drop that is now an ocean”. The organisation is looking to expand with the help of people who would be willing to offer help from other states. “We have a limitation in terms of infrastructure and finances, as we do not take donations in the form of money, so for us to expand to other cities, we would require such support from the right associations,” adds Bala.