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Although Utharaa Zacharias and Palaash Chaudhary now live in San Jose, California, India’s deadly second wave of COVID-19 hits home for the founders of design studio Soft Geometry. “We are waking up every day to SOS messages searching for oxygen cylinders, ambulances, and hospital beds,” they told us. “Our own parents, families, and friends [are] trying to stay [inside] another day without a grocery run.” But being a continent away couldn’t stop them from taking action.
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Today Zacharias and Chaudhary announced a raffle of one of their hand-cast resin table lamps to raise funds for much-needed medical supplies, food kits, and more. Every $20 donated to any of Soft Geometry’s nine vetted causes (send your receipt to the brand at hello@soft-geometry.com with the subject “Help India”) gets you one entry to win the Elio lamp, valued at $1,200. The more donations, the more chances you’ll get. Why $20? The duo calculated that the amount equals about 1,500 rupees, which is enough to refill two of those O2 cylinders. The winner will be announced on May 3.
They’re not the only designers fundraising for India—quite a few other companies are joining the ranks, with some pretty amazing raffle prizes. Throwing our (digital) hats in the ring is the least we can do to help. Read on for our running list.
Block Shop Textiles
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There are only a couple hours left in the design studio’s raffle—it ends at midnight PT on April 30 (that’s tonight!)—but you won’t want to miss out. Block Shop is offering up two of its Insta-famous artworks, block-printed by hand in Jaipur. (You’ve definitely spotted one in Sarah Sherman Samuel’s Grand Rapids, Michigan, home.) To enter, send a screenshot of your $10-plus donation to GiveIndia, Swasth Digital Health Foundation, or Hemkunt Foundation’s Oxygen Cylinder Relief to the brand via Instagram.
Cold Picnic
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If you’ve long been pining after one of Cold Picnic’s abstract pastel rugs, now’s the time to commit. The company is giving away a $1,000 gift certificate to put toward one of its designs, almost all of which are made in India. “While we cannot alleviate the fear and worry they must be experiencing, we can let them know they are not alone and contribute to the organizations providing crucial assistance,” the brand posted on Instagram of its partners in the country. You have until Sunday to send Cold Picnic an email (info@coldpicnic.com) with a screenshot of your donation to GiveIndia or Hemkunt Foundation.
Seek Collective
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The Brooklyn- and Berkeley, California–designed, India-produced fashion and home label has a three-in-one raffle going: Donate at least $10 to GiveIndia via its site by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 2 and you could score a zero-waste quilt, a geometric-print blouse, and a block-printed scarf, whose final stitches are sewn by a women-owned studio in Bangalore.
Sunday Monday
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The textile brand teamed up with 15 other businesses to offer $1,000 worth of lifestyle goods, including a $100 gift card to its shop, a fruit print by photographer Andrea Gentl, and a brass masala dabba with seven spices from Diaspora Co., among others. Donate any amount to the relief fund of your choice, fill out this form before 11 a.m. PT on May 7, and you’re entered.
Tantuvi
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“As an Asian Indian American, this week has been incredibly difficult. India is very dear to me; not just due to my heritage, but it’s one of the most inspiring, challenging, and wildest places on earth,” wrote Arati Rao, the founder of rug studio Tantuvi, on her Instagram feed on Wednesday. In honor of the country where her rugs are woven by 26 families, Rao is raffling two of her signature color-blocked styles, a 4-by-6-foot and an 8-by-10. Each entry is $20, which must be donated to Mission Oxygen or GiveIndia (two campaigns focused on oxygen supply). To be eligible, send your receipt to Tantuvi by midnight on May 2.