Dil Se, an organisation run by four women working for the empowerment of the underprivileged and people with disabilities, recently launched Dilse, Spreading Happiness, a pre-owned multi-designer boutique. Located on Lake Road, this sprawling 3000 sq ft non-profit shop houses donated designer outfits from all over the country, which are sold at minimal prices, the proceeds for which are utilised for the welfare of the underprivileged.
The designer outfits and accessories includes contributions from renowned designers including Santanu Goenka, Anjali and Arjun Kapoor, Tarun Tahiliani, Rashi Kapoor and Sayantan Sarkar, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Alka Dalmia, commented, “We are trying to extend happiness with the help of designers and donors who donate new or almost new clothes and accessories to us, which we sell at a very reasonable price at our store and put 95 per cent of the sale proceeds for various charitable acts,” says Alka Dalmia, one of the founder members of Dil Se. The store has three sections – The Bridal Room, the Sapphire room for Men and the Ruby Room for Girls.
During the inauguration of the boutique Dil Se took the opportunity to donate Rs. 2 lakhs to NGO Aapne Aap (Self-Action in Hindi) founded 15 years ago by journalist Ruchira Gupta and twenty-two prostituted women. With the dream of a world, where no woman could be bought or sold, Aapne AAP has touched over 22,000 lives in Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal, and has so far put 74 traffickers in jail and played a key role in the passage of India’s first anti-trafficking law under Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code.