Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU: Shruthi Parthasarathy, a 29-year-old IT employee who got married on Sunday, wanted a unique gift to celebrate her big day. Rather than lavish gifts, she wanted her guests to contribute to a wildlife hospital. On her wedding card, she asked relatives and friends to donate money to People For Animals Wildlife Hospital & Rescue Centre - a cause she is passionate about. About three months ago, Shruthi came across an injured squirrel in Banshankari and contacted PfA for help. To her surprise, a PfA volunteer immediately came to the spot and took the animal for treatment. Three days later, Shruthi went to the hospital to check on how the little creature was doing, and was happy to find that PfA had taken good care of it. When she was planning her wedding, Shruthi called PfA and asked them if they would be interested in putting a stall outside the venue, where her wedding guests could donate an amount of their choice. The hospital was more than happy with the initiative. “I have always been an animal lover. I have three dogs and all were rescued ones. Some of the older dogs were attacking three pups and that is when we rescued and kept them with us. Now, all three are six-years-old. I wanted to do something for animals, and what better way than this? Doing this could even bring in awareness among people,” Shruthi said. She got her wedding card printed with the line: “We do not need any gifts, please gift us with blessings. To help conserve wildlife and Mother Nature, we have organised a fundraiser for PfA at the wedding, contribute towards it.” On the wedding day, guests were in for a surprise when they saw a stall set up at the venue. Many spoke to PfA volunteers and even contributed to the hospital. “After seeing the stall, many were happy to donate. This contribution can help many animals. This apart, many of my relatives want to this at their weddings as well,” she said. Shruthi’s mother and her colleagues contributed Rs 25,000 to the hospital, and on the day of the wedding, an additional amount of Rs 17,000 was collected. Not just this, Shruthi had also raised funds online for Voice of Stray Dogs, a privately-run rescue service where she got another Rs 25,000 via crowdfunding. Colonel (Dr) Nawaz Shariff, general manager at PfA, said, “It was a heartwarming gesture on Shruthi’s part. In Bengaluru, we don’t see much coming in via funds. Now, Shruthi has inspired many people, with one of our own employees also planning something similar for her engagement. All the funds can be used to treat animals.”

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