“I do not like poori and sabji. I like noodles,” Gokul said. He was one of the 18 kids who were enjoying lunch, courtesy Vimal Kankani and Anu Kankani, owners of Swad Restaurant. The occasion was Children’s Day and the inmates of Helping Hearts Foundation, Coimbatore were treated to a nice meal that included North Indian delicacies.

“I am a single parent and whenever I feel like going out with my son, I take him out to a nice restaurant in the city. He and I dress up well and we enjoy our meal and our outing. There are several children in the city who are not fortunate enough to enjoy such good things in life. This Children’s Day, I wanted to reach out to them and bring a smile on their faces at least for one day,” Lalitha Gautam, a city based banker, said.

Lalitha discussed the idea with her friends. She was surprised by the positive response that she received. Saravana Kumar, Dr. Lekshmi, Gayathri Harish, Anitha Ranka, Premkumar, Shrada Shah, Ramesh Prabhu, Asha Krishnakumar, Radhika Nichani, and Ankit Agarwal made their contributions.

New dresses were purchased for all the 18 children. The youngest kid was just five-and-a-half years old, and the oldest was 14. All the kids were given imported chocolates and they enjoyed a range of desserts that included cup cakes, cheese cakes, ice-cream, and pudding. Enjoying a meal with good Samaritans was a nice exposure for the inmates of Helping Hearts Foundation, who were normally restricted to their shelter home.

This initiative was part of the annual social service activity of Facebook group Kovai Foodies. “If the kids do well in their half-yearly examination, I have promised to take them for a Vijay-starrer,” Lalitha Gautam, founder of Kovai Foodies says.