Sathya Guruusaamy, Subhashree, Rajesh Yoganand and Ravishankar – members and teachers of the Art of Living (AOL) Foundation, Coimbatore Chapter – formed Team Sumeru to help individuals, hospitals and blood banks who need blood during times of medical emergency.

“We have formed a database of individuals based on the different blood groups who are willing to donate blood. Our network of donors are spread across the State,” Santhakumar, founder of Team Sumeru, shares. Blood donors affiliated with Team Sumeru are below 35 years of age.

The founder of Team Sumeru also tells us that they receive requests for blood when an individual is undergoing surgery. “There are two types of requests that we receive. One is for medical emergency like when someone meets with an accident or experiences a heart attack. There is another set of people who reach out to us requesting for blood after a surgery,” says Santhakumar.

Actor Kamal Haasan campaigns for blood donation. On behalf of his fan club, Team Sumeru organises a blood donation camp on the actor’s birthday on November 7 every year. This, the founder tells, has been taking place for 25 years.

Since the founders and members of Team Sumeru are people below 35 years, they also motivate other people, especially students to lead a hassle-free life. Santhakumar clarifies that they do not push anyone to enrol for the AOL programmes, however their focus is to build the confidence of the general public especially the youth. Through lectures and motivational talks, members and volunteers of Team Sumeru reach out to the general public.

Apart from motivating the public, Team Sumeru also works towards spreading awareness about the environment and planting more trees. Members and volunteers of this group have distributed saplings to the public free of cost.

Those who are interested in donating blood and those who need blood, contact Santha Kumar at 90422-62789.