Two friends on Facebook became real life friends and decided to do something for the less fortunate. Entrepreneur Murk Selvi and entrepreneur Tony Anand Singh from Coimbatore founded the Aatma Foundation in 2013.

“Aatma Foundation is a private trust that was launched with the intention of reaching out to those who are who are less privileged. All our activities and projects are planned keeping them in mind,” 35-year old Murk says.

The Foundation has been instrumental in organizing several health camps taking dental, eye care and other medical facilities to the socially economically weaker sections of our society.

So far the Foundation has supported more than 500 orphanage children in cash and kind. “God has given us enough and more to live a happy and comfortable life. Through this Foundation we are giving back in our own small way,” Tony Anand Singh says.

One of the remarkable achievements of this Foundation is their campaign to involve people to pledge their organs. In 2013 the founders of Aatma Foundation initiated a campaign to ensure that people come forward to pledge their organs. Awareness about the need and importance of pledging organs was created on social media. About 140 people came forward and committed to pledge their organs.

Aatma Foundation is getting ready for its next big task. The founders are working on identifying people who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields. The Foundation calls them unsung heroes and has plans of awarding them the Aatma Navaratna Award. This is the second time that the Foundation is recognizing and awarding people in various fields like arts, sports, literature, business and education.

In the past it has awarded Hemalatha Annamalai, founder and CEO of Ampere Vehicles Pvt. Ltd, who makes and sells Electric Vehicles (EV) including e-scooters, e-cycles, e-trolleys, and special purpose vehicles for the differently-abled. The Aatma Foundation recognized her efforts and awarded her a couple of years ago. Eight other women were also felicitated.