A Special Pathsala for Persons with Special Needs – V-Excel, Nashik, Maharashtra

V-Excel Educational Trust (V-Excel) is a Public Charitable Trust providing lifespan services to persons with cognitive and intellectual disabilities since 2001. It provides a wide range of programs and services including early intervention, special schools, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, art/music/play therapies, remedial services, vocational training, livelihood enhancement, teacher training, outreach programs, and counselling. The organisation’s operations are spread across ten centres in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and has positively impacted the lives of over 65,000 special children and their families.

V-Excel, a ISO 9001:2015 certified trust, has been awarded the Gold Certification by GuideStar India – the entity that validates NGOs based on their legal and financial compliance, as well as on their level of public disclosure of information.

The organisation is committed to:

• providing suitable educational infrastructure
• addressing developmental challenges through pragmatic methodologies
• providing developmental therapies and activities
• creating equal opportunities and social interaction for individuals with disabilities
• working on the abilities of individuals with disabilities
• giving them a dignifying and holistic educational experience
• empowering them for inclusion in mainstream schools

In 2017, V-Excel Nashik center was formally registered under the Maharashtra Government under the section ‘Rehabilitation of the Disabled’.

Needs and Requirements

Providing quality education, resources and opportunities to persons with disabilities calls for intense investments in specialized intellectual resources, rehabilitation, education and vocational training. The financial burden for running such a resource-intensive program is huge and funding is a constant requisite if exemplary services are to be maintained and delivered.

V-Excel is launching a project christened ‘paṭhaśala’ and is seeking support for the acquisition of one acre of land with 40,000 sq.ft. built-up area to provide services to a projected enrolment of 500 students with special needs. Apart from the special school, other allied programs would consist of various therapy and training services under one roof, including vocational training for empowering young adults, a sensory park and other infra-structural facilities for an integrated, holistic development. The ultimate aim is to provide avenues and pathways for the social inclusion of both children and young adults with special needs.

Donations to V-Excel are tax exempt under section 80G of Income Tax Act, 1961. V-Excel is also eligible to received donations from foreign resources under FCRA. Tax-exempt contributions in the USA can also be made through its sister concern, Academic Concepts, which is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Code. V-Excel’s work falls under Schedule VII (ii) of the CSR activities specified in the Companies Act, 2013.

Please visit www.v-excel.org and www.facebook.com/freehearts for more information.