The Pune bedkit included a mattress for the first time. The Rotary Club of Pune Cantonement, our Overseas Volunteer Partner, solicited samples and bids from several local companies and selected the New Poona Cotton Factory, started in 1937. We visited this company which has 73 employees. The owner is the fourth generation to run the business. His wife works here and his daughter will be joining when she finishes school.
Careful thought went in to the mattress design. It is made of foam and is 66 inches long which should fit the oldest children for around four years. The dark fabric cover is 80 percent cotton for breathability in summer and 20 percent polyester for strength and durability. The mattress is washable and can be dried in the sun. Both the foam and fabric are made in India. To reduce the cost of each mattress, these smaller mattresses were cut from pieces of foam left over during the manufacturing of commercial mattresses.
Like Sleeping Children, this company appreciates the importance of a good night of sleep. They have a program that involves cleaning and re-covering returned cotton mattresses and donating them to students at a local high school.
The supplier that made the t-shirts and shorts was also new this year so we visited their sewing facility. The company has been in business for 25 years and has 53 employees. The owner showed us how they cut, sew and press the t-shirts and shorts. One of his employees attends the distribution to help with sizing of the children.
We enjoyed touring the facilities of these two new partners and seeing the care they put in to providing for the children of Pune.
Team Pune, 2025
Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment 🇮🇳 + SCAW 🇨🇦