Vision
A better society through sustainable action and social transformation.
Centre for Social Action · Est. 1999
Together We Can
A platform for students to work with the community, and to develop a sense of social responsibility beyond academics.
scroll downThe Centre for Social Action (CSA) started in 1999 with the vision of providing a platform for students to work with the community. It helped empower underprivileged communities and involved students in social issues, acquainting them with the real world outside academics and inculcating a sense of social responsibility — eventually establishing college–community connections that set up a social lab.
The activities of the Centre create a deep sense of social responsibility among students as they closely interact with children, women and underprivileged communities at large. Volunteers initiate development-oriented plans based on the needs of the community, and grow personally, intellectually and professionally along the way.
Our Goal
To build a community of compassionate students who will seek to improve society.
CSA In Numbers
- 1999 The year CSA was founded at CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
- 6 Student volunteer cohorts, each led by three or four cohort representatives
- 40 Children from 4 villages sponsored by the Lavasa campus community in 2023–24
- 800 As many as 800 children a year supported across CHRIST through ‘Educate a Child’
Our Responsibilities
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Raise awarenessRaise the student community’s knowledge of social concerns, and address them.
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Bridge communitiesExpand the University’s interaction with the community and promote creative, sustainable human development models.
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Secure welfareSecure the welfare of those in need.
CHRIST’s Development Arm
CSA is the development arm of CHRIST (Deemed to be University), founded in 1999 to organise social awareness programmes for students and to carry out community development initiatives for underprivileged areas.
A Student-Led Movement
A movement for a more compassionate and equitable society, with children at the forefront — carried by student volunteers working through six cohorts alongside their studies.
What We Stand For
Vision & Mission
Mission
Enabling students to become socially responsible citizens through developmental initiatives.
What We Set Out To Do
Core Objectives
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Awareness To enhance awareness among students on social issues.02
Capacity Building To empower students by creating opportunities for holistic skill and capacity development, and involve them in social action.03
Partnerships To collaborate with internal and external partners to fund support for an improved quality of life for underprivileged communities.04
Community Relationships To strengthen University–Community relationships and demonstrate innovative, sustainable human development models.05
Research & Training To provide platforms for research on academic and human development issues, and facilitate capacity-building and training programmes.06
University–Community Connect To help students learn and understand community issues and contribute to the reconstruction of community life, promoting a humane and just society, with children and women as the prime focus for developmental intervention.Where We Come From
Who We Are
CHRIST (Deemed to be University) was born out of the educational vision of St Kuriakose Elias Chavara, an educationist and social reformer of nineteenth-century South India, who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) in 1831 — the congregation that administers the University.
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CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
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Established 1969 Founded as Christ College, pioneering a modern curriculum, academic discipline and holistic education in Indian higher education.
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Deemed to be University · 2008 Declared Deemed to be University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, after UGC autonomy in 2004 and recognition as an Institution with Potential for Excellence in 2006.
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NAAC accreditation Among the first institutions in India to be accredited by NAAC, in 1998, and awarded the top grade ‘A’ on the 4-point scale in 2004 and 2016.
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Centre for Social Action
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Founded 1999 Set up to organise social awareness programmes for students and community development initiatives for underprivileged areas.
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Student community at the centre Building students’ awareness of the concerns affecting society’s impoverished and disenfranchised sections, to enable long-term improvement in their lives.
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Areas of work Child rights; socioeconomic development of women, youth and farmers; community mobilisation; and environmental and climate-change concerns.
Our Belief
CSA believes in empowering the student community to effect constructive social change — one of the driving causes behind its establishment, and still a motivating element for its development initiatives and social sensitisation programmes.
Learners To Leaders
What We Do
CSA’s Student Volunteerism helps students transform from learners to leaders. Students are engaged through six cohorts, each led by three or four cohort representatives and guided by a mentor, and their initiatives focus on child development and on society as a whole.
Student Volunteerism
The Six Cohorts
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Education & Skill Development Learn. Ignite. Discover. Incentivises education for all through the volunteers’ body and resources, in line with the Right to Education. It focuses on the education of children in the Centre’s adopted project areas and on skill development for dropouts, through training and workshop programmes in soft and hard skills and daily teaching sessions.02
Environment & Sustainability Revive. Resurge. Restore. Fosters awareness and understanding of environmental issues and sustainability, aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 7, 13 and 15, and engages individuals and communities in proactive steps towards a sustainable future.03
Health, Hygiene & Wellbeing Care. Nurture. Support. Works for the development and accessibility of healthcare across communities, sensitising them on health education and clean habits, in line with the Ayushman Bharat initiative and UN SDGs 1, 2, 3 and 11.04
Media & Advocacy Create. Express. Reform. Looks after CSA’s media, documentation and communication, and sensitises through digital, theatrical and non-theatrical modes. Its Drishti wing performs street plays, stage plays and mimes on campus, in project areas and across the city; it also produces Sanvaad, the monthly newsletter.05
Child Sponsorship Programme Educate. Empower. Elevate. Carries CHRIST’s flagship ‘Educate a Child’ initiative, through which Christites sponsor the education of underprivileged children in the project areas, working towards UN SDG 4, Quality Education. Members run awareness campaigns and distribute educational and nutritional kits.06
Social Entrepreneurship Initiate. Innovate. Inculcate. Promotes sustainable and inclusive economic growth by building business skills and innovation, equipping students and alumni to manage social enterprises and supporting local entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups, aligned with UN SDGs 8 and 17.Waste To Wealth
Parivarthana
Parivarthana, the newest initiative of CSA Lavasa, was established in 2024 on the CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Lavasa campus to transform waste into valuable resources and promote responsible waste management. Its primary objective is to keep the campus zero-waste through recycling and repurposing.
Who Runs It
At the core of Parivarthana’s operations are the dedicated women within the unit, supported by student volunteers and the University administration. Together they educate students and faculty on waste management, with a focus on the 3Rs — Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
What It Does
The unit’s initiatives include paper recycling, waste segregation and product making, alongside educational activities such as awareness rallies and eco-conservation programmes that empower communities and promote sustainability.
Through The Year
Events
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CSA Inauguration
The Centre for Social Action was inaugurated at the Pune Lavasa Campus, with the ceremony opening in the traditional way with the lighting of the lamp.
Photo Albums
Full Event Albums
Cleanup Drive 2025 
Badge distribution ceremony of CSA · 1 October 2025 
Health, Hygiene and Well Being Cohort by Dr Sania Siddiqui · 20 & 21 September 2025 
CSA Inauguration · 12 September 2025 
Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation · 23 August 2025 
Workshop on Organic Soap Making · 23 August 2025 
Let’s Share 2.0 · 21 August 2025 
MKCL Certificate Distribution · 27 June 2025 
Joy of Sharing · 20 June 2025 
CSA Valedictory’25 · 8 May 2025 
Safai Mahotsav · 23 November 2024 
Children’s Day Celebration · 14 November 2024 
Health & Hygiene Rally · 14 November 2024 
Parivarthana · 24 September 2024 
CSA Inauguration · 5 September 2024 
Mother’s Day Celebration · 11 May 2024 
Blood Donation Camp · 26 April 2024 
7th CSA Diya Stall 
CSA INAUGURATION 2022 
CSA- PROJECT BRIDGE’ 21 
CSA Cleanliness Drive
The People Behind It
Our Team
Join Us
Get Involved
CSA’s work is carried by student volunteers across its six cohorts, and led by student leaders selected every year.
How CSA Is Led
Student Leaders
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Selection & Structure
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Chosen every year CSA selects its student leaders each year through its own selection procedure, to lead the activities of the following academic year.
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Leading the cohorts Each of the six cohorts is led by three or four cohort representatives and guided by a mentor.
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Through The Year
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Welcoming each batch Wing leaders greet the fresh batch of volunteers and organise events to integrate them into the community.
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Working across wings Wing leaders arrange events based on the goals of their wings, and work with the other wings throughout the year.
Why It’s Worth It
Benefits Of Volunteering
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Personal & Professional Growth
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Holistic growth Grow personally, intellectually and professionally by contributing to the society you live in.
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Real-world exposure Work closely with children, women and underprivileged communities beyond the classroom.
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A new perspective Gain a different perspective on life, beyond academics.
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Skills Through The Cohorts
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Training & workshops Soft- and hard-skill programmes through the Education & Skill Development cohort.
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Leadership Lead a cohort or wing as one of the student leaders selected each year.
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Community-led planning Initiate development-oriented plans based on the needs of the community.
Sanvaad
Newsletter
Sanvaad — the catalyst of social change — is the monthly newsletter of CSA Lavasa Campus, reporting the activities CSA Lavasa conducted in the previous month.
Latest Edition · Sep–Nov 2025
Show the archive · 3 editionsHide the archive
Give Back
Support Us
‘Educate a Child’ is CSA’s flagship donation programme, through which students, faculty and alumni of CHRIST sponsor the education of underprivileged children from villages around Lavasa. It began in 1999 at the Bangalore Central Campus with 50 children from an urban slum community, and has grown to support as many as 800 children a year. In 2023–24, the Lavasa student and faculty community sponsored 40 children from 4 villages.
Ways To Donate
Pay by cash, or write to csa.lavasa@christuniversity.in and csa.office@christuniversity.in.
Get In Touch
Contact
Centre for Social Action · Mail ID
csa.lavasa@christuniversity.inFor queries about the Centre, its cohorts and its work.