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09 June 2021

Student rides to the rescue during lockdown with cycling initiative

A King’s College London student has been making headlines in his home town after launching an initiative to help the elderly during the pandemic.

ArvindKumar
Arvind Kumar founded Cycle Soldiers. Picture: ARVIND KUMAR

Arvind Kumar, who studies public policy at King’s, returned home to Kolkata, in India, when the pandemic closed campuses in London earlier this year and used some of the time between his online classes to help pick up and deliver supplies for his grandmother.

He quickly realised that, just like his grandmother, there were hundreds of elderly and vulnerable residents who were housebound during the pandemic and needed essentials delivered so Arvind launched Cycle Soldiers.

The ‘soldiers’ are made up of students and professionals who are working from home during the pandemic and using their free time to jump on a bike and deliver items such as groceries and medicines locally, free of charge.

The initiative has proved such a success that Arvind and his fellow volunteers have been featured in the Times of India.

You can read the story in full here.

Arvind's story made headlines in India. Picture: ARVIND KUMAR
Arvind's story made headlines in India. Picture: ARVIND KUMAR