The founding of vision of the charity is rooted in the philosophy of social service advanced by
Swaminarayan in the early 19th century. Swaminarayan undertook several programs of social reform based on non-violence, temperance, and social justice. He helped stop the practice of animal sacrifices in yagnas and promoted animal welfare. He also campaigned against two common social crimes against women during his time—female infanticide and
widow burning. In Africa, their volunteers have screened for disease and arranged for treatment for visitors at various health camps in areas of need. The organization has arranged eye care camps and Hansen's disease camps in Tanzania and medical screening camps in Kenya. In the
United Kingdom it organizes an annual challenge, which is a 10 kilometer walk in London and across other cities for the purposes of mobilizing communities and raising funds for different British charities, including the British Heart Foundation (BHF). In North America, it organizes health fairs run by volunteer medical professionals where visitors can undergo screening tests, participate in consultations, and receive treatment. These fairs help provide medical care and advice to people who lack access to quality health care, serving about 10,000 North Americans annually. BAPS Charities also runs a health awareness initiative in the United States focused on educating parents and children on benefits of a
vegetarian diet. It organizes annual walkathons in cities across North America to help a wide range of community, health and humanitarian organizations. Recent beneficiaries of the walkathons include the
American Cancer Society,
American Diabetes Association, local schools, and local hospitals. To support biomedical research, the Toronto chapter raised funds through walkathons and donated $20,000 to the
Princess Margaret Hospital Cancer Campaign and $100,000 for Toronto's
Hospital for Sick Children's Research and Learning Tower Campaign. It works with local hospitals and blood banks to organize blood donation drives to help those in need of transfusions.
COVID-19 pandemic response During the COVID-19 global pandemic, BAPS Charities has provided relief and assistance worldwide. Volunteers donated 5,500 N95 masks and 13,000 N95 masks to hospitals and facilities throughout New Jersey and Canada, respectively. A community care program, 'Connect and Care', was launched in the United Kingdom to provide support to the needy and elderly. US Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy praised BAPS Charities for hosting vaccination clinics at mandirs which increased accessibility for the elderly. Thirty BAPS centers across North America administered over 38,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots over the course of 69 vaccination drives.
Education In India, it supports organizations which fund 5,000 scholarships to needy students each year, operates 10 schools and 8 colleges in addition to supporting other colleges, schools, and hostels. and organizing large-scale tree planting campaigns and recycling programs. The charity has planted 1.5 million trees in 2,170 villages. The organization has established paper and aluminum recycling programs in the UK, USA, and India and used funds generated from this to support other charitable activities. After the
1999 Odisha cyclone, it assisted the Government of
Odisha and other groups in reconstructing three villages with cyclone-resistant houses and other infrastructure in addition to helping other villages and providing food, medical assistance, counseling, and other supplies. With the help of donations from volunteers in India and abroad, the organization supported the rebuilding of the area's communities by constructing schools, hospitals, and other buildings. Following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the group supported organizations working in affected areas of India and
Sri Lanka to provide 174,000 hot meals, 12,000 food packets, more than 60 tons of grains, and fresh water tanks to the homeless in 51 villages. The organization carried out similar relief activities in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ike in 2008. Recently, the organization partnered with
UNICEF to provide medicine, clean water, and temporary housing for children affected by the
2010 Haiti earthquake. Following the
2011 outbreak of tornadoes in the Southeastern US, they took action to provide hot meals, drinking water and shelter to the over 2,500 affected people at four relief centers and the organization responded similarly after the
2013 tornadoes in Oklahoma. After the
2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, they provided supplies and transportation to aid in the relief efforts in affected areas. It has many programs in place working to help reduce poverty. In marginalized communities isolated from many social and governmental services, it has set up nearly 2,000 community centers which serve as hubs for running education programs, distributing food and clothes, providing healthcare, and facilitating community meetings. In addition to centers, the organization operates mobile health vans, scholarships, student hostels, and literacy campaigns to serve these communities. ==Awards==