Volunteering For Baal Dan
After spending just 10 minutes with Baal Dan Founder, Tanya Pinto, I knew it would be nearly impossible to not to want to get involved and assist her with Baal Dan. I was first introduced to Baal Dan at a fundraiser hosted by another Baal Dan fan (David Charney) exactly one month before I was leaving Dallas to move to India. Even though that encounter in Dallas was brief, one could see that Tanya has the innate ability to inspire passion among others and on that day, that passion was passed on to me and I decided then and there I would do whatever I could to assist Tanya during her next visit to India for Baal Dan.

During my brief 4-day visit to Calcutta, I experienced many emotional ups and downs as we went from orphanage to orphanage and shelter to shelter. But any sadness I felt for the children was immediately softened by one common underlying factor... their smiles. I've never smiled so much nor had so many smiles returned to me more than I had in those 4 days in Calcutta. I will never forget the Rainbow girls from Loreto, the incredibly smart girls from St. Vincents Home, and the rambunctious boys from Future Hope. More than once I considered taking a few kids back with me! Even though I couldn't figure out a way to do that... their smiles will remain with me forever.

It's amazing how something so trivial to us in the U.S. (like a dollar) can make a world of difference to a child in India. With very little money, we were able to do so much and give back so much to the children who otherwise might go hungry for the night or get cold as the temperatures drop. But the most amazing thing about how Baal Dan operates is that it that it really does try to not just improve the lives of these children for one night, but for the rest of their lives. Knowing that I was able to contribute in some small way to giving a child from the street a second chance makes me want to do more and more in the future to assist Tanya and Baal Dan.

About Brandon Wulz
Brandon Wulz has been working with Deloitte for over 8 years. In early 2007 after a 3-month sabbatical in South American, Brandon approached Deloitte leadership for a position with more global responsibilities… The role he received was beyond his expectations. With a title of Global Integration Lead for the firms Hyderabad based Audit practice, Brandon is responsible for the operational processes/procedures and the execution of those processes to allow Deloitte offices from around the globe utilize the talented people in their Hyderabad offices. Brandon plans to spend at least two years in Hyderabad and perhaps more. Prior to Deloitte Brandon worked in the Telecom industry in Dallas, Texas. Brandon went to Oklahoma State University and graduated with a major in Management Information Systems and a minor in Marketing.