VADODARA: Jains in the city turned Santa for underprivileged sections of society on Sunday.A group of around 50 volunteers from the community organized ‘punya ni dukan’ (the shop of virtue) at Samta grounds where around 40,000 items collected through a mega drive were distributed to the needy.With folded hands each of the beneficiary was welcomed to step inside the tent that was erected at the ground for distributing the items.“We had started the collection drive before a month from across the city. Also, we had kept Subhanpura Sthanakavasi Jain Sangh as the deposit centre for the items that we collected from individuals and families,” said Vatsal Doshi, a volunteer involved with the drive.“Before 10 days, we, the group of 50 volunteers, all below the age of 35, started sorting the items that were collected during the drive,” he said.“At the ‘punya ni dukan’, we welcomed each beneficiary by greeting them with ‘Jai Jinendra’ and each one of them was given the choice of selecting eight to 10 times for themselves,” he said.The items collected through the drive included clothes, toys, utensils, stationery, winter wears, blankets, shoes, carpets and children wear among others.To ensure that more beneficiaries benefit out of the drive, indelible ink was applied on the fingers of those beneficiaries who have already collected the items of their choice.The drive was supported by Jain community leaders of the city, including Jain youth groups. By Sunday evening, over 2,500 beneficiaries had already collected items of their choice from the ‘shop’.“This is for the second year that we have organized such a drive. Last time, we could collect 20,000 items but this time, both the donors and beneficiaries have doubled as the joy of bringing smiles among the needy is spreading,” he said.According to the organizers, there are many individuals and NGOs who carry out collection and donation drives.“But our purpose was also to treat the beneficiaries with dignity and provide them treatment similar to what they would experience while entering any shop,” he added.