Marathon: Run for Girl Child '13

Introductory session conducted for PGP04 students

This is the time to pass on the learnings and responsibilities to the successors. An introductory session was successfully conducted on 24 October 2013. It is really exciting to see the zeal and passion of the active PGP04 students actively participating in the session. Many students have come forward to extend their hand to support and be a part of the SDP cell.

With multiple number of projects lined up for the next 1 year, the students have actively shown their interest on particular projects.

The session started with the participants sharing their own experiences of working with NGOs or other social work. Their experiences were diversified in terms of areas which included Healthcare, Education, Environment and Social Entrepreneurship. Following it a brief introduction of the SDP cell and the social issues that the cell takes into account to fight against were discussed.

The team has discussed on the different categories of the model which the cell ventured into. Finding that the new team has already well experienced working with different NGOs, the students are given freedom to take their own decisions individually which they feel would help the cell to attain its vision.

The team has discussed on the 4 different projects which are to be initiated to the earliest which majorly can be listed as:

Ø  Blood Campaign on behalf of HDFC Bank

The HDFC bank Rohtak as a part of their CSR activities is interested to conduct a blood campaign in the month of December. They have approached the SDP team to avail the support of the IIM Rohtak and its students as the volunteers of the event.

Ø  Team up with GreenPeace India for future events

Greenpeace India has been working on various issues related to the environment since 2001. Our work in India is focused on four broad campaigns namely, stop climate change, sustainable agriculture, preserving the oceans and preventing another nuclear catastrophe. It has approached to team up with the SDP team to work and coordinate for further events that will be conducted.

Ø  Students initiated thought to educate children in a construction site

An idea of educating the children whose parents work in a construction site nearby rang in the minds of the team members which the cell is planning to conduct in the very recent future

Ø  Survey and volunteer help for Punjab National Bank

Punjab National Bank who has conduct a survey and acquire information for research on the Panchayat in the nearby villages are in search of volunteers. The SDP cell has agreed for its participation to educate the villagers and attain information about the Panchayat which will be initiated in the earliest possible time

The team has also discussed about the idea of coming up with a new name and logo for the SDP cell for the very same reason they decided to conduct an Intra-Competition which would involve the students engagement.

Successfully organized Marathon'12

So.. We pulled off the Marathon!!!! And Boy! we pulled it off well despite all the apprehensions and negativity surrounding it.We the members of Student Council would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the entire batch for the support.

It all started with the responsibility of the Marathon being entrusted upon us. A small team came to our rescue and we started building on the concept bit by bit from September onwards. I'd specially like to thank Karunesh, Saurabh Patel, Harendra Sahu, Kalpesh and Deepali for coming upfront to take up the challenge and  conceptualize & envision the entire event. The first big hurdle was to get sponsors for the event which we all know how difficult it is. This team worked day and night without losing any motivation to finalize the first few sponsors. There were some hiccups and many questions asked on the very existence of the event but the determination of the core team was not deterred and we could finally move ahead. 

Then came the herculean task of publicizing the event and I thank the publicity team for the efforts they made. Their work has been stupendous whether it was to convince the schools to participate or create a general awareness about the event.Thanks to the Design team that helped the PR for publicity of the event ; Josyula, Prabhakar Banerji and Abhishek Kesarwani. Special thanks to Prabhakar for his continued support till the end helping us make last minute changes.We are also grateful to  IRIC's support for approaching the corporate sponsorship , specially Prabhjot and Sanjeev . And not to mention the tireless efforts of Mukesh, Vijay, Prem, Pallav, Divyanshu and team to publicize the event locally and get mass registrations.

We also thank Saurabh Aggarwal for his efforts in publicizing the event and for getting us in touch with Sindhu sir (Coach MDU) without whom the event would not have been what it was.

Then started the preparations for the "D-DAY" .The entire batch supported us in making this event a grand success.The logistics team , specially Naveen,Tarun Sharma and Vivek Rokade worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the logistics support . The route Management team's effort in exploring the route and managing the event successfully is highly appreciated.The CEO's of the route Management were Tushar Rhode & Arun Salim. We would also like to thank the crowd Management Team , Arun Pillai and Manish Prakash .The Parking & Directions team , Shivam ,  Atif, Naresh and team did an excellent job . A big thanks to all the girls for helping in writing and distributing certificates . Kudos to the overall Event Coordinators Ankit Bajaj and Saurabh Patel (Mr Ticker ). A special thanks to Roy, Sharad and Atulya for handling 'Herbalife guy'. We also appreciate the contributions of Aniruddha, Chaterjee, Bhol, Anupam and Prashant for helping manage the event. The stage management team can not be forgotten which did a great job to make the event a great success.. Thanks Kshitij, Dhiraj, Aanchal, Shivhare, and team!! A special thanks to the Choir team as well.

Springfiled Model School in support of Marathon 2012

Thanks to Apurva Prabash and Deepali Thakur for all their initiative to support the Marathon 2012. They walked-in to the Springfield School in Model Town, Rohtak to invite the staff and students to participate in Marathon 2012 and support the Girl Child. They had interviewed Mrs.Vidhu, Principal of Springfield Model School on November 20, 2012. She said that the sex ratio of Haryana which is 873 as per the present statistics is further more abating and will go less in the future days. She quoted the reason that the present population thinks of girl as a long term expenditure and need to pay more money as Dowry for the girl to get married.

But she has quoted her views that in this present generation many of the developed countries doesn’t follow any gender discrimination and girls have occupied many jobs and many other major positions. She said that when India will be free of gender discrimination, when a girl in India is treated and respected equally, then India will definitely be one of the top developed countries and will be praised by the world.

I once again thank and congratulate Apurva Prabash and Deepali Thakur for all their effort and time.

Project with iCare India

Anand S, Akshay Khatri, Achyuta, Tanuj Maggon and I had a great experience working with iCare India. iCare is registered under SUSWA, an environmental trust that supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities that increase understanding of the cultural and natural heritage of the Doon Valley. It is a non-profit, youth-based organization that works towards creating a beautiful and sustainable future by promoting community involvement and educational outreach.

iCare wants to encourage young people to become envi­ronmentally aware and actively promote heritage conservation. Therefore they have decided to organize iCare Awards to felicitate the unsung heroes who have taken up the mantle to save the precious resources for the future generations.

As a part of their endeavour, our team helped them to plan the iCare Awards ceremony which is scheduled for January 2012. We designed the Corporate Communication and Promotional Strategy for the Awards including the following:

• Preparation of presentation, sponsorship letter and cover letter for the Sponsorship drive

• Preparation of the list of companies which are actively participating in CSR activities and which could be approached for sponsorship

• Cost Accounting: Identification of the probable financial headers

• Design of the Social Media marketing plan to promote the awards

This experience has instilled in us the passion to pursue similar endeavours in future for the betterment of the society. We wish them success in all their future aspirations and hope that they continue their good work.

Working with the Etasha Society

Laxmikant and I are currently involved in a project with the Etasha Society. Etasha is an NGO working to change the lives of the disadvantaged youth of the country, by providing skills development and vocational training to them. This training makes it easier for them to get jobs in various industries, such as Hospitality, Retail, Manufacturing, BPOs and Financial Services. A number of young men and women have benefitted from the training provided by Etasha, and are working in positions of responsibility with a higher pay, and more importantly, a sense of pride.

In order to carry on their good work, Etasha needs as much funding as it can get. In the past, they have had tie-ups with organizations like Barclays and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to conduct workshops for the underprivileged members of society. However, these have been one-off projects. So, our goal is to come up with strategies to increase the retail funding base of Etasha by building long-term relationships with companies in different industries. We aim to make these partnerships mutually beneficial for both parties, resulting in the economic and social growth of society. For this purpose, we have divided companies into different sectors, and are coming up with different plans customized for each sector. The major sectors identified are –

§ Hospitality

§ Retail

§ Manufacturing

§ BPO

§ Design & Architecture

Generic strategies for each industry will be formulated, and implemented first for companies that Etasha has a history with. Gradually, other companies in the industry will be approached with similar plans, hopefully with the added advantage of already having successfully implemented it with the original companies.

The main attraction for companies to tie-up with Etasha is the opportunity to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Companies today are expected to contribute to society through their CSR wings, and working with Etasha, a registered NGO, would provide a platform for them to showcase these activities. More importantly, the companies can expect something tangible in return as well, as the individuals trained through their funds can become future employees of the companies. This enables the companies to advertise their contribution to society.

This is our humble effort to contribute to the change that Etasha is attempting to bring to society. We shall keep you informed about our project developments as time progresses. In the meantime, if you or your organization would like to contribute to this wonderful cause, do feel free to contact us at guptaaks@gmail.com, or laxmikantborase@gmail.com.

As a wise man once said, “in helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us”.

The Final Test

9^th October ’11,

After 3 odd months of teaching at JSS, it was time to reflect upon our as well as student’s performance. So Salil, Sagar, Varun and Priyamvada went to JSS on Sunday to carry out the tests. The test focussed on English writing and reading abilities and understanding of Mathematics fundamentals. The questionnaire was the same as given for benchmark test taken earlier. This was done to maintain the clarity in showing the improvement achieved.

A common test on basic mathematical operations was given to the children irrespective of the class in which they study. A separate test with increase in difficulty level was given to children of std. VI and above. It was nice to see each kid making efforts to complete the test correctly.

Everyone was asked to write a short composition on the topic ‘My Best Friend’. In oral test, each kid was asked to read few paragraphs of a story. The paragraph for everyone was same.

When asked about the test ‘how was it?’ it felt good to see the enthusiasm when the kids said they liked it. Significant improvements are seen in the performance by kids, in some case by more than 100%, in both English and Maths. Quantified exact improvement will be reflected in the comprehensive report being prepared.