Tata Volunteering Week 15 Volume No. 07   
 
   Linen and food donation Ginger Hotels   
 
Volunteers from Ginger Hotels Ahmedabad actively participated in linen and food donation at Blind People’s Association.
 
  Visit to NGO Ginger Hotels   
 
Volunteers from Ginger East Delhi visited Ashadeep Foundation, an organisation which works for underprivileged children and widows. Volunteers interacted with the children and took a session on various topics like significance and scarcity of water, importance of cleanliness and hygiene. The event concluded with gift distribution to all the participants.
 
  Online speech competition Rallis India   
 
Volunteers of Rallis India limited, SezII, Dahej unit organised an online speech competition for 3rd to 8th std students of government primary schools. 25 students actively participated in this session and shared their ideas and thoughts about their mother. 6 winners were rewarded for the best speech on the topic of “My Mother”.
 
   Online rangoli competition Rallis India   
 
Volunteers of Rallis India Limited, C-44, Dahej unit organised an online rangoli competition for 3rd to 8th std students of government primary schools on the topic of social awareness. 11 girls actively participated in this programme and expressed their ideas and thoughts through rangoli. Volunteers judged all the rangolis and declared 6 winners.
 
    Colouring competition Rallis India   
 
Rallis India Limited, Ankleshwar unit organised a colouring competition programme at Shaishav Divyang Children School, Ankleshwar. 20 special students actively participated with parents in this programme. Volunteers distributed some pictures, colour pencils and drawing material to all students. Students enjoyed filling up colours in blank pictures.
 
  Distribution of mask, sanitizer and sanitizer stand Rallis India   
 
As part of TVW-15, volunteers of Rallis India, Ankleshwar unit organised mask, sanitizer and sanitizer stand distribution programme at Shaishav Divyang Children School, Ankleshwar. Volunteers also shared precautionary tips to prevent COVID-19 virus.
 
  Online storytelling competition Rallis India   
 
On the occasion of World Storytelling Day, volunteers of Rallis India, Ankleshwar unit organised a virtual storytelling competition programme for 3rd to 5th std students of Primary School Gadkhol. 17 students actively participated in this programme. Volunteers shared popular stories like rabbit & tortoise race, capseller and monkey, monkey & cat crises for butter, etc. Volunteers were thrilled to listen to the stories after a long time. Three winners were announced after the presentation by students.
 
   Yoga session Rallis India   
 
On the occasion of International Day of Happiness, volunteers of Rallis India, Ankleshwar unit organised a yoga session for girls’ students at Children’s Home for Girls, Bharuch. Yoga trainer Ms. Jagruti Divecha conducted this session and guided all girls about the best way of asanas and importance of yoga. She not only taught asanas like Pranayam, Savasan but also gave tips on diet plan, positive thinking, and meditation. Volunteers also took this opportunity and displayed COVID-19 awareness posters with messages of hand wash with sanitizer, social distancing, wearing masks, etc.
 
   Visit to orphanage Tata Advanced Systems   
 
Employees of Tata Advanced Systems along with families visited Safe Charitable Foundation, Hyderabad. Volunteers also interacted and played games with the children. The children exhibited their talents like singing and dancing to the volunteers. Tata Advanced Systems donated water cooler to the orphanage in view of the requirement due to the summer season.
 
   Volleyball match Tata Advanced Systems   
 
Employees of Tata Advanced Systems visited Juvenile Home at Saidabad, Hyderabad. Volunteers interacted and played games with the children. A volleyball match was also organised between employees and children. Children enjoyed the interaction and actively played the game and won the volleyball match. Prizes were distributed to the winning team.
 
   Train the trainer session Tata Advanced Systems   
 
Be the Cool Teacher - Train the Trainer is a new concept in the corporate world. Giving it a twist volunteers ventured upon arming Govt. School Teachers at Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in L B Nagar, Hyderabad with an interactive session to better acquaint teachers to the changing times challenges and enabling them with usage of digital tools to improve the skills of their students. 28 teachers from ZPHS attended the session and the principal thanked the volunteers for introducing them to the new concept.
 
   Mentoring the future Tata Advanced Systems   
 
Volunteers of Tata Advanced Systems Limited took a career guidance session for students of 9th and 10th grade of ZPHS, L B Nagar, Hyderabad. Volunteers shared a world of possibilities and way forward to achieve their dreams. The interaction was fun filled and every kid was gifted a custom bag to hand carry their aspirations and dream.
 
   Conservation of Sparrows Tata Chemicals   
 
Volunteers from Tata Chemicals initiated the "Save our Sparrows" campaign at Mithapur. Employees, retirees, and family members volunteered for preparation of sparrow nestbox and the same were distributed in residential colonies of Mithapur township. Citizens were sensitised on the declining status of House Sparrows and the need for action to protect them. Nestbox prepared earlier by volunteers were gifted to households with a request to keep an eye on sparrow nesting activities and forward details of the same to help create a Citizens' Register on sparrow population in Mithapur.
 
   Notebook distribution Tata Power   
 
Volunteers of Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (Tata Power) organised a Notebook distribution programme for the students of Sagarshala, an initiative by Coastal Gujarat Power Limited for continued education for the children of fishermen community. 120 students from class 1st to 8th were given the notebooks on 22nd March, 2021. Volunteers also interacted with the students and oriented them on importance of education. They encouraged the students for their all-round development through Sagarshala.
 
   Road safety awareness Ginger Hotels   
 
As part of Tata Volunteering Week, Ginger Hotels Vapi took up the task of creating awareness on road safety and shared safe driving tips. Road safety awareness are important as it reminds the people to follow traffic rules. Number of road accidents are increasing and the one of the way to reduce them is to create awareness among people.
 
   COVID-19 vaccination campaign Indian Hotels   
 
To help curb the spread of COVID-19, the Human Resources teams of Taj North Goa facilitated the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for its associates of 45 years and above at Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa Goa and Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa Goa. This included associates under contract and third-party vendors as well. Prior to the campaign, a lot of backend work was conducted by the respective teams of liaising with government officials, health workers, drawing up schedules and coordinating with the service providers. In the weeklong campaign, nearly 123 associates between the two resorts registered and availed this facility at the Primary Health Centre Candolim. Every day between 2pm to 4pm the concerned associates, as per the schedule, were escorted to the PHC, served refreshments once they were vaccinated and made sure they suffered no adverse side effects. Associates were overwhelmed to receive this assistance from the Management and thanked them profusely.
 
   Session on good hygiene habits Indian Hotels   
 
Volunteers from Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi facilitated a online session by microbiologist, Ms. Swati Mehta Jairath for the beneficiaries of Jamghat, an NGO for street children. The activity included awareness building on good hygiene habits, videos on hand hygiene, etc. There was an engagement activity on the spread of germs and how to curb it by 5 step handwash technique. The session was for an hour, wherein the children at the NGO narrated a story about germs and the session was concluded by drawing competition on hand hygiene.
 
   Inauguration of drinking water and sanitation project Tata Metaliks   
 
Tata Metaliks under its Essential Enablers project has taken up several initiatives for improving the quality of lives of the community. During the current year, under the Corporate Social Responsibility project, Tata Metaliks has supported the construction of solar energy drinking water & sanitation units at Brahmanpara, Maheshpur village. The company has also formed Jan Kalyan Samiti in the village which will take care of the infrastructures. Dr. Ratna Sinha, VP-HRM, Tata Metaliks inaugurated the project. The inauguration event was attended by Ms. Dilith Castleton, Head CSR; Mr. Ranjit Karak, Secretary, PI Union; Mr. MSN Raju, Union PI; along with 25 employees from the HR, IR, and DIP division. The villagers warmly welcomed the employees.
The beneficiaries and the members of the Jan Kalyan Samiti shared their experiences of their involvement in all the stages of the construction and their role on maintenance of the infrastructures. The villagers showed their gratitude to Tata Metaliks by sharing the benefits they have received through various CSR initiatives in the village. The employees participated in setting up the event and orienting the beneficiaries about the maintenance and upkeep of the structures provided.
 
   Session on Tata Code of Conduct (TCOC) and
 Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act
Tata Metaliks   
 
Tata Metaliks is implementing the 300 schools Education project to improve the learning abilities of children and reducing the practice of child labour in Kharagpur block (West Midnapore district, West Bengal).
On 23rd March 2021, an awareness session was organised for the community mobilisers on the Tata Code of Conduct (TCOC) and Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act. The community mobilisers would be targeting the children who are engaged with labour work, create awareness on child labour and early child marriage; and facilitate enrollment of children in the government schools.
 
   Interaction with students of learning centre and digital literacy project Tata Metaliks   
 
Employees of Tata Metaliks interacted with 20 students of Learning Centre and conducted digital literacy classes. The employees briefed the students of the various initiatives that the company is undertaking in the villages especially for the youths, e.g. Tata Metaliks Skill Development Centre, BPO trainings with TCS, nursing training for girls and boys. Girls from the Learning Centre were also encouraged to be part of the livelihood projects that Tata Metaliks is implementing. The youth were encouraged to continue the classes and enrol in further skill courses to become employable.
 
   World Water Day celebrations Tata Metaliks   
 
On the occasion of World Water Day, Tata Metaliks team organised an event at Raipara Training Hall. The event was inaugurated by Mr. N. V. Ramanathan, Vice President, Projects and the welcome address was extended by Ms. Dilith Castleton. The programme was also attended by Mr. Rahul Deb, Head, Safety & Environment, who spoke about the need of conserving water through a short film. Dr. S.P Sinha Roy, President Emirates of Centre for Ground Water Studies connected virtually and explained the water saving measures with the community members. 80 people from the community participated in the event which included members of the Jan Kalyan Samiti, Self-help Groups and the village youth. The theme of the event was “Valuing Water”, and the activities revolved around the saving and conserving water. Team also conducted a drawing competition with the youth on the topic “use of water in everyday life and conservation measures for the same”. The best drawings were rewarded towards the end of the programme.
 
   COVID-19 vaccine awareness session Tata Power Delhi Distribution   
 
Volunteers from Meter Management Group (MMG) distributed refreshments to the students of Vocational Training Centre at sector 11 and gave a session on COVID-19 vaccine by sharing their own experiences of the vaccination process. The purpose of the session was to ensure that the volunteers are proactive in offering a healthy eating option to beneficiaries and to encourage them to take a step further for COVID-19 protection. The key takeaway of this event was to ensure that the idea of shared meals led to shared conversations, and shared ideas.
 
   Session on security, disaster mitigation and personal safety Tata Power Delhi Distribution   
 
A training for ABHA was organised on security, disaster mitigation and personal safety of women. The training comprised of 22 volunteers. The objective of the session was to increase the level of preparedness and reduce the risk of plan failure. The training included the importance of identifying disasters or hazards particular to various location. This helped build understanding of the psychological or long-term effects in the aftermath of a crisis.
 
   Session on Water Conservation Tata Power Delhi Distribution   
 
A session on Water Conservation was organised for beneficiaries of Vocational Training Center (VTC), Delhi. The session was organised by volunteers from the F&A department. The session witnessed participation from motivated beneficiaries and was facilitated by SIG team members and NGO partners along with the volunteers.
 
   Stationary and refreshment distribution Tata Power Delhi Distribution   
 
Volunteers from Tata Power Delhi Distribution visited the STCs (Special Training Centers) at Sector 6 Rohini and distributed Stationary items along with refreshment packets to motivate the STC students to set higher future goals. 60 kits were distributed to students.
 
   World Water Day celebrations Trent Hypermarket   
 
On the occasion of World Water Day, employees of Star Bazaar, Surat Hyper and Star Bazaar, Aagam Viviana Surat organised a session to raise awareness among customers regarding the global water crisis and shared simple ways to conserve water by making small changes in daily lives which when combined leads to a big difference.
 
   Gifting hearing aid Tata Motors  
 
Mr. Sunil Sawai, Head, Gear and Axle factory, Tata Motors Pimpri, Pune along with his spouse Dr. Deepali Sawai gifted hearing aid to Tushar Panse (beneficiary) at Morya Multi speciality Hospital, Chinchwad Gaon on 10th March 2021.
 
   Visit to old age home and donation of blood Tata Motors   
 
Group of volunteers from Tata Motors Pimpri visited Snehasawali old age home run by Shri. Shankar Maharaj Seva Mandal Chinchwad and donated INR 11,111.
During their visit to old age home, volunteers came to know about the urgent need of blood for critical treatment of a Haemophilia patient at Sahyadri Hospital, Karve Road, Pune. Few volunteers immediately rushed and donated the blood at the hospital.
 
   Mentoring session Tata Motors   
 
5 volunteers conducted an online mentoring session for students from the rural areas. These students aspire to clear their JEE exam with a high percentile and get selected in a reputed Institute. The session helped them gain detailed insights for their career.
 
   Informative session with lactating mothers Amalgamated Plantations   
 
As a part of Tata Volunteering Week 15, an informative session with lactating mothers was organised at Borhat Mini Primary Health Centre. The theme of the programme was ‘how to grow a healthy child for future India’. The programme was attended by medical officer with medical team of Mini PHC and all management staff, staff members of the estate along with estate medical team.
49 lactating mothers participated in the programme who were made aware of baby care, immunization, proper method of lactation and child education. Nutritional food packets were distributed to all the lactating mothers.
 
   Road Safety awareness Amalgamated Plantations   
 
Amalgamated Plantations conducted an activity on road safety. Volunteers offered a red rose and requested each driver to be careful while driving. They also spread awareness about traffic rules and regulations.
 
   Women Empowerment programme Rallis India   
 
Volunteers of Rallis India, Lote Unit organised a Women Empowerment programme for the women group of Ghanekunt Village, Taluka Khed. A group of 15 women are running a tailoring shop in the village. Volunteers arranged a session for this groups with an aim to develop their interest in involving small business activities, increasing their self confidence level, improving team work and leadership qualities. Volunteers also provided the material for making 400 cotton masks to this group as a motivation to develop their business. The programme was well accepted by all the participants.
 
   Food recipe session Rallis India   
 
Rallis India, Lote team and canteen supervisor arranged a food recipe session for the ladies group of Awashi, Lote. The team explained their approach to healthy eating, low-fat food, high fiber food, etc. The team conducted a demonstration of preparation of vegetable clear soup, and carrot halwa. At the end of the session our team has conveyed a message that “Good Health starts with Good Food”. A total of nine women were present in the session and they all enjoyed the session very well.
 
   Outdoor games for tribal students Rallis India   
 
Rallis volunteers organised outdoor games such as kabaddi, running race, etc. for the tribal students in Saraiwadi. Boys and girls both participated in the competition and won the prizes.
 
   Indoor games for students Rallis India   
 
Rallis volunteers arranged various entertaining indoor games for Class 1st to 5th students which were focused on memory and concentration.
 
   Pilgrim sanitation and plastic removal drive Tata Coffee   
 
Tata Coffee, Team Jagruthi ICD Toopran volunteered and sanitized the Maisamma temple, Brahmanapally. Additional they removed around 30kgs of plastic scrap from the temple premises with the help of Maisamma temple committee. Total 28 volunteers took part in the activity with the theme of ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. During the event, volunteers also took the pledge to keep the surrounding clean and reiterated to spread the message on importance of cleanliness.
 
   Health awareness session for women Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
As part of TVW15, Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) organised a Women’s Health Awareness session for the Doorstep School teachers. Dr. Anjana Thadani, from NGO PEHL, conducted the session. On Women’s Day, Dr. Anjana, emphasised the importance of various health screening test which women should take for early diagnosis and recovery. She explained about the health-related issues women face in modern days and how to overcome them. She also explained about the do’s and don’ts for women in various age groups starting from adolescent to higher age women. The session was very informative and the DSS teachers appreciated the session.
 
   Microsoft Excel workshop Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) organised an Excel Workshop for the students of Samarthanam Trust who are underprivileged and pursuing their graduation. The session was led by Mr. Sartaj Lalu Qureshi, Senior Engineer, TCE. The session was on basic excel for the students so that they gain some perspective about using excel which would help them in their job and in their future too.
 
   World Water Day session Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
As part of TVW15, Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) organised a World Water Day session for the DSS Kids. Volunteers explained about Importance of water and how we can save water. The session was very interesting as volunteers gave real life examples, showed picture of impact on nature if there is no water, showed them videos about how to save water, conducted quizzes, etc. They also asked kids to draw beautiful sketches about World Water Day. Kids were very happy with the session and participated enthusiastically in all the activities.
 
   Martyrs’ Day Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) organised Martyrs' Day (Shaheed Diwas) session for the DSS Kids. Volunteers explained why we observe Shaheed Diwas. They also shared stories of freedom fighters who played vital role in getting independence. The session was very interactive, and kids enjoyed it a lot.
 
   Best out of Waste session Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
31 volunteers from Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) organised a ‘Best out of Waste’ session for the DSS Kids. They explained about Waste management to the students and also covered impact of waste on environment, importance of recycling waste, showed them paper bag making, some craft making ideas using newspaper, card sheet, empty matchstick box, empty cool drinks bottle, etc. The session was very interactive as all the kids participated enthusiastically and made beautiful craft items.
 
   World Tuberculosis Day Tata Power   
 
Volunteers from Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (Tata Power) spent the day with the community and spread awareness on World Tuberculosis Day. The event was organised in association with government PHC. During the event, the community was oriented on different dimensions of TB, government support to the TB patients, etc. This event was especially organised for the fishermen women and test was also conducted by the PHC doctors in active support of the volunteers. Different IEC materials were used to create sound knowledge among the community on Tuberculosis. Government officials along with the community applauded the efforts of volunteers during this flagship event of National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.
 
   Session on working in the retail industry Trent Hypermarket   
 
Star Bazaar in collaboration with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India organised a virtual session on ‘Working in the Retail Industry’. The session was facilitated by a Star Bazaar employee. The session covered a range of topics including skills and competencies required to be successful in the retail industry. 57 students across Gujarat participated in the session.
 
   Session on ‘Say no to plastic pollution’ Trent Hypermarket   
 
Employees of Star Bazaar, Tania Horizon, Mumbai made paper bags from discarded newspapers and distributed it among the vegetable and fruit vendors. The initiative was organised with a double intent; to raise awareness regarding the harmful pollution created by plastic bags and to promote the use of paper bags.
 
   World Happiness Day celebrations Trent Hypermarket   
 
On the occasion of World Happiness Day, employees of Star Bazaar at Ahmedabad Hyper and SV Square store organised a clothes donation drive. The collected clothes were donated to the Community wall at Gandhinagar. The community wall is maintained by Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. The municipal corporation donates the collected clothes among the needy people in the society.
 
   Say No to Child Labour Trent Hypermarket   
 
The employees of Star Bazaar, Bhiwandi DC organised an awareness drive for the slum communities in Bhiwandi. The employees interacted with parents in the community advocating and urging them to send their children to school and discourage them from promoting child labour.
 
   Biodiversity awareness programme Tata Chemicals   
 
Tata Chemicals volunteers organised a biodiversity awareness programme for students of the Dhada village school near Mithapur. Students were enlightened on the importance of biodiversity conservation and the need for protection of the indigenous flora species, their medicinal values and their role in sustaining the local ecology. Saplings of Malabar Spinach creeper which were earlier raised by volunteers were gifted to the students and same were planted in the school garden. The flowers of Malabar Spinach attract butterflies and the seeds are relished by birds, bats and squirrels. The leaves of this creeper are rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins and are used for making vegetable curry and soup.
 
   Teaching basic English Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
Tata Consulting Engineers team made an attempt to teach basic English to underprivileged students of Samarthanam trust. Volunteers were successful in bringing smile on the faces by making them recite a poem.
 
   Teaching MS Office skills Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
In this paperless era, TCE volunteers educated 10th grade underprivileged students the importance of computer and taught them MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. 39 beneficiaries attended the session and received knowledge on MS Office skills which will be used for lifetime.
 
   Visit to old age home Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
The theme of TVW15 – “Shatter The Status Quo”, has been worthwhile in true sense for a set of volunteers who visited from Bangalore to Abhala Home, Hosur Tamil Nadu by crossing the state borders during this pandemic time. This Abhala Home caters to mentally challenged women who are left on the streets and railway platforms either by family members or who have been lost.
The Abhala Home takes care of these women right from their stay, food, clothing, medical treatment and psychiatric medicines. There are many women who have been treated and with the help of govt department, their families are found and are sent back to home.
Tata Consulting Engineers donated psychiatric medicines for their regular dosages as prescribed by the Abhala Home and sanitization products to follow COVID-19 health norms. Volunteers were very satisfied to visit them and spend some time to understand the beneficiary’s experience.
 
   Drawing and motivation session Tata Consulting Engineers   
 
Tata Consulting Engineers’ volunteers visited govt. model primary school and conducted a session on water and its conservation. Students were asked to draw their way of conservation of water and they explained all their ideas of conservation. 32 students took part in the activity and created beautiful drawing and were motivated to conserve water.
 
   Health check-up camp Amalgamated Plantations   
 
Volunteers from Amalgamated Plantations conducted a health check-up camp at Dahotia M.E School. 30 students were examined for their health by the estate doctors. The school management was very happy with activities held by the volunteers in the school. It was also a very satisfying experience for volunteers to interact with all students along with the school management and with their managing committee.
 
  *This update covers only some of the activities undertaken by companies.
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