Update No. 7:- 28th to 31st March 2015

Mumbai

Tata Interactive Systems participated in the Tata Volunteering activity this month by conducting a career counselling session organised by Tata Consulting Engineers in their premises at Vikhroli. This session was for youth from the Antarang Foundation. It was about careers in the eLearning industry, especially related to illustration and animation. The participants were enthralled by the demo clips screened and had a lot of questions about the qualifications required, educational institutes offering relevant courses and so on. It was really great to see their enthusiasm and excitement about this career path. It reinforced our pride in the work we do and reenergised us.

Some employees of Tata Interactive Systems also volunteered their time with children of the angelxpress foundation at the ALM Park, Mahakali caves, Andheri East. The sessions here included story-telling, word games,introducing students to the wonders of science and India’s Mangalyaan endeavour in particular. The simple science experiments that were demonstrated strengthened their understanding of some basic concepts of science. It also included solving some science and math-related doubts of the children. The volunteers came to teach but left with many lessons learnt, and a determination to volunteer some more.

Belapur

Candle making workshop: Volunteers from Rallis organised a candle making workshop for tribal women, so that they can learn the skills and start their own business. Women learned variety of candles like wax candle, gel candles, floating candles and making flowers and food items out of wax. Women were very happy to learn the skills and decided to participate in exhibition to sell their products

Solar Light making workshop: Rallis volunteers organised a Solar Lighting Workshop at Shenve Tribal School near Shahapur. Volunteers, trainers and students made 25 solar lights. Tribal villages face power shortage frequently, hence students were happy that they have solar lights with them. They shared that they will be able to do routine work and do their studies in spite of power shortage in the night.

Mithapur

The volunteering drive at Tata Chemicals, Mithapur, has continued consistently since 3rd March 2015 and multiple volunteering activities pertaining to nature and biodiversity conservation are being organised on daily basis. 116 volunteers participated in the exotic Gando Babul weed removal and Aloe Vera plantation program along the coastal sand dunes at Mithapur. More than 5,000 plants of the local strain of Aloe Vera and another 3,000 grafts of Euphorbia Cactus were planted for stabilization of sand dunes. These native plants are expected to provide shelter and nesting sites for the wildlife and birds and would help in strengthening the biodiversity base at Mithapur.

Jamshedpur

A team of 21 enthusiastic employees along with their family members from Tata Technologies Jamshedpur visited "Cheshire Home" on 27th March. The centre provides shelter and succor to the physically, emotionally and mentally challenged women. Volunteers interacted with residents and got an opportunity to personally serve sweets and chocolates carried by them. They contributed funds towards buying their essential materials. Employees also sponsored breakfast/lunch for the residents which will be served during special occasions. After spending quality time with them volunteers left the home with a heavy heart with a promise to visit them again and help in whatever way they can to bring some smile on their faces.

Maldives

Coral Rejuvenation: Vivanta by Taj Coral Reef, Maldives, in collaboration with the Blue in Maldives Diving & sailing in supervision of Mr. Markus Casutt had our 4th Coral Rejuvenation project during the TATA Volunteering Week, to support' monitor and sustain the Maldivian coral reefs. A buzz was created about the project by inviting associates and through the In-house Daily Circular "Coral Daily" informing the benefits of the project. The main beach area and the lagoon area of the resort were identified as the location for the activity. 2 Nursery tables were then hand made by the engineering team and kept ready for the activity. Loose coral fragments were collected from the sea around the resort which were likely to die off. The Coral Fragments were tied to the re-enforced steel bars of the tables with Cable ties. Executives and associates of the Resort, who are certified divers, assembled at the dive centre for a briefing and to gear up with diving kits. The session started at 1100hrs with a brief to all with and do’s and don’ts during the operation. The team then dived to the deep waters with the Coral tables to tie the coral fragments to the tables. Corals die if removed from water, therefore the activity had to be conducted only underwater. The loose coral fragments were kept in a basket, next to the table underwater so that it becomes easy for the associates to pick up and tie to the tables. Almost 400 coral fragments were tied to the nursery tables with the help of cable ties. This project was a huge success where all Associates dived at an approximate dept of 16 meters underwater and planted corals. The corals would now be monitored once a week and measured every 3 months.

Tourism Boost: On the occasion of the TATA volunteering week, Vivanta by Taj – Coral Reef' Maldives joined hands with the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives to create awareness on Hospitality playing a major role in Tourism. Since Maldives is well known for its holiday destinations, The Ministry of Tourism, Maldives wanted to have a Tourism awareness drive amongst school children. With the good PR that has been built between the L & D Function of Vivanta by Taj – Coral Reef, Maldives and the Tourism Ministry over the months, Ms. Maryam Gasim, Director General of Ministry of Tourism and Kenneth Rocha, L & D Manager of Vivanta by Taj – Coral Reef, Maldives came up with a plan to go to various Schools in Male- Maldives and create awareness on Hospitality and its role in the Tourism Industry. A 2 hour session was organised at Kaalafaanu School in Maldives to brief and educate the students on Hospitality. The attendance was in large at the Auditorium of Kaalafaanu school with 323 students attending the session along with 22 Faculty and 15 Tourism Ministry Officials. The session was very Interactive, full of activities, knowledge and fun.

Calicut

As a part of Tata Volunteering week, CSR team at the Gateway Hotel Calicut organized a hygiene and sanitation session at the Government Fisheries School-Vellayil, Calicut. As hygiene and sanitation are the most important parts of human well-being, all due care was taken to discuss the same in detail with videos and presentation. CSR team along with the HR-Manager, General Manager and doctor in charge at the Hotel‘s Ayurveda centre visited the School. More than 50 students participated and one could see the curiosity and happiness in them. Doctor emphasized that personal hygiene and grooming is not only to look and feel good but also to prevent the onset of infectious diseases. The team also discussed cleaning habits, need of keeping their surrounding clean and eating disorder awareness to stay fit and healthy. A video related to hygiene was also played at last and it was really enjoyed by the Children.

Chennai

As part of the Tata Volunteering week, Taj Club House conducted a Blood Donation camp in association with Jeevan Blood Bank. 42 associates donated blood for the noble cause. The team also organized a cleaning drive of Marina Beach, which is a key tourist attraction in Chennai. Team members from Tata Consulting Engineers and Taj Coromandel -Chennai also participated in this event. The cleanliness drive went on for one and a half hours.

Delhi

Akshay Prathishthan: At Taj Mahal Delhi, the Tata engage volunteering week commenced with an activity on emphasizing importance of hygiene organized at Akshay Prathishthan which is a school for especially abled children. The children welcomed us with their gleaming smiles and warm heart and had an inquisitive look on their faces. The volunteers told the students how germs spread though body contact, coughing and sneezing and about importance of cleanliness. All the volunteers were happy to be part of such a great cause

Rain Basera: On 25th of March, 2015 20 volunteers from Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi visited “Rain basera“ a homeless shelter in Karol Bagh. The initiative was supported by other Tata companies as well. The activity commenced by cleaning the site enthusiastically and the volunteers performed the task whole heartedly. Post the cleaning drive the volunteers also painted the area to give the homeless shelter a fresh new look. To beautify the site a little more our team took efforts to clean the surrounding area also. The joyful day was thereby concluded with an interactive conversation and some simple outdoor games with all the kids. The kids enjoyed a lot and so did our entire team of volunteers.

Can Support: As part of Tata Volunteer week, Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi associated with Can Support (NGO) visited Lodhi Garden to spend some quality time with Cancer Kids. As soon as we reached the place, couple of the children ran to some of us and just hugged us (oh what Joy we all felt). We gathered around the kids, asked for their names and introduced ourselves. Despite of pain which they were going through these little kids were full of smiles, without any hassle in the world. Later our volunteers served the kids snacks and they relished the same merrily. Overall it was a heartfelt and warm experience for one and all.

Gurgaon

The Gateway Resort, Damdama Lake Gurgaon organised a Personality Development and Grooming campaign for the staff of Saras Haryana Tourist Complex Damdama. The primary purpose was to make them aware about the importance of personality and grooming and how one can lead a clean, healthy and hygienic life. The efforts were appreciated by the Saras Haryana Tourist Complex Manager and all the Staff members who thanked the Resort Management for the same.

Varkala

The Gateway Hotel Varkala undertook a "Cleanliness Drive". The whole group was divided into two covering the premises near to the hotel & the public road outside the hotel. The initiative continued for couple of hours cleaning the public area followed by serving refreshment drinks for the volunteers.

Udaipur

Taj Lake Palace Udaipur undertook various activities as a part of TVW-3 including

Remembering Late Mr. Jamsetji Tata by showing his autobiography on big screen to the associates. His values & vision were also shared with associates. The chairman – Mr. Cyrus Mistry’s message for the associates was conveyed

An awareness & cleanliness drive was held. Dudh Talai area, outside the hotel premises was cleaned by volunteering associates

Hygiene Camp at the Theosophical society was organised. Sanitizers, masks, cleaning agents were given to the hostel’s adminstration. The children were addressed on hygiene awareness. Fumigation and pest control was done in all the classrooms, hostel, toilets, bathrooms, drainages, etc.

Mumbai

Employees of Tata Motors, Tata Sons, Tata Technologies and Tata Interactive along with some of their families got together and volunteered their time visiting ASTITVA – School for the Specially Abled having more than 400 inmates at Dombivali (East) on 26th March 2015. The School Inmates included deaf, dumb, autistic and mentally challenged children who enthusiastically rendered cultural performances including Human Pyramid Formation, Classical Dance and Instrumental Music especially for the guest volunteers. Mrs. Radhika Gupte, Trustee of ASTITVA spent the entire day with the Tata volunteers and shared inter alia her insights on the challenges in educating, skilling these special children and also mainstreaming them. She also spoke about operational challenges including raising funds, donations for running such a huge not-for-profit organization. The Volunteers interacted with the inmates, staff and expressed their interest to be voluntarily engaged with and to contribute to ASTITVA on sustained basis in myriad meaningful ways. This session was extra special as the youngest volunteer of Tata Volunteering Week 3 at Tata Motors, 11 year old Ms. Jahnvi participated in it, along with her parents and grandmother.

Jamshedpur

Safety & value education: Tata Motors Jamshedpur employees conducted awareness sessions on safety and value education amongst senior students at ABMP School, Rahargora village. Topics ranged from safety practices at home and outside, cultivation of sanitary habits, importance of exercise, rest, education, nutrition to family togetherness. Volunteers were from Engine, ERC and QA Divisions of Tata Motors, Jamshedpur.

Health awareness: Volunteers held health awareness and health check-up camps for children, women, adults and the elderly at Bohradih, Bangora and Damodih villages. Volunteers were from TTL with a retired doctor from Tata Motors, Jamshedpur

Interaction with farmers: Farmers of lift irrigation project implemented by TML at Khursi village had interaction session with volunteers on changes in their quality of life and on financial inclusion followed by interaction with school children. Volunteers were from TML Drivelines.

Pune

Auto Projects – Engine & Gearbox Team: Volunteers visited Gurukulam, an NGO working with children from socio-economically deprived class of society. Gurukulam imparts school education and vocational training in pottery, carpentry, metal work and idol making, basic computer literacy. Team shared short stories with the group which covered the topics like importance of education, health and hygiene, good habits and moral values

P&SC, SCM, CM Stores & CRDO Teams: A team of 57 volunteers from P&SC-SCM-CM Stores and CRDO volunteered for creating Traffic Awareness. Team displayed posters in front of company’s main gate and in Yaswantrao Chowk on March 25, 2015. Team is committed to the cause of Safety and creating awareness on the same.

PVBU: As a part of Tata Volunteering Week-3, VP-Mfg Operations, PVBU spent an evening with children at Manavya. He had detailed interaction with the care taker about the children’s diet, education, medication and rehabilitation plan. Majority of the 51 children are orphans and will be staying with the organisation till the age of 18 yrs and then are expected to be independent. The volunteer had a discussion with them about 'how a car is made'. It was an interactive session, children had amazing questions on how robots are programmed, how a steering wheel gets round shape, how is it mounted, what to do if a fault is detected in the final product, what is the price, how many type of cars Tata Motors produce, why Tata Motors is not manufacturing two wheelers etc. The volunteer informed the group about vocational training facilities available at Tata Motors

Purchase & Supply Chain – CVBU: Team of 65 volunteers visited 'AIM for Seva Trust's an organization dealing with education of poor students and provides home for old age people which is located at Chikili. The school children welcomed the volunteers with a song which was backed by Harmonium & Tabla. Members spent time with the senior people, understanding the laurels they had achieved in their respective professional carriers. The team extended their support to the trust by gifting a musical instrument, distributing fruits to old age inmates and planting the trees in the campus.

Dharwad

Tata Motors Dharwad team undertook a host of activities to celebrate TVW-3. They visited Mahesh Foundation and spend time with HIV affected kids, visited Adarsh Nagar Slum and interacted with slum people also team visited Anganwadi of that area spend time with kids and taken sessions on health and hygiene, organized refractive error camp for school children of Belur, Neeralkatti & Mummigatti, and distributed free spectacles, and organized Eye Camp on 26th March 2015 at Belur

Mumbai

Prayas: What is a school for street children? Children study under the blue sky on the streets and in the gardens. With no one to help them with their studies, Prayas provides these children educational help to understand subjects better. The NGO supports education for nearly 300 children who come every day for a couple of hours to study and also gives them a meal from ISKCON Annamrita. After a weeklong stationery collection drive at the Corporate Office, on 28th March volunteers distributed a large number of pens, pencils, note books, colours and a healthy drink to the children. The volunteers also paid for the school books for 25 Class IX students through the monetary collections.

Prayatna: 8 volunteers from MAD went to Prayatna NGO at Malad where they remarked lost their maturity and enjoyed being kids again.

Helping kids to paint.

Singing songs and doing recital of Poems.

80 sitting chairs were sponsored by TATA-AIG

Snacks (chocolates / Biscuits) were distributed.

YMCA: Tata AIG's team of "Customer services - Operations" patronized the Bombay YMCA Boys home @ Andheri (W). This center currently shelters 67 orphan & underprivileged boys aged 5-16 yrs. The team's motive was to create a super duper fun-filled day for the kids and leave them with a fresh mind thereon. This day named “Jeeyo jee bhar Ke” was really very exciting and fun-filled. The games, drawing sessions then dance and singing that happened was all straight from the heart. The team provided the home with sports equipment and board games, thus creating a Gaming zone. Performances by kids and TAGIC volunteers added spark to the day. The kids were demanding that our volunteers prolong our stay at the venue and await our next visit

Antarang Foundation: Two volunteer trainers from Tata AIG joined hands with Tata Consulting Engineers Skill Building Program for underprivileged youngsters of Antarang Foundation. The volunteers shared with the youth the opportunity to change their lives for the better if they were to become an insurance intermediaries. At the end, the youth showed a lot of enthusiasm and desire to know more. Tata AIG team was thankful to TCE for making them a part of the wonderful project.

Thane

Divya Prabha: Continuing their association with Divya Prabha, an NGO working towards the providing a safe, secure and healthy environment for girls without family support, the core CSR team of Thane Plant proposed a visit to the newly opened Aquarium at Tarapore, Mumbai. This was received very well by the Sisters and teachers and girls at Divya Prabha. The journey to Tarapore was replete with songs, conversations and jokes. We could see that it was an exciting time for the girls of Divya Prabha, with the older girls singing away and the younger girls exclaiming as they spotted an occasional aircraft flying towards the airport, or something unusual on the road catching their attention. Once we were inside, the girls were immersed in observing the various varieties of fishes, exclaiming, pointing out at the colorful fishes, some varieties they were seeing for the first time in their lives. The one hour spent inside the aquarium was indeed filled with awe, wonder, excitement and interest! The exciting day didn't end here as the team returned to the Thane plant and enjoyed a nutritious lunch with the girls followed by Tambola.

TMC Municipal School: 12 volunteers including the families from the Voltas Limited created a Paathshala full of learning & Fun with a Difference at a Municipal School at Kalwa, Thane. There was a drawing competition for the children from Class 1st to 3rd. The most neat, creative drawings were given the prizes. There were no books, no video and power point but had handmade posters to spread the message of hygiene; there was no exam to test the kids on what they had learnt in the class; they came in empty handed but left the class with hand sanitizers, chocolate, colors, stationery items and prizes. We also gifted First Aid Kit & Dettol Hand Wash Kit to the school principal. The volunteers went in with an impression that they would have a difficult time as the children were too young to draw something creative but the participation was pleasantly surprising. Some extremely talented children also gave some solo performances like singing and dancing. A learning experience at both ends as 80 children learnt about daily hygiene precautions to be taken and the volunteers came back happy and enthusiastic to go on to the next mission

Mumbai

Voltas Chinchpokli team undertook a Swine Flu prevention awareness campaign at Shivaji Vidyalaya Municipal School. An ad campaign in the form of a Skit was demonstrated to the 5th & 6th standard children, all the volunteers prepared a small skit on the awareness of Swine Flu. Similar to pin the tail on the donkey, a game was played with the kids wherein they had to pin the bacteria with an injection made out of paper. Few volunteers also conducted a general knowledge quiz with the kids.

Jamshedpur

Voltas, Jamshedpur volunteers visited "Nav Jagarat Manav Samaj -Antyoday Bhavan Jamshedpur", an organization that support 52 persons affected with leprosy. The Volunteers were requested by the management of the organization to distribute mosquito nets to protect the inmates. The volunteers spent quality time with the inmates and distributed mosquito nets and biscuits to each of the members

Dadra

Prathmik Shala – Health & Hygiene: 16 Voltasites of Dadra Plant organized a 3.5 hour long awareness session for underprivileged, school going tribal children at nearby Prathmik Shala Gujrati & English Medium, village Dadra on "First Aid Health & Hygiene". The students were made aware about the Do’s and Don’ts for of H1N1, food poisoning, T.B., sickle cell, health & hygiene, cleanliness, cancer etc. The volunteers also arranged a drawing competition on subject “Global warming, save environment - save earth” amongst 7th & 8th standard students. 21 students participated in the competition. The session witnessed enthusiastic participation from the students and was highly interactive. At the end the volunteers distributed sweets to all school children and mingled with them and spent quality time with them. At the end of visit, all volunteers were left with a feeling of great joy, commitment and responsibility towards society.

Prathik Shala – Computer Basics: 15 Voltasites of Dadra Plant, organized a 3.5 hrs awareness sessions for underprivileged, school going tribal children at nearby Prathmik Shala Gujrati & English Medium on "Basics of Computer". They explained about basics of computer, its main parts, and functions of various important parts, internet browsers, emailing etc. The session witnessed enthusiastic participation from the students and was highly interactive. At the end the volunteers distributed sweets to all school children and mingled with them and spent quality time with them.

Borhat

The volunteers of Borhat chose cleanliness and medical check-up of the children in Bihubor Prathamik Vidyalaya at Bihubor village. The first part of the activity comprised of cleaning and washing the insides of classrooms, kitchen, toilets, office room and cleaning the surroundings of the school. The second part of the programme comprised of Medical Checkup of the children of the school. Health check-up of all the 55 students was carried out by Dr. Ranjan Kumar Das, Medical Officer of the estate.

Diffloo

The volunteers of Diffloo Estate engaged in lime washing of Uria Basti LP school which is located adjacent to the Diffloo Division of the Tea Estate. Some shade plants were also planted by the management & staff members in order to create awareness about the importance of preserving the greenery in the environment.

Hathikuli

The volunteers of Hathikuli Estate carried out the Cleanliness and hygiene drive at the Deering Govt. School. They created awareness by involving themselves in cleaning the school premises to set an example of the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. The volunteers chose to create awareness about the rapidly spreading epidemic- Swine flu and talked about the preventive measures. The team comprised of the management and the Staff.

Kellyden

The volunteers of Kellyden Estate visited an old age home "Aapun Ghor" that is run by an NGO headed by Mrs. Utpala Borah, of Jakhalabandha. The volunteers had taken some fruits, emergency lights, a Carom board and Ludo. The volunteers spent time by interacting with the inmates, sharing their smiles, sorrows and involving them in indoor activities such as playing Ludo and Carom. The inmates were happy and grateful with this simple yet powerful gesture. The medical officer carried out a free medical check-up and advised medicines/tonics. Some medicines were distributed for their well-being.

Chennai

Volunteers (The Dynamic Team) from Tata Communications' Chennai office visited Friends for the Needy – a home for mentally ill, poor women. The volunteers planted saplings, cooked and served food and engaged the 40 women with different entertainment activities like dancing, singing, games etc.