IIMAAA HCCCT
The IIMAAA HCCT was formed with the idea of taking up charitable activities with significant and lasting social impact. The IIMAAA Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust was initiated with a vision to provide holistic, quality education and implement innovative educational initiatives so that every child achieves their full potential. The trust comprises members who are eminent public sector and corporate leaders. Following are few activities that trust enjoyed doing in the past and continue encouraging now too:
IIMA Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust and Udbhav School. IIMA Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust took over the school (facing imminent closure) located in Rasoolpura, a slum area of Hyderabad, designated as a notified slum by the government in April, 2013. The IIMA Alumni are spurred by the vision that all children should have the same opportunities. Their goal is to impart holistic education to every child to make them life ready, to make them good citizens of India. The school was renamed as “Udbhav School” by IIMAAA Hyderabad Chapter Charitable trust. Therefore, the Udbhav management is committed to providing the Udbhav children opportunities and education for their all-round growth and development. Our Vision is to transform the lives of at least 10,000 underprivileged children and them families by 2025. The IIMAAA HCC trust is actively supported in its activities by members of the IIMA Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter (IIMAAA HC).
Cycling – Story
We present to you a personality who took his passion to the next level and made a difference in not only his own life but more notably, in that of others. Jasmeet Gandhi, a Mumbai-based techie who has worked in companies like Microsoft, as well as a cycling enthusiast took his passion for cycling and developed it into something bigger. Jasmeet Gandhi began organizing his annual cyclothon since 2014 known as Umeed 1000; a 1000-kilometre distance trail in which he aimed to generate funds for causes such as, treatment of children with eye-cancer and education of the underprivileged girls in India, through attracting more participants and sponsors to join and support him. A runner initially, he switched on to cycling due to a knee injury. Running to cycle to support a cause of your choice Jasmeet: Actually my wife in a big way was instrumental in that decision. Working as the head of CSR at the Bank, she came across promoters who were interested in cycling. As I was too at the time, she put the two together and said, “Okay, let’s do something around this.” We discussed the idea and came up with the concept of raising money for different causes via organizing a cyclothon and attaining funds from sponsors. That was how the idea for Umeed 1000 came about. The first ride was in 2014 and we supported the treatment for children with eye cancer.
Jasmeet Singh Gandhi
A personality who took his passion to the next level and made a difference in not only his own life but more notably, in that of others. Jasmeet Gandhi, a Mumbai-based techie who has worked in companies like Microsoft, as well as a cycling enthusiast took his passion for cycling and developed it into something bigger. A cycling enthusiast, Jasmeet has been in the tech product and marketing space for over two decades. Worked in organizations like rediff.com, Nokia and Microsoft. He is Passionate about supporting social cause especially in the areas of education and healthcare. UMEED1000 Cyclothon concept designer, initiator & custodian to combine his passion for cycling and social cause Active Rotarian and also runs Sneh Foundation which focuses on geriatric care Raised over 2.8 Crore INR in the last three years to support various cause by organizing and participating in various social events. He is a keen tennis player with love to travel and loves to indulge in photography. Jasmeet’s Experience in his Words Started with solo in 2014 and increase to 4 cyclists in 2015, 12 in 2016 and finally 15 in 2017. It was very different. The first year was a whole new challenge for me as I had no similar prior experience. It was physically and mentally very tough. Also, the fact that we had not gone in a cool month and it was very hot, also the terrain being unfamiliar, made it even more difficult. However, it was all about managing myself; as I had done it solo the first year. The second year there were 3 more, of which 1 was a pro which was quite helpful as he helped set the pace for the other 2. So, from solo to 4, we had the additional responsibility of taking care of them. Challenges faced in cycling There are lots of challenges we faced. Two out of three years it rained. Once we had to take a detour off the main road due to construction and were stuck on non-paved damaged dirt tracks. We are always under the premise that anything can happen. The weather, terrain, road conditions and traffic sense all play a big part. Rajasthan, for example, consisted of a lot of uphill cycling where we encountered tractors driving on the wrong side of the road as well as cattle, even camels, in our way. Managing the full-time job As a matter of fact, companies like Microsoft are quite supportive and place emphasis on giving back socially. The moment you start doing big impactful things, the other small things we think were big earlier do not actually have so much of an effect on your life anymore. I think that’s the biggest takeaway in your work life as well as personal life; you start to worry less about the petty things and that can make you a very spiritually aware person. You look at the bigger picture and are ready to understand where other people are coming from. Advice given by Jasmeet to others who have same passion Start with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude is not something that can be forced on anybody, it comes from within. The moment you discover that feeling then it is just a matter of how you plan to go about it. No matter how small or big your cause is, even to start with impacting one persons’ life is good enough. But the most important thing is to really get off the ground and do it. A lot of us come up with ideas, but barely of us really execute it. In the spur of the moment, you need do it, not just think about it. As Jasmeet Gandhi, the man behind the Umeed 1000 concludes; the idea is only the initial step. Whether it is in terms of following your passion, supporting a cause or even doing the two at the same time we want to inspire you to take it further and go take the first step. Build your passion and become part of the community.
Article on RBL
RBL bank brings to you the 4th edition of Umeed 1000 Cyclothon at Hyderabad to Vishakhapatnam via Tirupati to spread awareness and raise funds for the education of underprivileged young girls. The journey will be led by Mr Jasmeet Singh Gandhi to raise awareness and funds for Udbhav school supporting the education of less privileged girl child the girl child is the future of our world and providing her with the best education and with equitable opportunities is an endeavour that is very dear to us. The cyclothon was flagged off from RBL Bank Madhapur, Hyderabad on December 5 and will reach Vishakhapatnam via Tirupati, on December 15. RBL's head of human resource, CSR and internal branding Shanta Vallury Gandhi said, "We strongly believe that educating girls gives them equal rights and opportunities and empowers them to change society at large. Girl child education is imperative for positive change in society and thereby be recognised as equal contributors in all walks of life. This initiative is in line with RBL banks' core philosophy of "Apno Ka Bank''. As part of its CSR activity, RBL has identified Udbhav School, located in a slum colony in Hyderabad to provide quality and holistic education to 549 underprivileged children, of whom 53 per cent are girls. The school is managed by the IIMAA Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust (IIMAAA HCCT). |