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Vodafone raises Rs. 10 mn for education of girls

India Blooms News Service | | May 13, 2014, at 11:24 pm

#Vodafone raises Rs. 10 mn for education of girls # Vodafone raises Rs. 10 mn for education of girls

New Delhi, May 13 (IBNS): Telecommunications service provider, Vodafone India recently raised more than Rs. 10 million to facilitate education of over 47,000 out-of-school girls through the 'Giving Championships' campaign run by the Vodafone Foundation.

Over 12,000 Vodafone India employees, along with their family and friends participated to raise funds for 8 weeks for NGO partner Educate Girls to enable young girls (6-14 years) in Ajmer, Bundi and Rajsamand districts in Rajasthan to go back to school for one academic year.

The 'Giving Championships' bolster the ‘World of Difference’ (WOD) programme in India, a flagship initiative run by the Vodafone Foundation globally.

In its third season in India, the WOD programme had 33 highly skilled Vodafone employees, identified after a rigorous selection process, working with 29 NGOs for a period of 8 weeks to address women related issues in India.

WOD taps into the skills, expertise and passion of employees and enables them to take time out from their regular jobs and work for a charity of their choice.

The employees continue to receive their salary and all related benefits from Vodafone India throughout the WOD Programme.

Handing over the contribution cheque, Marten Pieters, Managing Director and CEO, Vodafone India said, "The Giving Championships is the Vodafone way of supporting the commendable work being done by select colleagues participating in the World of Difference programme."

Pieters said, "All our employees participated to raise funds this year to support the common cause of educating girls. I am especially delighted that our collective efforts have helped in substantially surpassing the target of supporting 30,000 girls that we had set for ourselves and we will be sending thousands of more young girls back to school."

Highlighting the programme’s success, Rohit Adya, Director External Affairs, Vodafone India said, "This year, the Giving Championships in just over a month has achieved strong numbers."

Adya said, "Vodafone’s robust network of 454 exclusive retail stores also raised funds and created awareness about girl child education through the sale of special school-themed ZooZoo and Zumi merchandise. I am pleased that through our combined efforts, we were able to successfully raise a record amount."

Receiving the cheque, Educate India, Founder and Executive Director Safeena Husain said, "It is indeed very heartening to have a corporation of Vodafone’s stature support Educate Girls."

Husain said, "Vodafone Foundation’s World of Difference program has helped Educate Girls Immensely with fundraising and capacity building at the field level. Vodafone’s contribution will go a long way as Educate Girls attempts to impact 7,500 schools and almost 1 million children in the underserved gender gap districts of Rajasthan."

Speaking on the occasion, Dhaval Udani, CEO, GiveIndia, that provided the fundraising platform for the Giving Championships, said, "Congratulations to Vodafone for running one of the largest fund raising campaigns in Corporate India by creatively engaging its employees, customers and its various stakeholders."

Udani added, "GiveIndia is proud to partner on this initiative through our fundraising expertise and donation platform as Vodafone's charity partner. We aimed to significantly go beyond the target that Vodafone set for itself and were happy to go well beyond that. "

Through its Foundation, which focuses primarily on Women Empowerment, the Giving Championships will enable girls to access education for one year.

Vodafone wished all the girls a successful life ahead.

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