Godrej gets for giving

For its contribution toward raising funds at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012 held on January 15, 2012, Godrej and Boyce received two awards — the corporate with the second highest employee contribution of Rs 10.08 lakh, and the highest number of donors, 2,840 — reveals a press release received by Parsiana from Godrej Express, an internal news service which aims to update Godrejites about initiatives that are helping build a brighter future.

(From l) Mohan Ghadge, Nariman Bacha, Sumeet Singla and O. P. Gupta at the prize distribution

The awards were given by United Way of Mumbai, Procam International and Standard Chartered Bank at a charity press conference held at the Trident Hotel in Bombay on March 27, 2012. Anil Deshmukh, minister for food and civil supplies in the government of Maharashtra and Dr Indu Shahani, then sheriff of Bombay were chief guests. The awards were received on behalf of Godrej and Boyce by Nariman Bacha, assistant general manager-administration and Mohan Ghadge, manager-welfare, from Sumeet Singla, regional head, Standard Chartered Bank and O. P. Gupta, managing director of BEST (Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking).

Godrej had participated in the Marathon for the fifth consecutive time this year, supporting three NGOs (nongovernmental organizations): ALERT India (for the care of leprosy patients), Vat­salaya Trust (taking care of orphaned/destitute children) and Republican Sports Club (where veteran hockey coach Merzban Patel trains underprivileged children). Rs 7,00,000 was donated as participation fees for 50 employees. A pledge raising appeal made by Anil G. Verma, executive director and head, personnel and administration, requesting employees at the Vikhroli campus and all branches to donate any amount to support these three causes received an overwhelming response the press release notes, with the collection amounting to Rs 10,08,400 this year as compared to the Rs 6,10,565 raised last year.