IBLF partners with Apeejay Surrendra for a first-of-its-kind, national volunteering award in India
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) May 10, 2011 - The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) is the knowledge partner for Apeejay Surrendra Group’s National Award to recognize excellence in volunteering, bringing global volunteering and awards experience to the newly launched initiative.
The Apeejay India Volunteer Awards (IVA) 2011 is a first-of-its-kind, annual national recognition around rewarding volunteering and volunteer engaging corporates and NGOs across India. It will take place in association with IBLF and i-Volunteer, an initiative running centers in Indian cities for locally based volunteering.
The Awards aim to identify champions in volunteering in India, raise awareness about the area and drive volunteering as a mainstream interest amongst Indians. They hold a special significance in its commencement this year as the UN is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteering (IYV) globally in 2011.
Joe Phelan, IBLF's India Country head said: "International companies report high levels of enthusiasm for volunteering by employees in India, but only a few Indian companies have organised programmes. The Apeejay India Volunteer Awards will celebrate and share inspiring examples for adoption by more companies and more employees. "
The Awards will be given to individuals, corporates and NGOs, and categories include:
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Volunteer of the Year award (with the sub category of Youth Volunteer of the Year for an individual below 25 years of age)
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Employee Volunteering Programme of the Year (to a corporate that has an employee volunteering programme)
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Volunteer involving NGO of the Year (to an organisation that has excellent policies and practice of involving volunteers in their organization)
The competition will be held regionally across four zones of India, including Mumbai, with shortlisted candidates being eligible for the national round of selections and a grand finale held in August 2011 in New Delhi. The judging panel comprises IBLF’s Joe Phelan; Farida Lambay, Founder and Trustee of NGO ‘Pratham’; Subhadra Anand, CEO, Save The Children; Shweta Gopalachari, Founder of Toybank; Shalabh Sahai, Founder and Director, iVolunteer and Renu Kakkar, VP, Corporate Communications, Apeejay Surrendra Group.
Renu Kakkar, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Apeejay Surrendra Group said: “This Centenary initiative takes Apeejay Surrendra Group’s commitment to, and engagement with, the community to the next level. In 2009, we approved an employee volunteering programme under the banner of Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) by which employees could undertake volunteering work. Apeejay IVA will strengthen our connection with the community and inspire the entire nation more to join the force of change as volunteers.”
Related links
Watch: A video of IBLF talking about innovation in India
IBLF Blog: 'India's difficulty with being good' by Joe Phelan
Selected highlights from ongoing press coverage about the Awards:
To get the latest updates on the Awards, click here
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