SACHIN & AISHWARYA LEAD
Funds to help revitalize 272 schools by providing access to toilets, playground and other basic amenities in rural and semi-urban schools; The
For the first time ever, the 12 hour Support My School Telethon was LIVE streamed on Sachin Tendulkar’s Facebook page (which is the world’s biggest Cricketing Community with 9.2 million people) www.facebook.com/sachin.tendulkar and video sharing website YouTube.
Atul Singh, President and CEO,
The Telethon, which marked the culmination of a 6-month long fundraising drive, witnessed participation from eminent celebrities and garnered support from corporate houses, NGOs, students and individuals
Major donors for the initiative included Campaign Ambassador Sachin tendulakar (Rs. 10 Lakh),Actors Aishwarya Rai Bachan(Rs. 10 Lakh), Ajay Devgan & Kajol (Rs.10 Lakh), Tetra Pak (Rs.20 Lakh), UN-Habitat (Rs.94 Lakh), Hindustan
NGOs Plan and World vision, partners of the campaign, pledged to raise funds to support 50 more schools apart from 50 which are already being revitalized
Edition 1 of Support My School revitalized over 100 schools in rural and semi-urban areas across 10 states, touching the lives of over 43,000 students; Campaign has helped reduce absenteeism and increase enrollment in the revitalized schools, especially amongst girls.
Mumbai/Delhi, 4th February, 2013: The fundraising efforts of
Sachin Tendulkar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, led the 12-hour telethon which raised funds and pledges for the revitalization of schools. The pledges raised for Season 2 are twice the amount raised for season 1 of the Support My School Campaign. The campaign in its two seasons has collectively raised nearly Rs. 20 crores through the telethon.
For the first time ever, the 12 hour Support My School Telethon was also LIVE streamed on Sachin Tendulkar’s Facebook page (which is the world’s biggest Cricketing Community with 9.2 million people) and also on video sharing website, YouTube. This allowed viewers who don’t have access to TV to use their handheld devices, log onto Sachin’s Facebook page and donate generously towards making a positive difference in the lives of the students across the country.
The second edition of the Support My School Telethon, held at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, was kickeded off by Atul Singh, President and CEO,
The leading donors to the campaign were Tetra Pak, SRF Foundation and UN-Habitat. One of the major supporters of the campaign, Hindustan
The telethon was also supported by political leaders from across the county, such as Priya Dutt, Shashi Tharoor and Bhupender Singh Hooda. Several Celebrities including Anil Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Kailash Kher, Ayushmann Khurrana, Shweta Tiwari, Sushant Singh, Cyrus Broacha, Boman Irani also offered support and joined the telethon. Ajay Devgan and Kajol, who contributed in the first year also, joined in year 2 to help support the cause. Celebrities across India supported the cause by joining hands to spread the word and offer opportunities to children in rural schools. Popular superstar, Nagarjuna presented films by his school AISFM along with children of the rural schools of Hyderabad region. PT Usha travelled to rural Sonepat as part of the Speedstar campaign to unearth athletic talent for India.
Speaking at the event, Campaign Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar said, “Telethon 2013 has once again been an overwhelming experience with higher levels of enthusiasm and support for the Support My School campaign than ever before. The campaign is very close to my heart and I am delighted at the response we have received this time from individuals and corporations alike. Congratulations to
Speaking about the campaign and
Vikram Chandra, CEO, NDTV said, “It has been a long and fruitful journey with Support My School, over the last two years. As a platform which brings together different corporate houses, NGOs, groups and many supporters from across the globe, this campaign has proved to be a great learning experience. Support My School has travelled all over the country to change the landscape of education in rural and semi-urban India and we are proud to have accomplished revitalization in over 100 schools on this path. At NDTV, we have always been involved with social causes and aim to activate our viewers by creating awareness and encouraging participation. We are grateful to everyone who has provided us support and helped spread the cause of this campaign to others.”
Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who led the telethon along with Sachin Tendulkar said, “Joining the Support My School Team on this platform today truly gives me great pleasure. I believe education is immensely invaluable, essential and the most empowering gift we can give the children of our Country. Every child deserves the best of opportunities to grow and prosper. Every girl needs to recognize that she herself is a beacon of hope and has the potential to influence her future. I understand and recognize that for this to be possible these opportunities have to be made available to our children. In a vast country like India, there are many and varied challenges one faces while working with diverse rural and semi-urban communities. Individually, we may not comprehend these challenges, but collectively we are much stronger. The overwhelming response to the campaign this time has proven that. With 272 schools and counting, the Second Season of
About Support My School
Coca-Cola joined hands with NDTV to launch Support My School in association with UN-Habitat. Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), Worldvision, Plan, Pearson Foundation, Tata Teleservices. It undertakes the following core activities:
Provision of improved access to water
Appropriate sanitation facility for girls and boys
Improvement in the overall infrastructure and environment
Provision for sports and recreation facilities
Recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting
With such necessary amenities in place, schools are able to provide a cleaner and healthier environment more conducive to learning.
Education in rural India suffers from several issues where lack of sanitation is a key reason for absenteeism and dropouts amongst students. This is especially noted in young girls who are forced to quit as they enter adolescence due to a lack of clean and functional toilets. Children are also likely to fall sick more often without clean water to drink or to wash hands. Support My School endeavours to eliminate this basic concern by spreading the initiative across the country with the help of campaign partners to execute the same.
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