SPJIMR: Social Impact Awards 2009

The Social Impact Awards were instituted to recognize and appreciate those success stories in the social sector which reflect the interdependencies of business practice and showcase their impact on society. Every year the theme is different and it is our endeavor to address some of them through the suggestions of a panel discussion and some through our DOCC projects.

The Center for Development of Corporate Citizenship (DOCC) at SPJIMR organizes Social Impact Awards every year to recognize the best projects/work implemented by the NGO’s working in diverse fields, which have substantially impacted the society.

This year, DOCC decided to recognize some such stories of senior citizens and salute their efforts. Keeping this in mind, the theme of SIA for this year was ‘Honouring the elderly’ and SPJIMR partnered with ‘Harmony for Silvers Foundation’ which has been doing commendable work in the field of senior citizens for more than a decade.

SPJIMR leveraged on the Harmony database for selection of the awardees. Out of the 60 entries received from all over the country, an eminent jury shortlisted 15, out of which top applicants from Maharashtra were considered by us for Social Impact Awards.

About 150 Senior Citizens from 30 organizations participated in the event along with the SPJIMR participants and Faculty

Dr. Snehalata Deshmukh , Ex-Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, graced the occasion as the chief guest of the event and presented the awards to winners Jayant Desai, Suhas Mangalvedhekar and Ramesh Arnalkar. Prof. S G Chitale Director Education, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Andheri Campus was Guest of Honour.

Social Impact Award 2009 winners are:

Jayant Desai, 74, Mumbai: Jayant Desai, along with a couple has worked immensely for tribal welfare. With donations and personal contribution, they have set up a residential high school in Dharmapur and an old age home.

Ramesh Arnalkar, 60, Pune: Ramesh Arnalkar goes from one village to other helping poor farmers by lending his tractor free of cost to plough acres of land in villages.

Suhas Mangalvedhekar, 55, Kolhapur: Suhas Mangalvedhekar spends a large part of his time visiting caves in around his native town Kolhapur in search of colonies of bats. In urban areas, bats eat mosquitoes and help keep the menace in check. They are also a source of seed dspersal and pollination at night. So far, he has detected five bat species in Kolhapur.

The event was inaugurated by the traditional Lighting of Lamp followed by a Prayer Song

In his Inaugural Address Dr. Sesha Iyer, Director SPJIMR spoke about the concept of Social Impact Award in the context of education.

SIA 2009 also included a panel discussion on ‘Economic Security and Dignity’. This discussion was planned with the intention of providing a backdrop of the current situation of the elderly, and discuss the different programs being implemented for them and the various alternatives for their livelihood.

The esteemed panelists included John Thattil, former Director of Helpage and currently Director of Habitat for Humanity;Anagha Tendulkar, a sociologist currently working in the broad area of Social Gerontology; Vijay Aundhe, Secretary FESSCOM and Abhay Mokhashi , Senior journalist.

Prof. A.B. Kulkarni, SPJIMR faculty member, Marketing Department moderated the discussion.

The event had a Cultural Programme by senior citizens. Navanita Parmar, aged 61, gave a Bharatnatyam dance recital which was followed by a play -‘Aakhiri Mausam’ directed by Mujeeb Khan and performed by senior citizens from ‘Silver Innings’.The Dance performance by Silvers of ‘Harmony Interactive Centre’ had everyone in the auditorium participating.

In her Keynote Address, Chief Guest,Dr.Snehalata Deshmukh, Ex Vice Chancellor,Mumbai University, spoke about bridging the generation gap and how the two generations - the young child, and the older adult - impact on each other.

The Award Ceremony had presentations on the work done by the three Award Winners. Jayant Desai’s acceptance speech showed the young at heart spirit. Ramesh Arnalkar spoke with passion about his efforts to handle the issue of farmer suicides. The Chief Guest for the evening, Dr Snehalata Deshmukh gave away the Awards.

The program ended with refreshments where networking was at its peak.