Annual Report 2015-16

VLS Record at a Glance

Background: The DISCON Vocational Loan Scholarship (VLS) Project was started in the Rotary year 2010-11 during the Presidentship of Milind Kanekar. Since then, with the generous donations from our members and others, the number of students has reached 68 and the total amount has crossed Rs. 64 Lacs.

Year 2015-16:

This year proved to be extraordinary one as the project achieved many new milestones.

· CSR DONATIONS RECEIVED: Since the beginning of the project, we had an objective of getting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) donation to further this cause. We are very happy that we could achieve it this year. 2 donations under CSR were received totaling Rs.5,50,000/-

· Donation of Rs.5,00,000/- was received from Play Games 24X7 Pvt. Ltd. We sincerely thank Shri. Malaykumar Shukla and Directors of the company for their generosity. We look forward to their long term association with the project.

· Donation of Rs.50,000/- was received from Banyan Tree Advisers Pvt. Ltd. We sincerely thank Shri. Jigar Shah and other Directors of the company for their generosity. We look forward to their long term association with the project.

· Rtn. Ravindra Ranade (RC Badlapur Industrial Area), was, as usual a great help in reaching the students through different newspapers. Shri. Shrikant Sawant of Loksatta, gave very good coverage to the project. The result was that we received record number of more than 250 applications.

· Smt. Vandana Dharkar a Senior Citizen from Thane, read about the project in Loksatta and spontaneously sent her donation to us.

· Shri Hemant Veera of Asiqui Shoes (with the help of Rtn. Nilesh Chheda) graciously made their shop available as a Collection Centre for the application forms. Since it is located very near to Mulund Railway Station, it was very accessible and convenient for the students.

· The received forms were scrutinized and 45 Students were called for interviews on 23^rd August 2016 at SMPR High School, Mulund. Lot of our members, including newly joined ones, participated in the interview process.

· 21 Students were finally selected for receiving the scholarship at the cost of more than Rs.9,10,000/-. Combined with the requirement of earlier students, the total fund requirement crossed Rs.24 Lac.

Following points were also taken care of, when selecting the students.

· Variety of Vocational Streams (Not Just Engineering or Medicine)

· Different durations of Courses (1, 1.5, 2,3 and 4 years)

· Academic Record was not the only criteria. Overall family background and suitability for assistance was considered.

· Preference was given to courses with normal fees (rather than courses where fees was quite high), so that more number of students can be accommodated.

A list of these students was prepared and circulated among the Club Members. Their response was generous and spontaneous. Within a few days of the announcement, the amount of promised donations, exceeded the target.

The students were handed over the Scholarships, during our club meeting on 29^th September 2015. District Governor Subhash Kulkarni was the Chief Guest of the function.

A get together of all our VLS students was held on 19^th June 2016. It was hosted by our VLS Committee Member Rtn. Hanskumar Shah and held at his new office in Mulund. Shri. Inder Pal Singh, Ex-President of Godrej was the Chief Guest. It was attended by many of our members.

Some more Milestones in 2015-16:

· Many students from the First VLS batch completed their education. They have joined employment and started repayment. These students are Babu Teli, Shrutika Vernekar, Avinash Abhale, Nisha Patil, Rajashree Salunke, Darshana Kadam, Prachi Mahadik, Archit Lad.

· Sonam Howal completed her repayment during the year. She was felicitated at the get together.

· Total cumulative repayment crossed Rs.4,00,000/- during the year.

· Lavanya Gawandalkar completed Diploma in Civil Engineering with 9.5 Pointer (Equivalent to 95%). She has now joined VJTI for degree course.

· Total Cumulative Funding provided to students under DISCON VLS Project so far has crossed Rs.64 Lac.

· We also received a special Grant of Rs.75,000/-from the Rotary District 3140. Special Thanks to DG Subhash Kulkarni.

The Road Ahead:

At the end of 5 year term, the VLS committee can look back with satisfaction to the way the project has progressed. A new committee will take charge of this project from Rotary Year 2016-17. With the help of members and other donors, we will soon reach Rs.1 Crore mark for total funding. We thank all the members of Rotary Club of Mulund for their active help and support. The project is a shining example of what wonders we can achieve by joining our hands. It exemplifies our theme this year “Be a Gift to the World”