“Corporate philanthropy is a vital component of a welfare state like India. The year 2020 has been an unprecedented one and challenging across sectors, as a global health crisis brought all of humanity to a virtual standstill. These difficult times have changed the way organizations operate, and we have now started adapting to the new emerging socio-economic order.
During this pandemic, the role of CSR became are relevant than ever as corporates played a crucial role and supported the nation in getting through the challenging times. The focus was to ensure continued support to the communities, re-strategize frameworks to carry out the pre-decided activities in the new context and work collaboratively with States as per prescribed guidelines, to contribute towards the fight against the novel coronavirus.
HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies along with partner NGOs, significantly ramped up its efforts to mitigate the humanitarian crisis through a larger strategy focussing on Relief, Restoration and Build-Back. Under the aegis of HCL Uday, HCL Foundation’s urban flagship program, a series of initiatives were carried out. The organization launched a mobile awareness drive to make families aware of COVID-19 and supported communities through Food & Nutrition by linking them to government supplies. Setting up child-friendly COVID-19 ward, Fever screening camps, campaigns on breastfeeding, Uday Shalas – an initiative to create inclusive community learning spaces to ensure education to the unreached and an academic and well-being support helpline for students and youth were some innovative initiatives launched by HCL Foundation keeping in mind the current scenario. HCL Foundation also supplied contraceptives to communities and safety kits for frontline workers. To support the elderly during this difficult time, a Mobile Healthcare Unit was introduced in association with HelpAge India. Special focus was given to vulnerable groups, including care for cancer patients and micro-nutrient support HIV positive children. HCL Foundation also worked to support welfare and care of animals and wildlife during the pandemic.
The organization also strengthened its efforts towards environment conservation and took meaningful action toward combating climate change. A better planet with all people achieving peace and prosperity is at the heart of HCL culture. Through our flagship initiatives—HCL Samuday, HCL Grant targeting rural geographies, and HCL Uday and Clean Noida in urban geographies—the HCL Foundation has positively impacted over 16 lakh human lives, spanning 20 states and two union territories of India.
It was the commitment and resilience of our communities, teams and partners that helped us stay afloat, navigate through the situation, and keep our efforts sustained. Going forward, I feel that organizations must start becoming more conscious about environment and sustainability concerns while carrying out their projects. At HCL Foundation, we remain committed to addressing the socio-economic concerns while focusing on ecosystem conservation and sustainable practices. CSR programs have the potential to bring value to the business as well as the society if done in an organized manner. By aligning corporate citizenship efforts with revenue-generating activities, we can ensure that our CSR programs are strategic and sustainable.”
