‘UMEED 1000’ Cyclothon, a novel initiative by RBL Bank to contribute and raise funds in support of girl child education was flagged off today at the Bank’s Lower Parel branch. A total of 127 participants, including 52 RBL Bank employees, who were selected after a qualifier round, have formed teams and will be cycling for 1000 kms each, over a span of 14 days.
A charity challenge by RBL Bank, ‘Donate Miles to Educate-Support Girl Child’ went on from October 2nd to November 15th, where employees of RBL Bank and their families walked, ran or cycled to donate miles and support girl child education. These miles were monetised by the scale of every 1km=Rs. 10.
Moreover, on the festive occasion of Diwali, the scale was elevated with 5x rewards for the donated miles, so that every 1km=Rs. 50. So far, through the charity challenge the funds successfully raised till date by participants equal to the amount of Rs. 35 lakh. The Bank has pledged to match the donation raised from this event 1:1 and fund the cause. Thus till date, Rs. 70 lakh has been successfully raised for Udbhav RBL School after RBL Bank’s matching contribution.
This figure is only set to continue rising as having received overwhelming response in participation, RBL Bank has re-opened Donate Miles to Educate-Support Girl Child charity challenge from 27th November to 11th December, 2020 to continue alongside the Umeed1000 Cyclothon. Over 1500 children have already been impacted by this initiative over the years.
Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL Bank said, “The unprecedented times have not dampened the human spirit of endurance and the endeavour to move forward. This is the time to rise above the challenges and build a better future for the less advantaged. With UMEED 1000 Cyclothon, we continue to forge ahead, to create awareness and raise funds in support of girl child education.”
Shanta Vallury Gandhi, Head – HR, CSR and Internal Branding at RBL Bank added, “With UMEED 1000 Cyclothon, our flagship CSR initiative, our commitment to support girl child education is getting stronger each year. In 2019 we adopted Udbhav RBL School in Fatehnagar, Hyderabad. This year, with our 7th edition we are pioneering the execution of this event even in the trying times of COVID-19, while complying with all safety norms, ensuring that our endeavor to create a better future for the girls of our country, continues. At RBL Bank, we consider our contribution to the society as an essential part of our core values. The unwavering support of our employees, customers and partners is a testimony of our commitment towards the community and its impact.”
T. Muralidharan, Chairman Fundraising – Udbhav School, run by IIMAAAHC Trust said, “We are extremely happy that UMEED 1000 Cyclothon has evolved with time and is really making great strides despite the pandemic. The cyclothon this year is a very different, very unique model which has really taken the traditional Cyclothon model to a much higher level. The revised model & commitment of RBL bank to run the Cyclothon is a great benefit to the children of Udbhav RBL School, this will help us to scale to 10 schools as fast as possible’.
