With the Covid-19 pandemic pushing underprivileged populations into further food insecurity, Embassy Group and SVB Global Services India LLP (SVB), a non-banking subsidiary of SVB Financial Group, have mobilised their resources to support those affected. Taking steps towards mitigating the harmful impacts of Covid-19 through the provision of dry rations, Embassy was joined by SVB to conduct ration distributions to more than 2,000 families, which include migrant workers and daily wage workers, of Government School students.
As a part of Embassy’s Corporate Connect Program, a unique initiative for collaboration in the CSR space, the Group has undertaken Covid-19 food relief projects worth 1 Cr. in partnership with two Corporates. SVB sponsored the dry rations with Embassy Group and their NGO partner Bangalore North Round Table Trust was responsible for project management and execution.
Along with the rations, Embassy Group provided a preventative hygiene kit with reusable cloth masks, soaps, handwash, oral hygiene products and more, and a poster on basic health awareness and Covid-19 related Do’s and Don’ts were distributed to each child. This is the third round of rations distributions that Embassy has undertaken for Government School students, having previously conducted a first round in April and a second round in May.
Having partnered with 21 corporates for 41 projects since the inception of the Corporate Connect Program, Embassy aims to close the gaps for Bangalore’s underprivileged children by harnessing the support of its business parks’ corporate tenants, empowering Government School students. SVB approached Embassy to partner on a project that would provide much-needed support to those continuing to suffer due to the pandemic. As part of SVB’s commitment of $5.5 million to support local, regional and global activities focused on health, food security and shelter, and small business owners’ relief, SVB has extended its relief efforts in Bangalore.
Through this collaboration towards amplifying the response to Covid-19, Embassy has been able to provide 5.68 lakh meals till date, of which 3.77 lakh meals have been delivered to Government School students and their families alone.
Aditya Virwani, Chief Operating Officer, Embassy Group, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the lost livelihoods and disruptions necessitated by the National Lockdown have pushed our poor and vulnerable populations into an extremely challenging situation. We are extremely honoured to be able to play a role in supporting those in need through the provision of more than 5 lakh meals to date. We were able to expand our interventions and do more by collaborating with our corporate partner, SVB – to whom we are very grateful for joining hands with us. With positive cases continuing to increase, we invite more organizations to join us to empower under-privileged communities who have suffered the most during this pandemic and national lockdown.”
Dimple Martin, Workplace Business Partner and Lead-CSR, SVB Global Services India LLP, said “Many underprivileged people in communities around us continue to suffer from pandemic-related hardships, particularly from answering the question of how to sustain themselves during these exceptionally difficult times. In our small way to help alleviate this, it was a pleasure to embark on this meaningful partnership with Embassy. We appreciate their support in procuring items for ration kits and conducting a successful distribution to 2,000 marginalized families across 7 Government Schools. We were pleased to find a corporate with a similar mandate to deliver solutions to vulnerable communities still being tested by the crisis.”
