The launch of the Million Hours Program by Chairman Shashi Ruia was a landmark initiative for Essar Foundation. Through this program, the Foundation encourages employees to take out time from their work schedules and volunteer in community service.
Working closely with NGOs and self-help groups, employees offer their skills and knowledge in different fields, such as education, environment and health. Every hour of volunteering contributed by an employee adds to the set target of achieving one million hours of meaningful community service at the end of the year.
Employee volunteering continues to be one of the prime initiatives of Essar Foundation in Vadinar. On August 31, 2013, the Foundation marked the first anniversary of the initiative in a grand way with the title: “Towards million hours – celebrating one year of employee volunteering”. The event brought Essarite volunteers together, wherein their contributions were acknowledged and felicitated. Those employees who have consistently volunteered five times or more were awarded a trophy by Mr Lalit Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Essar Oil Limited. He was joined by senior officials of Essar and Mr Deepak Arora CEO, Essar Foundation. A brochure on employee volunteering was officially unveiled at the event. 
An international team of five officials from IBM Global, who volunteered with Essar Foundation for a month, was also present at the celebration. Others from IBM included Mr Jatin Meswani, Associate Director, Services and Ms Mamtha Sharma, Head of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM India. The experience shared by the volunteers from IBM Global from nine different countries enriched the day. Special mementos were presented to the five members of the IBM Global team felicitating their efforts in undertaking a rigorous needs assessment and strategies for improving the quality of education in schools, with special focus on English language.
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