Reynolds India – On a Mission to Educate and Empower Young India

0
1415

Rajat Vohra

As a brand that evokes nostalgia and has been in the lives of students and working professionals as far as memory goes, we, at Reynolds, understand our responsibility towards the citizens of India. Our social responsibility begins with our people first and then extends to all our external stakeholders. With a strong foothold and position in India’s writing instruments industry, we are leveraging our reach to help the underserved and underprivileged children living in the remotest parts of our country. 

We are committed to our sustainable responsibility of building and extending our support to those in need by playing a key role as an enabler of social empowerment through our continuous efforts. Our sustainability and social initiatives at Reynolds span across multiple causes. However, supporting education is of special importance for us since the category in which we operate is closely related to this field. Access to education can create a significant impact and help our nation progress faster. 

We started with our initiative of donating writing instruments and stationery products to underprivileged children in July this year with the help of our NGO partners. The initiative aims to prepare children to learn and succeed with free school supplies such as pens and stationery across the country. As we progress, the hope is to do much more by additionally supporting all that a child needs to empower themselves and be ready to fly when they enter the real world. 

At Reynolds, we opt for causes we care for, and hence, we do it not as a mandate but as an initiative that creates an impact and helps in the progress of the underserved communities of our nation.

Assistance to the underprivileged is provided through trusted channels at Reynolds to ensure our contribution reaches those in need. We are associated with multiple prominent social organisations across India including Nepali School, Goonj, Samerth Charitable Trust, Swami Vivekanand, Udaavi School, Shiksha Bharti, Vidya Vinaya Sabha Gurukul, and Lila Poonawala Trust to contribute writing instruments for underprivileged children. Additionally, we have also partnered with NGOs including CRY, SPARSH, Lila Poonawala Foundation, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana, Prayatna Sanstha, and Doaba Vikas Evam Utthan Samiti – DVUS. Recently, we have also partnered with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and made 2.5 units donations for students studying at BMC schools across Mumbai. We believe that there are various ways of contributing to a student’s education. Through this initiative, we can reach and tap the eagerness of the child to write using our quality products. 

At Reynolds, we opt for causes we care for, and hence, we do it not as a mandate but as an initiative that creates an impact and helps in the progress of the underserved communities of our nation.

We have recently begun our donating activity, and this has been the first year for us. In a short period, we have successfully reached over 14 lakh school children. We are planning to scale it to another three to five lakhs by the end of this year. We strongly believe that the pen is mightier than the sword as knowledge is true empowerment, and material limitations should not be a hurdle when it comes to academics. Therefore, we are working towards enabling the underserved to achieve their true potential. 

Seeing the positive impact of our initiatives motivates us to undertake more of these activities and alleviate underserved children on an even larger scale. The ultimate reward for us would be to see these children and their families prosper, through the written word, with Reynolds being there, having played an instrumental part in being a material provider.

As a part of our CSR responsibility, we ensure transparency for all our practices and partnerships. To cite an example, our partners Goonj are significant providers of school kits in most rural areas of our country, bridging the material gap children face in such areas. We recently donated three lakh writing instruments which would then be sorted into kits containing all required study material and handed to the children. Our donations have reached over 5000 underprivileged children in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Uttarakhand, and with our continuous efforts, we aim to reach many more in the days to come.  

We want to ensure that as a brand, we are retaining respect and be known as a brand that stands for the larger purpose of educating young India. We are working towards making a significant contribution to the empowerment of young and underserved India. We are constantly looking for potential CSR partners to make a difference together. We are currently in talks with more than 75 NGOs across India to expand our stationery supply and are hopeful of touching many more young lives through our initiative.

As is with our legacy, we endeavour to make a positive impact in society in any way we can through our current CSR initiatives and the ones we plan for the future. Our journey has only just begun, and we are hopeful of successfully implementing all the activities that we undertake. Seeing the positive impact of our initiatives motivates us to undertake more of these activities and alleviate underserved children on an even larger scale. The ultimate reward for us would be to see these children and their families prosper, through the written word, with Reynolds being there, having played an instrumental part in being a material provider.

Rajat Vohra is the Country Head – India & South Asia, Reynolds Pens. He is a seasoned business leader with more than two decades of experience in business growth, strategic sales, planning and distribution. Rajat leads the India and South Asia business for Reynolds Pens, a globally recognised writing instruments’ brand. He has played a key role in the company’s growth over the years with a key focus on innovation and technology. Rajat has contributed to successfully scaling the India business for Reynolds and venturing into newer product categories.