Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today unveiled “Empower,” its corporate social responsibility program specific to India and supported by the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcatel-Lucent.
This new program emphasizes the company’s commitment to help improve the lives of people in some of India’s disadvantaged communities, not only through direct financial assistance but also through the engagement of Alcatel-Lucent employees. The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation has committed a total of US$205,000 to five non governmental organizations (NGOs) in India over the next two years. The Empower program emphasizes opening up educational opportunities for children and teenagers as well as life skills training for disadvantaged youth, in particular girls and young women.
“The launch of this program underscores one of our key values as a company -- a commitment to social responsibility. We believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) is critical to building a stronger business and vital to a company’s long-term success. Alcatel-Lucent has been part of the Indian business community for more than a quarter of a century and our commitment to this market and the people of India remains strong and focused. Through our CSR efforts we want to help make this community – our community -- better for all of us,” said Vivek Mohan, Managing Director, Alcatel-Lucent India.
The NGOs selected for the grants work with destitute children, young adults and women in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The grants cover a range of programs, some focusing on providing basic necessities such as food, clothing and healthcare and others arranging for primary and secondary education as well as vocational and life skills training. In addition to providing funding, Alcatel-Lucent employees will volunteer their time and expertise to these NGOs to help them in various initiatives.
Through this program Alcatel-Lucent will work with the following NGOs.
· SOS Children’s Villages of India Delhi - Operates kindergartens in villages and encourages youngsters to enroll for professional or vocational courses
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· Faith Foundation, Delhi – Runs a school for children, vocational and healthcare centre for women and community-building activities
· Bandra East Community Centre, Mumbai - Counseling, rehabilitation and formal school education to street children
· Good Life Centre, Chennai - Provides educational support to children
· ARUWE, Chennai - Provides opportunities for children to learn skills that will help them in their everyday lives.
“The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation is pleased to encourage the work these organizations are doing to help some of India’s disadvantaged children get a sense of the possibilities that might be open to them with the right education and support,” said Beatrice Tassot, Alcatel-Lucent Foundation executive director. “We look forward to working with them in their efforts to improve the lives of these young people and develop successful young citizens for the future.”
Every year Alcatel-Lucent also celebrates “International Days of Caring” (IDOC) a global, month-long volunteering initiative that encourage Alcatel-Lucent employees, retirees, friends and family members worldwide to participate in community service projects. In India this initiative began early this month, with a plantation drive, school visits etc. and will continue with the engaged NGOs looking at fun and informative initiatives. Through the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation and a wealth of local initiatives, employees everywhere are getting involved and making a difference.
About the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation
The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Alcatel-Lucent and it leads the company's charitable activities. With a focus on education and volunteerism, the Foundation's mission is to support the commitment of Alcatel-Lucent to social responsibility by serving and enhancing the communities where its employees and customers live and work. To accomplish its mission, the Foundation manages grants, corporate contributions and employee volunteerism on a global level. It is defined as a "charitable", non-governmental, non-profit, private organization that receives its income from the corporation — Alcatel-Lucent — whose name it bears. However, legally it is an independent entity and is governed by its own board of trustees that is separate from the corporate board of directors. For more information, visit: www.alcatel-lucent.com/CPT
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 15.2 billion in 2009 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: https://bsmedia.business-standard.comwww.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent’s blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.