By Sachin Murdeshwar
Mumbai: In a step towards promoting education for under-privileged girl children, RBL Bank flagged off the fifth edition of ‘Umeed 1000’ – a 1000 km Cyclothon in the city today. The team will ride from Mumbai to Bengaluru to raise awareness and funds for the education of less privileged girl children. The Cyclothon was flagged off by Prof. Srinath Jagannathan from IIM Indore today and will conclude on December 10th.
The Cyclothon will be covering Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Belagavi, Hubli, Ranebennuru, Chitradurga and Tumkur. 
This initiative is being led by Jasmeet S. Gandhi, a cycling enthusiast, who is passionate contributing towards girl education, along with 30 RBL Bank employees. These cyclists will be joined by 50 women police officers of Karnataka Police who will cycle the entire Karnataka stretch to raise awareness and funds for this cause. The Karnataka Police and Maharashtra Police are actively supporting Umeed 1000 Cyclothon throughout the course of 10 days.
Commenting on this event, Shanta Vallury Gandhi, Head, HR, CSR and Internal Branding at RBL Bank said, “As an organisation, we are deep rooted in our belief to strive for greater good and give back to the society. For us at the Bank, CSR is not just a mandate but it is a way of life and we are committed to create a positive impact in the lives of many through collaboration and coalition with our partners. The 5th edition of Umeed 1000 Cyclothon is a testimony of our commitment towards our mission community as the cause.”
Commenting on the occasion, H. Sitaram, Correspondent, Udbhav School (beneficiary) run by IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust (IIMAAA HCCT) said “IIM Ahmedabad Alumni would like to provide every child with the same opportunity that they got when they were young. We are very delighted that RBL Bank Ltd has chosen IIMAAA as a partner and Udbhav school as the beneficiary”.
This year RBL Bank is going to support IIMAAA Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust to build and support another underprivileged school in Fathehnagar that has been catering to the education needs of students coming from urban slums in the vicinity. This is the first time that three IIMA Alumni Chapters are coming together to partner with RBL Bank for this initiative.
So far, RBL Bank’s Umeed 1000 Cyclothon has raised in excess of INR 4 Crores for the benefit NGOs such as Iksha Foundation, IIMPACT and Udbhav School.
