American Tower Foundation, the global Philanthropic initiative of American Tower Corporation (ATC) has partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation, a leading humanitarian organization to distribute grocery kits Pan India through ATC CSR Foundation India towards COVID-19 relief measures. The program entails to provide 19 lakh meals across 31 locations to families who have been adversely impacted owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These include daily wagers, contract workers, and migrant population who have been displaced and are out of work because of the lockdown.
The distribution drive in Karnataka was carried out over a period of 12 days, providing around 294000 meals.
At the beginning of the countrywide lockdown, there was a huge outpouring of support for the displaced and marginalized. These efforts have come down significantly since the country began to restart and reopen. However, there are large swathes of population – especially among migrant workers – that continue to suffer from job losses and depleted savings.
Amit Sharma, EVP and President Asia at ATC said, “As the world takes on the threat posed by the health pandemic Covid-19, the impact has been felt more acutely by people who are facing a challenging economic situation to the extent of being unable to garner two meagre meals for their family. As an engaged member of the business and broader social community, American Tower Corporation (ATC) is committed to support Covid relief work and provide assistance through its NGO partner Akshaya Patra Foundation by making available grocery and ration kits to the vulnerable communities. We are extremely thankful to the Government of Karnataka and District Authorities for their on ground support in making this drive a success”.
Each food kit comprised rice, wheat flour, sugar, pulses, cooking oil, and salt.
The distribution drive was conducted across various locations of Bangalore and Hubballi in Karnataka.
According to Shridhar Venkat, CEO, Akshaya Patra Foundation, “We are deeply grateful to American Tower Foundation for collaborating with us in reaching out to distressed and unserved communities. Covid-19 has reinforced that we must collectively help those facing economic hardships. Hunger is a crime against humanity and school going children have been severely impacted by malnutrition due to the absence of mid- day meals. During this entire pandemic phase, we have served 80 million meals to families, thanks to donors such as American Tower Foundation. Truly a corporate with a heart and an empathetic partner that embodies zeal.”
Over the weeks, ATC CSR Foundation along with Akshaya Patra Foundation will engage with social volunteers and government officials to undertake the distribution drive.
About American Tower Corporation: American Tower is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of wireless and broadcast communication real estate. Our global portfolio includes over 1,81,000 communications sites and is experiencing steady growth. In addition to leasing space on towers, we provide customized collocation solutions through our in-building systems, outdoor distributed antenna systems and other right-of-way options, managed rooftops and services that speed network deployment.
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, American Tower has operations across the United States and 19 countries.
Philanthropy at American Tower consists of companywide initiatives that unite our global operations, including the American Tower Foundation (the Foundation). Launched in 2017, the Foundation’s mission is to focus on education and technology use to empower students, teachers and communities in need worldwide. Through grants, the Foundation facilitates partnerships with charitable organizations, such as school districts and youth development agencies, that support hands-on technology-based learning, increased student participation in robotics, and STEM programs that offer access to higher education for underrepresented, high-potential students.
About ATC CSR Foundation India:
ATC CSR Foundation India is the CSR arm of ATC India (one of the leading independent Passive Telecom Infrastructure Providers in India and is an indirectly-held subsidiary of ATC) and is focused to contribute to the implementation of the “Digital India” mission of the Government of India by way of its “Digital Village” Program. The Digital Village leverages the space, security, uninterrupted power supply and broadband link from a tower site to provide critical access to digital services like e-education, e-health, e-finance and e-governance by way of partnering with the appropriate solution providers (such as telecom operator, IT companies, Social Media companies, rural NGO’s and Banks etc.)
About Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India, which strives to address issues like hunger and malnutrition in the country. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food on every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.
In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools across 12 states & 2 union territories in India.
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