In the recent endeavor, the team Udaan from Sapient visited the Literary India School at Palam Vihar on September 29^th, 2011. As Sapient and its employees believe in the power of innovation and creativity, a similar creative craft session was organized at the Literary India School.

The team of volunteers from Sapient received a warm welcome at the school where fifty students were present. Each child present in the room was smiling and curiosity to know what lies ahead was clearly reflected on their faces.

The session conducted by Sapient had nothing to do with the regular classroom learning and students were enthused to hear it. To ensure that whatever taught to children has some utilitarian value, the Sapient team decided to go with making things like Toran with paper and Lord Ganesha with clay. They could easily use these things for decorating their houses during this festive season.

Like any other kid, these children were fascinated to see clay and other colorful things around and wanted to try their hands on with them in the every possible way. After giving instructions on how to make Lord Ganesha using clay, the students were left free so that their creativity and imagination is not hampered.

Kids were taught to make Toran with used stationary, pipes, and different ideas were given to decorate their home on Diwali. Some artifacts were so nicely created that they were used to decorate the class room within the school.

The team from Sapient reached the National Science Museum in the morning to have breakfast with the kids. Children were divided into five groups and burgers and French fries were distributed amongst all of them. Having breakfast together with children was such a pleasant experience for Sapient team members. Both the volunteers and children enjoyed the breakfast while chatting with each other.

Following the breakfast, Pawan Vaswani gave a small introduction about Sapient to the children and most of them showed their eagerness to join the organization if given a chance.

The tour of the National Science Museum began by presenting useful information to the students on multiple science related topics such as evolution of the life, and human biology gallery. Also, an experiment for demonstrating physical properties of water was carried out in front of the children. After a short break, all the students moved to watch 3D movie inside the science museum.  Touch boards installed at every nook and corner of the museum caught children’s attention and they spent good time playing with them.

It was clearly visible that children were astonished at some of the technologies illustrated in the museum and they immensely enjoyed exploring almost everything present inside the science center.

Once all the sections of the museum were covered, students gathered at one place for having lunch. A feedback session was also conducted so that students can share their views and thoughts in an unhesitant manner.

In the month of August, a team of 25 people from the Bangalore office of Sapient paid a visit to the Spastics Society of Karnataka, Indiranagar. On their visit to the school, the Sapient team helped the teachers in organizing various activities for the students. The activities conducted at the school were designed in such a manner that students can enjoy participating thoroughly. Though wide array of areas were covered through the activities but the main focus was on – music, dance, arts, and sports. Throughout the workshop, students enjoyed and crafted various items using their skills and creativity.

To bring out and hone the artist in all those students, a workshop was also conducted the same day. The workshop was conducted to train students on art-related topics such as clay modeling, collage making, card making and many more. These skills not only boost the creative side but also enable students to employ the skills for earning their livelihood. The items crafted by students during the workshop are with our society so that we can cherish those memories forever.

At Sapient, we are always trying to give back to the society in every manner possible. Sapient has worked with innumerous organizations since many years under the CSR program and we endeavor to take it pioneering heights.

In August, 2011 the employees at the Gurgaon office of Sapient initiated a drive for collecting games, toys and other sports related equipment for underprivileged children. The enthusiasm and dedication of the Sapient people turned the drive into a huge success. All the toys and games collected during the campaign were donated to Butterflies – an NGO working for the betterment of the socially, emotionally and physically disadvantaged children in the area of Delhi and NCR.

The donated toys, games and sports equipment were distributed amongst the children on the Sports Day held at the India Gate. The Sports Day celebration organized by Butterflies was attended by India Leadership Team members, volunteers from Gurgaon office of Sapient and 200 children (approximately) belonging to different areas of Delhi and NCR region. This drive has been conducted under the category of “education and benefit of underprivileged children” CSR programme.

Commenting on the event, Pawan Vaswani, Director and Office Lead of Sapient Gurgaon said, “Sapient takes its responsibility as a global citizen to heart and has a focused initiative on giving back to the society.’’

At Sapient, it is believed that participation of business organizations in issues related to the harmonious development of the society is indispensable.

Literacy India’s ‘Pathshala’

Sapient has sponsored Literacy India’s ‘Pathshala’ in the Rajeev Nagar Slum Colony in Gurgaon. This was an Open School providing tuition for weak students and Adult Literacy for the poorer sections of our society. This centre catered to the 15,000 population covering Sheetla Colony, Rajiv Nagar and Ashok Vihar in Gurgaon. Literacy India (LI) has identified 5000 women, girls and men above 18 years of age who are striving to get trained in vocational skills in order to get employment and now provide tailoring and computer courses as part of vocational training.

A group of 20 committed people from Sapient’s Gurgaon and Noida offices (called Udaan) have worked closely with Literacy India, which runs ‘Orchid Garden’ – a school for the underprivileged in Sun City, Gurgaon to educate underprivileged children at schools, contribute funds for basic requirements such as books and food. Udaan evaluated the school’s needs and decided to focus their energies to provide students with education and basic necessities. It committed itself to a bimonthly association with this school. The group arranges activities like games, color competitions, singing, dancing and encourages children to participate. They also teach them the significance of personal hygiene, keeping the surroundings clean and basic road rules among other important aspects. In addition, the team provides lunch to about 100 school children bimonthly. A similar team of self-motivated volunteers in Sapient Bangalore has worked with autistic children from Shristi Special Academy.

‘Change Your World in Half a Day’

Sapient Bangalore participated in ‘Change Your World in Half a Day’. The initiative raised INR 376689 from the pay cycle contributions of 396 people. This amount along with an additional sum of INR 148849 collected from the previous year’s Silent Auction and was donated to Parikrma Humanity Foundation, a local NGO, to build a Junior College for underprivileged children who completed their 10th grade this year.

Assent recently awarded Sapient with its “Best IT Services Supplier” recognition, an honor acknowledging the extraordinary outcomes of people advocates, who have fostered this client over the last four to five years. Sapient people donated the prize money from the award, worth 5000 Euros, to a few charities which supports education for the underprivileged.

People at Sapient came together, and contributed INR 80,000 for the wife of a victim, during Mumbai attack. A token of respect for the effort of the valiant policeman, who sacrificed his life while protecting the life of many.

Media coverage on Sapient’s CSR initiative

Amongst other round the year initiatives, a Zoom-in Photography Contest was held in Bangalore on December 4-5, in 2008. Pictures of the contest were sold to people, and proceeds of INR 15000 went to a charity Infant Jesus Charity Home, identified by Prayaas.

In the recent past, NGOs has been invited to visit the offices during special events and festivals and spend time with the employees, and empowering them with the satisfaction of celebrating a larger cause.

Sapient people have always been passionate about community service, and Sapient is proud to now formally sponsor company-wide participation in giving back through volunteering.

In 2011, every Sapient person will have the opportunity to take a day and make a difference. Working side-by-side with their project team or local office, they would be encouraged to give back to an organization whose purpose is to enable human potential.

Project teams and offices will plan a community service event in 2011, partnering with people-orientated organizations. Local event dates will be set in coordination with Sapient business leads and project team leads.

Sapient Gives Back FAQs

Volunteer hours division into two or three different days?

With supervisor approval, benefit hours can be divided into two or three separate days. In the spirit of the Give Back program, Sapient encourages its People to take part in volunteer activities that has been designated for office-wide participation.

No obligation

Sapient Gives Back is an important occasion that inspires their people to engage with their local community and each other in a meaningful way. While participation in this event is not mandatory, they expect that Sapient’s purpose of building a great company enabling human potential is something that they aspire to, and that people are eager to participate.

Is independent volunteer work permitted?

The intent of the program is to bring their people together and engage local communities. These events are an opportunity to unite with your colleagues and have a positive impact with organizations that also enable human potential. If a group event is not available in your office or you are not able to participate, you may use the benefit for individual volunteer work with prior approval from your supervisor.

Who is heading the activity in the office?

This vary by office. Contact the individuals who coordinate other activities: local office leads, local philanthropy team, or project team lead.  Or watch for news about events being planned in different offices, to participate.

At Sapient India, they have a special team called “Prayaas” that provides a forum where people can support the causes they care about. Prayaas is committed to addressing aspects of organization’s behavior with respect to key elements such as health and safety, environmental protection, human rights, community development, and enabling the potential of the less-privileged.

Here are just a few of the many charitable causes that Sapient’s people are involved with:

• Butterflies
• Literacy India
• Parikrma Humanity Foundation
• Infant Jesus Charity Home

While Sapient is honored to be associated with such worthwhile causes, the desire to help those less fortunate is not just a corporate effort. It’s also a personal one. Globally and locally, many of their people are involved in numerous causes. Each has their own reason for giving their time and energy. But what binds them together is their spirit of generosity and their goodness of heart.

It’s that spirit that not only makes their people good at what they do, but perhaps even more importantly, good at who they are. The people feel individually, as they do collectively, that the bottom line isn’t always the bottom line. That the final measure of success is gauged not solely by how much they earn, but also by how much they give

Silent Auction

One of their biggest CSR initiatives is the Sapient ‘Silent Auction’. This is a community fund raiser program with a difference. It is a fun yet creative way of people coming together, to offer innovative services or products at a cost, which is open for a silent bid by others in the company. The items up on auction can range from a dance performance by the India Leadership team, to someone’s personal art collection. The highest bid wins the service or product. A “loud auction” follows this program where the company bids for the most creative services or products. The amount collected by selling the services/products offered by people is donated to NGOs identified by people of Sapient. In 2010 people raised close to Rs. 10 lakhs from the Auction. Sapient contributed INR 5 lakhs more to the kitty.