October 31, 2022, Hyderabad: The 8th edition of ‘Food for change’ of Project 511, an initiative of Hyderabad Round Table 8 (HRT8) was held at Hotel Marigold, Hyderabad. The black-tie charity gala was attended by prominent figures from various walks of life including Mr. Mahender Reddy, DGP;
Mr. Prabhakar Rao, Spl IG, Intelligence; 3. Mr. CV Anand, CP, Hyderabad; Mr. Ramesh Reddy, Jt CP, Hyderabad; Mr. Stephen Ravindra, CP, Cyberabad; Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS; Mr. Raghunandan Rao, IAS; Mr. Amoy Kumar, IAS, collector RR & Hyd; Dr. Mohan Babu, IRS, Jt. ED and Mrs. Sangita Reddy, Jt MD, Apollo.
All the proceeds from sponsorships, donations and donor invites passes, free-of-cost facilities, commercial space and branding benefits are used towards education and education-related skill enhancement initiatives for the underprivileged children across 1,311 Government schools in Hyderabad and surrounding districts. Project 511 works closely with the Government to generate, mobilize and disburse funds and materials to improve the quality of education for disadvantaged children, encouraging them to stay in school, complete their education and compete on a level playing ground with the privileged children going to private and international schools.
Food For Change (FFC)
FFC has been a tremendous success for the last 7 editions, where a few of the best & leading star hotels in Hyderabad come together and host a sumptuous feast. FFC also hosts entertainment events for the guests. Every year, 800 well-known top industrialists, high-ranking bureaucrats, corporates, and high net-worth guests of Hyderabad’s elite attend this event contributing significantly to the cause. Celebrities who have attended the event in the past include VVS Laxman, Pullela Gopichand, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Rakul Preet Singh, Rashmika Mandhana, and Allu Arjun.
Speaking on Food For Change, Mr. Vishal Jain, Chairman, of Project 511 said, “There is a heavy competition in the academic world wherein children elsewhere can afford good education and be part of the race. We don’t want the marginal children to be left out. Think about what would happen when most of these underprivileged children are provided with education – they will be the additional pillars of society and help in nation-building. We are very grateful to the support of the Government, thought leaders, and volunteers as well to have come forward for this beautiful cause. We have garnered support from Telangana Govt. and individual donors who have come forward to contribute towards this beautiful cause. Given that India has
the highest number of Gen Z, it is necessary to have the children of our country receive a quality education. The underprivileged have as much right for quality education as do the privileged ones. Our motto is to help them reach where they too belong through education and upskilling.”
Project 511
Hyderabad Round Table 8 came together with the MV Foundation in the year 2003 to provide basic infrastructural aid to the then 511 government schools existing in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, thus giving birth to an initiative named Project 511. Since its inception, Project 511 has grown by leaps and bounds and is currently working with 1311 schools in 13 districts across the state including Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy, Medchal, and Medak districts amongst others. Cumulatively, it has touched the lives of more than 200,000 children in the last 19 years.
The lack of basic and good quality physical infrastructure in government schools is one of the primary reasons for the high dropout rates of students. Project 511 has hence largely focussed on providing basic facilities like Blackboards, Sanitation, Seating, Science labs, and Teaching and Learning Materials. In recent years, Project 511 has begun to focus on competency-building through its English learning program and Digital classrooms.
Project 511 works closely with the Govt. to generate, mobilize and disburse funds and materials to improve the quality of education for disadvantaged children in Government schools, encouraging them to stay in school, complete their education and compete on a level playing ground with the privileged children going to private and international schools.