In the Centennial, the Apeejay Trust was proud to support an initiative started by one of our employees, Parthasarthy, to help youth in his native village to gain higher education. Thandavanthottam is a village near Kumbakonam in the Cauvery delta. The village is entirely agricultural. Within the village, there is a separate colony of about 150 households that belong to the Dalit community. The youth in the village, especially those that belong to the Dalit community, do not have the resources to access higher education.

When in 2010, Parthasarthy approached Apeejay Trust to support with bridge funding a programme that offers higher education support and funding to the youth of the village, we realised the merit and the scope of the proposition. We realised that only education could change the economic and social profile of his village. Moreover, he had run this education effort on his own steam for 3 years and had managed to benefit 20 youth, most of them Dalit girls. Now was the time for some solid support for his efforts and the Apeejay Trust stepped in. We are happy that we could help enhance his education initiative and keep him inspired towards his Individual Social Responsibility™.