While she savours the experience, we spot Lokesha, the leader of Anjum's volunteering team, who has spent the day inspecting eyes with the swiftness and precision of an expert. Having volunteered since 2017, his passion for contributing is evident in his words. "To me, volunteering is happiness, responsibility and satisfaction. Nothing has touched me like this, especially when I help disadvantaged youth," comes the response when asked what volunteering means to him.
The genesis of volunteering at Titan started with the Hosur factory's Community Development Forum or CDF. Those in the factory were driven to give back to the community around them. They organised a committee and rallied motivated members to projects of varying scale and nature. The Footprints programme seeks to enshrine this rich and fulfilling initiative for both volunteers and recipients. An initiative to ensure Titanians commit up to 4 working days annually to volunteering, it's a gratifying programme with the stamp of Titan's DNA. On the launch, the Chief of Sustainability Officer, Mr. Sridhar N. E., shares a poignant thought, "Volunteering at Titan is a profoundly people-led approach. Since our incorporation, communities have been a part of our DNA and manifested as the drive to give back to the community. There can be no better example than Titanians participating in these initiatives, irrespective of whether it is a holiday or a weekday."
As the day comes to a close, a gentle thrum of satisfaction colours the air. Amidst reflecting on this day of giving back, I strike up a conversation with Mr. Nagananth B. S., who has been a part of Titan for 29 years and a volunteer for nearly 10 of those. His experiences span from volunteering at camps like today to month-long flood relief activities at Belgaum in 2019. "To me, volunteering is, first and foremost, a service.", he says. "My experience over the past decade, across activities like flood relief, eye screening, and more, has taught me that the onus of this service is on us, not just the organisation."
To me, this was a day that fed my soul. It was an experience that gave the word 'service' a whole new dimension. It inculcates a sense of selflessness and pride in an increasingly insular world, which sets Titan apart and allows each Titanian to leave behind their unique footprint on this world.
