Edenred India

CULTURE

SOS Children Felicitated By 

Emraan Hashmi 

12 Winners of ‘Art From The Heart’ painting competition organized by Edenred are felicitated by the 

acclaimed star

Mumbai : Over five hundred enthusiastic children from four SOSvillages took part in a painting competition called ‘Art from the Heart’, organised as a CSRinitiative by Edenred India. The competition in its second edition this year was held at SOSvillages in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore on 8th November, 2012.

Twelve winnersreceived awards including a fully paid 1 year scholarship by famous Bollywood actor EmraanHashmi at a felicitation ceremony at the InterContinental today. Their paintings will be featuredon Edenred’s signature art calendar for the year 2013. Top six paintings will also be showcasedon the new look of their various vouchers.

Children from the SOS villages in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore let their artistic talentcome to life on five different themes namely ‘My favourite meal’, ‘My favourite holiday’, ‘Myfavourite gift’, ‘My favourite jewellery’ and their favourite health/wellness regimes. Entries fromthe four cities were then short listed to select the top paintings. Mr. Sandeep Banerjee, MD &CEO, Edenred – India and renowned artist Mr. Sheil Sadwelkar, selected the winning artworkafter reviewing all the shortlisted entries.

The top six winners under all the five themes are as follows:1. My Favourite Meal – Shraddha Tate from Pune, Age 15 years 2. My Favourite Gift – Prajakta Kotwal from Pune, Age 15 years; and Nandani from New Delhi, Age 15 years 3. My Favourite Holiday Destination – Pooja from Bengaluru, Age 14 years 4. My Favourite Jewellery – Tripti from New Delhi, Age 13 years5. My Favourite health/wellness regimes – Shraddha Nair from New Delhi, 11 years

These winning paintings by children from SOS Children’s Villages of India will mark theirpresence on various Edenred Vouchers – Ticket Restaurant® Meal Vouchers, TicketCompliments® Universal Gift Vouchers, Ticket Compliments® Select Gift Vouchers, TicketCompliments® Holiday Gift Vouchers, Ticket Compliments® Jewellery Gift Vouchers and TicketMedica® Health and Wellness Vouchers.

Mr. Rakesh Jinsi, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India expressed hisappreciation saying, “We wish to express our gratitude to Edenred for providing a large platformto children from SOS Children’s Villages of India. Such activities not only inspire their creativeminds but also provide the opportunity to showcase their talent. We are looking forward tocontinuing our long term association with ‘Art from the Heart’ and hope to not only witnessunmatched success but also support for education of many more children in the years to come.”
Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Sandeep Banerjee, MD & CEO, Edenred India, said,“Edenred has dedicated a day for international mobilization and expressing solidarity. This day is celebrated as “Eden for All” across all our offices globally as we join hands to bring social change within the communities at large. Our intent lies in making life easier for those who can benefit from our mission. 

We are providing scholarships for one year for these winners to put our words in to action. “
Mr. Sheil Sadwelkar, a renowned artist, added, “Art from the Heart has garnered incredible interest from the community. It is an honour for me to be a part of the judging panel for the second time. Each and every painting by these innocent minds was full of creativity and convincingly broke stereotypes. The children from SOS Villages of India put up a great show and their talent truly came to the fore through the competition.”

SOS villages across India have been embracing and supporting abandoned children besides encouraging them to pursue hobbies such as singing, painting, dancing, and martial arts,among many others. The environment and Family Based Care (FBC) model, present at all the 33 villages in India, helps children to lead successful and fulfilled lives. Additionally, such activities, as initiated in association with Edenred, provide children an opportunity to show their hidden talent to the world.