Eros Group’s ‘Pass It On’ CSR initiative benefits labourers, educates students

Dubai-based electronics retailer Eros Group undertook its community-oriented, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative ‘Pass It On’ at The Winchester School on May 12.

The awareness campaign was organised in conjunction with ‘Take My Junk’. The dual benefits of the campaign involved reducing electronic waste through extending the life cycle of electronic products by giving them away to the less fortunate.

In the past, the campaign launched in 2010 has involved students from Dubai British School, Greenfield Community School and Gems World School, along with other community members to donate electronic items to labourers within camps in Dubai. This year, the initiative reached out to labourers in Jebel Ali. Disadvantaged and economically challenged labourers benefitted from the items donated.

Commenting on the CSR initiative, Niranjan Gidwani, Deputy CEO, Eros Group says, “The ‘Pass It On’ initiative has positively engaged young students in the UAE. We started this campaign in 2010 to help us help needy members of the community, and we achieved that goal successfully at the labour camp, as we have in the past.”

“With new technology being introduced every day, there is an increase in the amount of ‘technology redundancy’, which while outdated can still be used. Through the ‘Pass It On’ initiative we not only raise awareness on the impact of e-waste on the environment but also encourage students, parents and staff to give their unwanted items a new home and a smile to someone,” he adds.

As part of the campaign at The Winchester School students, parents, visitors and teachers pledged to give away or pass on unused and unwanted electronic items. During the month- long campaign at the school, the Eros Group organised various sessions for the students and their parents to create awareness on the benefits of electronic ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.

‘Pass It On’ drop boxes were placed in The Winchester School where students collected unwanted electronic items. The team from ‘Take My Junk’ collected the items from the school once the box was full and distributed it in the selected labour camp with the help of volunteers from the school’s teachers and students.

“Being part of this campaign was a great learning experience for us. The ‘Pass It On’ campaign held here was an eye opener for our students, and gave them an opportunity to contribute their efforts towards helping people. This experience has yielded lifelong lessons of responsibility and compassion,” feels Ranju Anand, principal and CEO of The Winchester School.

“Take My Junk is happy to be a part of the ‘Pass It On’ campaign since its launch. We are committed to providing benefits to disadvantaged members of our society and we’d like to express our gratitude to Eros Group and the management, teachers and students of The Winchester School for their consistent support, sincere efforts and enthusiasm for the campaign,” states Take My Junk & 800 Junk founder Faisal Khan.