TI India recently announced the selection of its first TI Founders Community Service Award winners. The awards program, which started in the U.S., was expanded this year to recognize TI India employees' volunteer efforts and reinforce the importance of giving back.

Three individuals and one team were honored. TI will make a Rs. 50,000 (approximately $1,100) donation in the winners' honor to the nonprofit agency for which they volunteered.

"TI India employees have been involved in a number of volunteer activities for many years," said Sanjay Bhan, director of Human Resources for TI India. "We were delighted to bring this recognition program to India, and I congratulate the winners. I believe the awards will give an impetus to our voluntary service activities in the future."

Award nominations were judged on several criterions, including the effect the volunteer work had on the community and the leadership the individual or team exhibited. An independent panel of judges named the following individuals and team as 2011 TI India winners.

Sylvia Subbaiah
Sylivia Sunnaiah was instrumental in starting the formal corporate social responsibility activities in TI India by establishing the TI India Foundation (TIIF) in 2003. Purely driven by passion to make difference to the lives of needy, Subbaiah has worked with like-minded volunteers across TI India to contribute to society through various initiatives. Read more about Sylvia Subbaiah.

Surath Manuel
Surath Manuel, along with his wife, runs a free daycare program for street children called "Nithya Ashraya" in Venkateshapuram, Bangalore, and has registered it as a Trust. Through donations from friends and well-wishers, the children are provided with education, medical checkups and a mid-day meal. Read more about Surath Manuel.

Sanjiv Mittal
Sanjiv Mittal volunteers his time for a half-way home for psychological rehabilitation of people suffering from mental illness. He has spearheaded outreach programs in the areas around Delhi and has helped set up mental health camps in primary health care centers. Read more about Sanjiv Mittal.

TI India Foundation's Child Education Program
This team has met with people living in the slums of Bangalore every year to persuade them to send their children to school by teaching parents on the benefits of education. Read more about the team's efforts.

About the awards
The TI Founders Community Service Awards are named in honor of TI founders Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, Cecil Green and Pat Haggerty, who set the standard for TI employees to be involved in their communities.

Created in 2010 for TI's 80th anniversary, the annual awards recognize employees who are nominated by their peers as outstanding volunteers.

The TI India award winners were determined by a panel of judges who work outside of TI. This year's panel included representatives from the Freedom Foundation India, the Christel House India, and the Azim Premji Foundation.

"We hope the awards instituted this year will encourage more employees to volunteer their time and effort in the service of the communities around us during their free time," Sanjay said.