CB BureauColgate Palmolive India has launched a flagship programme called Keep India Smiling (KIS) as part of their commitment to provide foundational support to over 20 million people every year to ‘enable a future they can smile about’. The mission includes the company’s long-running, pan-India flagship programmes like Bright Smiles Bright Futures (to provide foundational oral health education), the Oral Health Month (to provide free dental checkups), and foundational community initiatives targeted at providing better water accessibility, women empowerment, and livelihood.
Adding to these existing programmes, Colgate launched the Keep India Smiling Foundational Scholarship to offer financial support and mentorship to people across the country in the fields of education, sports and community betterment. The scholarship programme has been launched in partnership with ShikshaDaan Foundation, a non-profit organisation that specialises in providing education and development to the underprivileged, and Buddy4Study, India’s largest scholarship platform. A panel will pick the candidates for the scholarship and also provide mentorship as required. Panel members are Mary Kom – six-time World Boxing Champion, currently World No. 1, and also the only female boxer from India to win medal at the Olympics; Dr Priyamvada Singh – social development professional; Rajeev Grover – ShikshaDaan advisor; and Poonam Sharma – Colgate’s CSR head.
Interested candidates can apply online at www.colgate.com/keepindiasmiling
Although the company spokesperson said they would respond, CB’s questions on criteria for selecting candidates, frequency of providing mentorship, promoting this scholarship among underprivileged communities, duration of the programme, and impact assessment went unanswered.
In a press release shared with CB, Issam Bachaalani, managing director, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said, ‘At Colgate, we truly believe that everyone deserves a future they can smile about and we believe that better futures can be enabled by building strong foundations. Our Keep India Smiling Mission is designed to provide foundational support for both oral health enhancement and for various aspects of community development. Today, I’m very excited to announce the launch of the Keep India Smiling Foundational Scholarship program, which takes the Keep India Smiling mission a step further and provides direct support and mentorship to many deserving people to realize their dreams.’