C hennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation (CWCF) is a unique initiative in which 54 corporates from Chennai have come together to support a variety of projects and institutions in an effort to maintain the cultural, ethical and social ethos and traditions of Chennai and its environs. The corporates behind this initiative remain anonymous and their motives are truly altruistic.
Hon’ble Minister for Textiles Dayanidhi Maran presenting a memento to V Narayanan Founder Director CWCF.(From l to r): Arun Mammen, MV Subbiah, S Balasubramanyan, N Sankar, Dayanidhi Maran, V Narayanan, VL Dutt and MK Kumar.
Born out of the proceeds of the corpus fund after the sale of the erstwhile Willingdon Nursing Home, the CWCF utilises the annual earnings of about Rs. 1.5 crores to support institutions and individuals engaged in medical, research, cultural and other activities in the city.
Union Minister of Textiles Dayanidhi
Maran was the Chief Guest. Speaking
at the function Dayanidhi Maran lauded
the foundation’s help to the poor and the
needy in society in the form of health care and social welfare projects and
activities.
He also praised the foundation for funding research activities besides improving the lifestyle of people in the slums. In the last 10 years since its inception, 74 voluntary organisations and institutions benefi tted through the funding of nearly Rs. 12 crore from this foundation. A function to commemorate a decade of service of the CWCF was held at Hotel Taj Coromandel on 29 January 2010.
S ankara Nethralaya
Chairman SS Badrinath
recalled CWCF’s generous
contribution to research on
glaucoma.
Chairperson of the Cancer
Institute Dr V Shanta said
that the organisation had
received Rs. 1.09 crore
f rom CWCF to fund
programmes in detection of
hereditary cancer and cancer
prevention and setting up a
tumour tissue bank.
Madras Diabetes Research
Foundation’s president
V Mohan said an
in-depth study on diabetes
and its prevention was
made possible byCWCF’s
donation.
Sevalaya’s managing trustee
V Muralidharan spoke on
the progress his free school
for children of agricultural labourers has made, with
the Foundation’s funding.
The Foundation’s director
V Narayanan released the book
“A Slum No More” by N Byravan
on a slumimprovement project at
Annai Sathya Nagar, Chennai.
A section of the audience at the function.
(From l to r): N Sankar, Union Minister for Textiles
Dayanidhi Maran, V Narayanan, VL Dutt.
N Sankar paid rich tributes to 91-year-old V Narayanan, the dynamic, ever active CWCF director.
A view of the audience present at the function.