Vidyadaan Sahayyak Mandal (Empowering students)

My name is Aniruddha Kusurkar (or Ani, as many of my friends and family refer to me) and I come from Thane, India. I studied Chemical Engineering at UDCT Mumbai and subsequently completed my MBA from IIM Bangalore. I have been privileged to work with institutions like Unilever and FrieslandCampina, that have provided me with the opportunities to continuously learn, keep pushing my boundaries and to keep growing. Running is my passion - it provides me with energy, vitality and a feeling of being close to nature.

As most of you know, I come from humble beginnings and one of the most critical elements of my foundation is the high-quality education that I have received over the years. Without doubt, it is responsible for who I am and what I have achieved to date. I owe a debt of gratitude to my parents who ensured this and to my mentors who have continued to keep their trust in me and to provide me with equal opportunities for proving my mettle.

Somehow, I may have taken this for granted and I realized this only during the recent pandemic. During this time, our family was one of the privileged few to be able to provide our children with the tools and guidance for continuing their education. That set me thinking - what about the millions of families out there who struggled to do so or perhaps were not able to do this at all? How can I make a small difference towards this?

I did not have to look far. My mother-in-law (Mrs. Shalaka Choche) is working with an organization (Vidyadaan Sahayyak Mandal) that not only ensures financial support for needy children but also mentoring for emotional support… I am proud to say that she is herself a mentor with the organization, and I am also inspired to chip in. This institute is based in Thane (very close to Mumbai), a city where I come from and which is very close to my heart.

My plea to everyone - I have pledged to run two back-to-back half marathons in March (2023) and would like you to contribute to my cause. I will also contribute a comparable amount and give the total proceeds to Vidyadaan Sahayyak Mandal.