Ola launches new initiative for social causes

Leading ride-sharing company, Ola, on Monday launched 'My Ride. My Cause.' on its platform to crowdsource funds and support social causes by leveraging its vast network of millions of customers across India.

Ola has rolled out this special initiative through a unique partnership with Tata Trusts' Alamelu Charitable Foundation (ACF).

As a part of this initiative, Ola customers will have the option to contribute a sum of Re. 1 per ride. This sum will be crowdsourced and utilised towards lending support to improve cancer care in the country.

There is a huge burden of cancer in India with 14.5 lakh new cases reported in 2016 alone.

Lack of infrastructure, skilled human resources, and cancer prevention programs aggravate the situation further.

In order to bring about meaningful change in cancer care, Tata Trusts has taken on the mission to support the delivery of affordable and accessible care, and motivate people for regular screening.

With millions of rides that Ola facilitates per day and a huge network of customers across India, this partnership will certainly, result in mobilising funds at scale.

"We are proud to introduce 'My Ride. My Cause.,' a unique and national-scale initiative to crowdsource support for critical social causes. As a homegrown and leading mobility platform, Ola is committed to enabling holistic well-being and prosperity of the country," said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Ola.

"This initiative reiterates our commitment as it will unify millions of Ola customers to mobilise funds and ensure that aid reaches where it is needed the most in our country. Tata Trusts has been a staunch supporter of a number of pressing issues, and we are proud to partner with them and lend muscle to their efforts to strengthen cancer care in India. I encourage all our customers and employees to do their bit and join the fight against cancer," he added.

The contributions raised by Ola customers will enable the foundation to make cancer care affordable and available in rural and remote areas of India.

"Nationwide early cancer detection and access to quality care is a dire need. Tata Trusts is playing a facilitating role to establish infrastructure, develop protocols and trained personnel in partnership with multiple state governments, NGOs, hospitals and clinicians across the country. However, this task requires collaboration between multiple stakeholders. We are grateful to Ola and are privileged to partner with them to support this noble cause," said R. Venkataramanan, managing trustee - Tata Trusts.