‘Time sure flies when you’re having fun!’
It doesn’t seem like an entire year has passed since our last AGM but we find ourselves back at this key date in our calendar once again. It’s a fantastic experience to spend an afternoon with the Executive Committee of the International Club of Bangalore, trustees of OWFB and our Members, delving deep into our Clubs’ successes over the last year! There’s too much for me to squeeze into this article but I’d love to share with those unable to attend the marvelous achievements made possible by you, our amazing members.
Susheela, our Managing Trustee welcomed everyone to the JW Marriott with enthusiasm, praising and thanking our members for their continued support to our Club and for attending our wonderful events during the last year. As ICB functions under the charitable trust, OWFB, we give more than 85% of our profits to our 16 supported charities. With the revenue raised from membership renewals and event attendance fees we were able to donate over 35 lakhs to our Bangalore-based charities. With these 35 lakhs we were able to assist with teachers’ salaries, medical supplies, wheelchairs for the physically disabled, wardrobes to afford residents some privacy and have something they can call their own, milk supply for children, notebooks for schools, and the list goes on… I feel extremely proud of our Club and the many lives it has improved. What an amazing accomplishment!
To everyone who made this possible I think this quote from Kevin Dcruz sums it up beautiful as its sentiment also rings true in our mission statement with us being the sociable club with the charitable heart:
“We don’t need to have deep pockets or be rich to help the needy, the poor and the hungry – we need to have a heart”
An exciting development at our AGM was the introduction of our new President, Laetitia Lemin. Laetitia brings a wealth of experience from her previous experience as President of the Shanghai Mums group. Having previously been VP membership Laetitia is planning to focus on increasing new memberships. Together with the support of the events team, creating localized events with an aim to minimize time stuck in our lovely Bangalore traffic jams! We wish Laetitia all the best at the helm of our fabulous Club, we know it’s in safe hands.
We also welcomed our new VP Corporate Relations, Emily Tupper, who spoke about our exciting upcoming events i.e. our Annual Charity Ball which will be held on 28th September – Save that date! Then on Saturday 23rd November we have the most anticipated event in our calendar, the ICB Christmas Bazaar. Emily stressed the importance of our members volunteering during the planning stages and also on the day of the events so please sign up and donate some of your time.
To all our members who attended the AGM we thank you for your time and participation. To those leaving Bangalore for the Summer we hope you have a lovely, relaxing holiday. Safe travels and looking forward to seeing everyone back in August at one of our fantastic events.
Louise Dea, Secretary