With Re 1 per ride, Ola plans to raise funds for cancer care

Ola, the homegrown cab aggregator has launched a special initiative, 'My Ride My Cause' on its platform to crowdsource funds and support social causes by leveraging its network of customers across India. As part of this, it has collaborated with Tata Trusts’ Alamelu Charitable Foundation (ACF).

Ola customers will now have the option to contribute an amount of Re 1 per ride. This sum will be crowdsourced and utilised towards improving cancer care in the country.

While there is a huge burden of cancer in India with 14.5 lakh new cases reported in 2017 alone, lack of infrastructure, skilled human resources, and cancer prevention programmes aggravate the situation further. To bring about meaningful change in cancer care, Tata Trusts' mission is to support the delivery of affordable and accessible care, and motivate people for regular screening.

With millions of rides that Ola facilitates every day and a vast network of customers across India, this partnership is expected to result in mobilising funds at scale.

Talking about the initiative, Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Ola said,

"We are proud to introduce ‘My Ride My Cause', a unique and national-scale initiative to crowdsource support for critical social causes. Ola is committed to enable holistic well-being and prosperity of the country. 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."

He urged all customers and employees to do their bit and join the fight against cancer. "The contributions raised by Ola customers will enable the foundation to make cancer care affordable and available in rural and remote areas of India. Funds mobilised will help in crucial diagnosis and treatment of cancer that can prevent loss of life," Bhavish said.

Venkataramanan, Managing Trustee of Tata Trusts said in a press statement,

"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."