Burr Ridge, IL: The North South Foundation (NSF) is calling for nominations for its prestigious 2004 Role Model Award, the ‘Vishwa Jyothi’.

Criteria for nomination – The nominee ought to have excelled both in academics and human values by demonstrating the combination in some unique way for the benefit of some neglected segment of the society. This could include discovering creative ideas to persistently neglected social problems, implementing creative solutions that are both replicable and sustainable, plowing through uncharted territory and reaching a set goal successfully. Commitment, grit, hard work, sacrifice, courage, passion and leadership would be the defining hallmarks of a NSF Role Model Award nominee. This award would also serve to showcase the chief qualities of such a role model to the children of the Indian American community. More details can be found at www.northsouth.org

Rajiv Vinnakota, NSF’s 2003 ‘Vishwa Jyothi’ recipient was the perfect fit for this award. Rajiv is the first person to find a creative solution to dramatically improve the daily drudgery ingrained into the lives of the deprived inner city children in Washington D.C. The unique strategy developed by him can now be harnessed to change and enhance the future of poor inner city children across all states in the U.S.

NSF, established in 1989, is a purely volunteer driven, non-profit and tax-exempt entity based in Illinois. Its core mission is to promote excellence in human endeavor, to develop human resources and to help people achieve success regardless of religion, gender, caste or geographic origin. It holds educational (Spelling/Vocabulary/Math/Brain Bee) contests annually in the U.S. These are designed to encourage academic excellence among the Indian American children. Top rankers in each contest are awarded scholarships ranging from $1000 to $250, redeemable in the winner’s freshman’s year of college. More importantly, these contests help foster self-confidence in the participating children and help improve their communication skills.

A sister entity, BREAD (Basic Research, Education and Development Society) was simultaneously created in Hyderabad in order to implement scholarship programs back in India. It is specifically targeted towards the exceptionally qualified and needy students entering a professional/non professional college in India. More than 2,000 scholarships have been awarded to date through BREAD. Each scholarship consists of $200 per student per year to cover the tuition fee. Awards are made following strict selection criteria based solely on merit and need.

NSF is also working on other projects such as public health and sanitation. Funding of each individual program is managed separately and is utilized for that purpose alone.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ratnam Chitturi at (630-323-1966) or e-mail him at chitturi@mail.org. All nominations are to be either e-mailed to Dr. Chitturi or mailed directly to the following address:

North South Foundation
2 Marissa Ct.
Burr Ridge, IL 60527.