Senior Citizen Welfare
Supporting senior citizens is about honoring their lifetime of wisdom, ensuring their present well-being, and cherishing their enduring role in our communities.
The GSB Sabha Mumbai offers assistance to senior citizens of the GSB community through its various funds & initiatives such as the Senior Citizen Aadhar Fund, distribution of Grocery Kit to Senior Citizens and the GSB Senior Citizen Medical Welfare Fund.
Senior Citizen Aadhar Fund
This Fund was launched at the Gudi Padva Programme of the Sabha for the year 2005 for the benefits of senior GSB citizens (completed age 60 and above) who are in need of financial assistance for their day-to-day expenses. This Fund was launched on a suggestion made by Smt. Sanjivi Bhat, ex-President of the Sabha.
Under this fund, monetary Cash assistance, presently Rs. 3000/- per quarter, is disbursed by bank transfers to the beneficiaries.
In FY 2022-23, 30 beneficiaries were provided assistance of Rs. 3,81,000/- from this Fund.
How to Apply for Senior Citizen Aadhar Fund:
- Application forms are scrutinized by the Managing Committee and one or two committee members personally visit the applicant to verify the bonafides of the applicant.
- Beneficiaries are provided assistance for their life-time and the quarterly assistance amount is directly transferred to their bank account.
- Beneficiaries are required to submit a life certificate once every year.
Distribution of Grocery Kits to Senior Citizens
This initiative was started by Sabha in 2020 during the COVID -19 pandemic to help the senior citizens of the community with monthly grocery. However, the Sabha then decided to continue the assistance even after COVID. Grocery Kits are delivered on monthly basis to our beneficiaries.
In FY 2022-23, 25 beneficiary families were provided assistance.
GSB Senior Citizen Medical Welfare Fund
The Fund is dedicated to meet the domiciliary medical expenses of economically weaker section of senior citizens of the Community. These senior citizens are prescribed daily medicines for ailments such as asthma, blood pressure, diabetes, heart ailments etc. and find it difficult to meet the expenses involved.
Background: A very generous donation of Rs. 50 lacs, made in FY2013-2014 by philanthropist Shri Gurpur Dattanand Bhat in memory of his late wife, Smt. Shanta Bhat, enabled the Sabha to launch the GSB Senior Citizen Medical Welfare Fund.
During the FY 2022-2023, 27 beneficiaries were disbursed total assistance of Rs. 4,34,297 from this Fund.
How this Works:
The application form is designed to capture details of financial status of the applicant as well as their requirements of their daily medicines. Their doctor’s certificate is also taken. The Managing Committee validates the financial aspects of the application and our honorary panel doctor, Dr. Anita Shenoy, does the medical scrutiny. After being satisfied about the genuineness of the applicant, Dr. Anita Shenoy estimates the monthly medicine expense of the applicant and recommends the same as a financial limit for the applicant.
The beneficiaries submit the bills of their medicines at Sabha office on quarterly basis. These bills are processed and expenditure reimbursed, subject to limits, by direct transfers to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.