My Dear Fellow Alumni,
I bring you great news.
The Golden Jubilee of your Alma Mater is around the corner – 2013, just five years away. No, don’t shrug it off – five years is really not far away if we want to accomplish something really worthwhile – not just celebrations but something more permanent. Dr. Ragavendra Baliga visited Bangalore recently and taking advantage of this on the evening of September the 8th, 2008 the first meeting to plan for the golden jubilee was held in the Director’s Board room. An ad hoc committee (appended) was formed to plan and execute the celebrations and projects.
Provisional dates for the celebrations and jollification are Thursday December 19th to Sunday December 22nd 2013. But the real reason for this letter is for us alumni to decide how we can make a permanent and quality project to demonstrate how alumni support and love the college especially in its 50th year. The meeting felt we need to have a single project towards which we can concentrate our efforts. It was proposed that the alumni target to raise a sum of $ 2.5 million (Rs 10 crores) for such a project. The favoured proposal is to upgrade and modernize the library and establish a fund to sustain the library in the years ahead.
To have a structure in place by 2013 most of the funds should be in place by 2011 (just 3 years!!). Dr. Ranganath Nayak who is going to be spearheading the fund-raising efforts put things in perspective:
| Amount to be raised | Rs.10,00,00,000 |
| Amount to be raised by each of the first 35 batches | Rs.30,00,000 approx |
| Amount to be raised by each alumnus | Rs.50,000 approx |
| Amount to be contributed over the next 5 years | Rs.1,000 per month |
I do believe that this is as easy as it sounds. Do let me know your views and please start fund raising. Share your ideas on how else the amount can be raised. I count on your love of St John’s, your generosity and your entrepreneurship.
With best wishes to you and your families.
Prem
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Prem Pais MD
Dean & Professor of Medicine
St John’s Medical College
