``Yes, we have been doing it for over 12 years now. It is part of our company policy to help one or more of the charities by buying greeting cards in the Deepawali season and at the New Year,'' affirms Ajay Trehan, manager, public relations and general administration, Indo-Gulf Fertilisers. They have bought 18,000 cards from the New Delhi-based HelpAge India, this time round. Godfrey Phillips India, a tea major, doesn't just believe in buying cards from charitable organisations but prefers to do so fromIndian charities. ``We always buy our cards from organisations based in the country. This is our way of contributing to their limited resources.

Organisations like the UNICEF have big budgets and better means of publicity. But Indian charities, with scarce finances and slender infrastructure, also need considerable support,'' reasons Madan Kapoor, senior Manager, administration, Godfrey Phillips.

This year, for instance, Godfrey Phillips has bought a lot of 2,000 cards from the New Delhi-based Living Earth Society, who specialise in making recycled hand-made cards. ``Our cards don't use any toxic material in their manufacturing process. They are 100 per cent wood-free, chemical free, made from cotton and agricultural waste, to maintain the natural whiteness of paper,'' says Nivedita Sharma of Living Earth Society.

The NGO, whose cards are generally used as archival documents, has a regular clientele in Cipla and Tata Steel, all of whom have bought 2,000 cards this year. The society also encouragespaper-free offices by providing voluntary consultancy on the subject to interested companies.

Kapoor's views are echoed by Escotel. They have bought over 10,000 cards from both HelpAge and CRY. Says Colonel Shailesh, head of human resources and administration at Escotel, ``We did not even discuss other parties. The choice was more because of the cause than the cards. We felt that global bodies like the UNICEF will operate on a larger canvas. Therefore, we wanted the proceeds of charity to go to an organisation which is helping the cause of humanity but in the country, working for Indian beneficiaries,'' he explains. Even new companies are aware of their responsibility toward promoting the cause.

``Gestures like this are not a fad but are increasingly becoming a part of company policy. It is a part of being socially responsive and empathic to the needy,'' says Suraj Mishra, northern zone head of ICICI Prudential, the joint venture of Prudential and ICICI mutual fund which came into being earlier this year.``We have bought over 3,500 cards from CRY this year and they have been evenly distributed in our branch offices,'' he informs.

``Though it is not a part of our written company policy, we have been buying cards from charities for many years now. Whenever organisations working for a cause have approached us, we have helped them. This time we have bought them from CRY,'' says Amit Misra, marketing manager (communications) at Essar Telecom.

Business World magazine is also trying to ``rewrite a child's future'' by tying its subscription campaign with providing two sets of CRY cards free to subscribers. ``They have bought 10,000 cards this year,'' informs Praveen Sharma of CRY. Bank of America, about to wrap up its operations from the country, has not forgotten its commitment to social causes. ``For our wholesale division, we have bought cards from HelpAge India and for our retail banking division, we have tied up with the SOS Children's Villages,'' informs a bank spokesperson.

``We have not purchased cardsfrom CRY just like that, but we are associated with them for a special reason. Given the nature of our business (pharmaceuticals), the paediatric segment contributes a lot to our business. Therefore, in line with a value system which believes in being a responsible corporate citizen, a portion of the proceeds from our paediatric business is ploughed back to child welfare. We have institutionalised these norms, though they may not be part of a written down policy,'' says Sanjiv Kaul, regional director, India and the Middle East, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals.

Concludes Gulshan Dhall, senior officer (administration) of Eicher India: ``We patronise The Spastics Society of India and The Cancer Society by buying cards for Deepawali and the New Year. This is a binding management decision and we never consider private card manufacturers on these occasions. What is the use of mementoes like cards if they can't bring a smile to the faces of the needy?''