1997

The management of Paracor company Inc, a New York based private equity firm conceived ANEW and envisioned its core beliefs, based on the inspiration gained from an organization in the USA, Non-traditional Employment for Women (NEW).  Mr. M.K.Kumar, then Chairman of Pierce Leslie India Ltd and member of Advisory Board of Paracor Company, with his passion for social work, helped move the project forward in India, from concept to commissioning.  In 1997, well before the need for women empowerment in the formal employment sector, was felt by the society, ANEW was registered under Tamil Nadu societies act, under the active guidance of Mr.M.K.Kumar. A management committee was formed to run the affairs of ANEW with Mrs.Lakshmi Kumar, wife of Mr. M.K.Kumar, as the first President.

1998

ANEW took the first decisive step forward, by choosing Home Nursing to be the opening course in its curriculum, as suggested by a well wisher of ANEW, Mr.B.S.Venkatraman, then the director of Apollo Hospitals.   Dr.Annalakshmi, then the secretary and treasurer of ANEW, also a founder member, took charge as the coordinator for this project.  Due to lack of funds to rent a place, ANEW began the path breaking journey in a car garage, with only 10 women enrolled for the course.  Mr. Kumar, approached the then trustees of Sundaram medical Foundation, and arranged for the home nursing students to undergo the much needed practical training, in their premises which continues to this day. This course proved to be very successful, as it had the widest reach, among women who were the most vulnerable and at the lowest rung of the social ladder.  The trainees were in high demand for their services, as nursing assistants to take care of the patients at home.

1999

FCRA permission to receive donations from abroad on project specific basis was granted by the Indian Government. Thereafter, ANEW was in a position to receive donations for specific projects from abroad.  The much needed funds helped ANEW, sustain itself and also plan for the future expansion.

2000

To provide a good training space for the students, ANEW relocated its office to a small apartment building in Anna Nagar. ANEW was in the process of strengthening the core team, when Mr.Subbaiyan, an invaluable contributor to the organization, took up the responsibility as the administrative manager. He brought with him, several years of experience in working with different aspects of social work. He has been the back bone of the organization to this day.

2001

After three years from the inception and complying with all FCRA requirements, ANEW received the much awaited general permission from the Indian government, which enabled donations from abroad to be processed without delay. 

In the same year, Chennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation and Mr. Basil sellers, an eminent Australian philanthropist generously responded to an appeal made by ANEW and contributed for expanding activities of ANEW

Availability of a larger premises, enabled ANEW to initiate the basic computer application course that year, considering the growing demand for such skills in the emerging IT industry. Contrary to the doubts and concerns raised by the well wishers, about the success of this program, given the background of the students, this course consistently provided well paid jobs and also provided an opportunity for the trainees to grow further in their career.  The success of this project was possible by the committed support and guidance of Mrs. Vatsala Ramakrishnan.

In the end of the same year, encouraged by the success of the basic computer course, an advanced computer course, desktop publishing was included in the curriculum, to train students with creative skills. Students were employed at photo studios, DTP centers in the city.

Home nursing students, were required to spend a week at Little sisters of the poor, taking care of the elderly residents of the home, to complete their internship program. Home Nurses were also given counseling classes to help them cope with any financial and emotional problems in their family.

2003

After successfully laying a strong foundation for ANEW, Mrs.Lakshmi Kumar who served the organization for six fruitful years as the president, stepped down from office. Mrs.Vatsala Ramakrishnan, who was supporting the cause of ANEW with a lot of passion, as a committee member, was elected as president, in the month of June this year.

ANEW, led by an able and confident leader boldly experimented with two wheeler maintenance course for its students.  Students were enthusiastic and were trained by Ajit Chordia at Khivraj motors and the trainees were stationed at MOP Vaishnav college for women, in the city. This course was discontinued due to lack of support from the public.

ANEW lived up to the belief in "non traditional" employment, by pioneering a course in auto driving for the students who had the aptitude and dream to take control of their lives, by staying behind the wheels.  This course has been the pride of ANEW.  Rotary club, Chennai, with matching grants from International Rotary club, donated ten auto rickshaws to ANEW. ANEW used one of the autos for training it’s students and donated the rest to Chinmaya Vidyalaya , Annanagar to be used by the school to transport children. The drivers trained at ANEW were employed by the school.

This year, personality development courses were added to the existing syllabus, to equip the students with confidence and work ethics. Counseling and self awareness classes were introduced for computer application students starting this year. Spoken English classes, which aims at improving the communication skills of the students was introduced and made mandatory to all the students enrolled at ANEW

Mrs. Vatsala introduced the concept of generating funds through fund raisers. The first fund raising event, a theatre event was organized. And all the committee members were given specific roles to play to make the event a success.

In order for the committee members to function effectively and efficiently, they were divided into sub committee and assigned specific programs to focus on.

This year, the first Alumni meeting was organized for all ANEW graduates. An interactive session with the alumni, helped to personally assess the extent of positive impact, ANEW had brought about, in their lives.

ANEW newsletter was first written this year and circulated to all the life time members to keep them informed and involved in the activities at the center.

Cavin Care partnered with ANEW, to commence the beautician course this year. Computer courses gained immense popularity during this period. The management team at ANEW worked hard to make it a success. The beautician course was diluted in the following year, as the students found the non traditional courses offered at ANEW exciting and more promising.

Mr.Subbaiyan was awarded, the best social worker at the grass root level by CIOSA. Mrs.krishnammal, an alternative noble laureate felicitated the award..

In an effort to expand the network of supporters, a much needed initiative to create a website for Anew was taken.

2005

Anew lost it’s most dynamic and able leader Mrs. Vatsala Ramakrishnan, after she passed away from a brief illness. This created a huge vacuum at ANEW. She initiated many projects that helped provide ANEW, the much needed exposure among the public. Mrs.C.P.Parvathy acted as interim president for 2 months before Dr. Annalakshmi, an active supporter of the programs at ANEW and also one of the founder members, was elected president.

The same year, A NGO working for the cause of mentally ill women, Banyan, generously offered their campus to ANEW home nursing students to complete a part of their internship program.

2006

ANEW encouraged by the success of the auto driving course, initiated a course in car driving for the students. Hindustan Motors was approached for assistance and they came forward with sponsorship for an ambassador car and the expenses of the trainer. IRT was requested to help with training the students and procurement of their license. The trainees were given additional training at ANEW using the ambassador car, to build their confidence until they were ready for employment. They were then evaluated and certified by AASI. Since the trainees found the Ambassador car, difficult to handle, It was returned back to Hindustan motors and a Maruthi car donated by a well wisher, it was used for additional training. Then on, students were sent to ABT Maruthi, for initial driving lessons. Employment was provided at airport, to shuttle the crew between the terminal and the flight and also at Valet parking facility at Hotel Savera.

2007

This year has been a landmark year for ANEW.  The generous support of Mr.Basil sellers helped ANEW setup office in its own property. The bigger premises and a better infrastructure helped ANEW to run its day to day operations smoothly. In honor of the generous benefactor, ANEW named the building "Basil Sellers Centre"

This year also saw the beginning of a new course, House Keeping.  The trainees were placed at city hotels in the house keeping department.

Home nurses were offered an opportunity to work with Karna Prayag residents and this experience of baby care (pediatric training) has been very useful in finding placements.

2009

In the summer of this year, on demand by the government/corporation high school girls, for a short term course in basic computer applications, a summer course was commenced.  This course enabled the students to get trained in the computer skills, ahead of their college admission, giving them the confidence to compete on par with the private school students in computer education.

This year saw another testimony to the confidence, ANEW had, in the capabilities of its students, when a course in Tally and accounting was initiated.  This course was added on to the Basic computer applications course. Trainees were much in demand by small business establishments dealing with simple transactions.

2010

The lack of English communication skills and work ethics, in students from underprivileged background enrolled in ANEW, was acknowledged and addressed by ANEW this year.  Spoken English and soft skills course was initiated, to improve the communication skills of students and to give them the confidence to speak the language.  The trainees were employed as front desk staff in small office setups.

A new initiative, an optometrist training course in association with Sight Care Foundation was commenced this year for high school completed students. Girls were successfully placed in private eye clinics near their area of residence.

ANEW in association with government/government aided and corporation educational institutions in the city, designed a process, to direct the eligible candidates in their institutions, for the training courses conducted in its premises. Government aided schools, Valliamal college, Quaid e Millet college and Corporation/govt schools in and around Chennai were part of this program. This enabled the final year college students and high school students to complete training at ANEW along with their formal courses.

This year ANEW strengthened the belief of the public in the organization’s objective, by partnering with the credibility alliance. Credibility Alliance is a national consortium of non profit organization set up in 2004 to establish consensus driven set of credibility norms for the voluntary sector in India. This certification is an added recognition to the quality of work and the ethical financial processes at ANEW.

This year ANEW also witnessed one of its proudest moments, when the president of ANEW, Dr.Annalakshmi, was awarded the prestigious "women of the year" award by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), FLO chapter thereby acknowledging valuable contribution made by ANEW to the society.

2011

This year, ANEW initiated several programs in association with corporate offices, in relevance to the training courses offered, to enhance the learning experiences of the trainees.

RR Donnelley in association with ANEW, conducted counseling and internship programs for trainees.

Standard Chartered conducted an internship program for ANEW computer course trainees to induct them into working environment.

This year, ANEW received a new Hyundai car as donation from the automobile company, which enabled ANEW to resume its car driving project.

Basic compluter applications training for a special batch of hearing and speech impaired underprivileged women have been initiated at the premises

ANEW signed an MOU, to conduct the computer training program in partnership with, Mahindra Satyam Foundation (MSF). The MSF staff will be involved in various capacities, sharing the expertise from the industry and thereby adding a positive dimension to the entire program.