शहतूत संस्थान धर्मार्थ न्यास

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Phone +91 78273 33314
Address 10-ए साउथ एवेन्यू मार्केट, नई दिल्ली, 110011, भारत
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Email Contact.Us@shahtoot.org

Sita Devi Mentorship Program: Participation Terms

Operator: Shahtoot Foundation Charitable Trust, India
Effective date: 29-09-2026
Version: SD-TC-1.0
Program contact: contact.us@shahtoot.org
Registered address: 10-A South Avenue Market, New Delhi-110011, India

Purpose and scope

The Sita Devi Mentorship Program connects eligible mentees with volunteer mentors for general career guidance, shared experience, and professional development. These terms apply to applicants and participants in India and the United States.
Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance, a particular mentor, or a continuing match. Participation begins only after the Foundation confirms acceptance and any required introductory conversation or screening is completed.

Eligibility and accurate information

You must be at least 18 and legally capable of entering this arrangement under the law applicable to you. You must provide accurate information and promptly correct material changes.
You must not impersonate another person, misrepresent qualifications, or submit information you lack permission to share. The Foundation may request reasonable clarification or supporting information relevant to program eligibility.

Free and voluntary participation

The program is free, and participation is voluntary. Mentors must not request or accept fees, gifts, commissions, referral rewards, investments, services, or personal favors from mentees in connection with the program.
No donation is required for acceptance, matching, or continued participation. Any separate Foundation fundraising activity must not be presented as a condition of mentorship.
Participants are responsible for their own ordinary expenses unless the Foundation expressly agrees otherwise in writing. No participant is promised wages, employment benefits, or future compensation through these terms.

Nature and limits of mentorship

Mentors share personal experience and general career perspectives. The program does not provide legal, immigration, tax, investment, medical, psychological, or other regulated professional services.
No job, interview, referral, admission, promotion, salary, visa result, or other outcome is promised. Participants should independently evaluate information and obtain qualified professional advice when needed.
Mentorship is not a substitute for emergency services. If someone faces immediate danger, contact the appropriate local emergency service rather than relying on the program inbox.

Mentor and mentee responsibilities

  • Mentors: Describe experience honestly, provide respectful guidance, remain within competence, disclose relevant conflicts, and avoid promises of employment or preferential treatment.
  • Mentees: Set realistic goals, prepare for meetings, take responsibility for applications and decisions, and respect agreed communication boundaries.
  • Both roles: Attend punctually, give reasonable notice when rescheduling, protect confidential information, and promptly report concerns.
Mentors must not complete assessments, academic work, employment tasks, or business projects on behalf of mentees through the program. Participants must not use mentoring to obtain unpaid productive labor.

Employment, immigration, and affiliations

Participation does not itself create employment, a partnership, an agency relationship, or authority to bind the Foundation. Actual legal status remains subject to applicable law and the circumstances of the relationship.
Participants must obtain any necessary employer, immigration, professional, or other permissions before undertaking an activity. Acceptance into the program does not establish work authorization or provide immigration clearance.
Participants act in their personal capacity unless a separate authorized arrangement expressly states otherwise. They must not imply endorsement by an employer or use employer resources, confidential information, or branding without permission.

Conduct and personal boundaries

Harassment, discrimination, threats, retaliation, exploitation, coercion, and abusive behavior are prohibited. Participants must not use the relationship to solicit business, recruit into commercial schemes, seek investments, or pressure someone into a personal relationship.
Mentors must not pursue romantic or sexual relationships with their assigned mentees during the mentorship. Either participant may decline a request, stop a conversation, or seek reassignment without a participation penalty.

Meeting safety

Begin with a remote introductory conversation. Any in-person meeting must be mutually agreed and held in an appropriate public location, not a private residence or hotel bedroom.
Each participant should arrange their own transportation, inform a trusted person of meeting plans where appropriate, and leave an unsafe situation. These precautions do not excuse misconduct or remove legal responsibilities that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Privacy, confidentiality, and recording

Use another participant’s information only for the agreed mentorship purpose. Do not disclose it publicly or to unrelated third parties without permission or a lawful reason.
Do not record meetings, take screenshots, enable AI transcription, publish messages, or use someone’s image or story without specific prior consent from everyone concerned. The Foundation does not obtain publicity permission merely because someone registers.
Confidentiality does not prevent lawful reporting, obtaining legal advice, contacting emergency services, or making a good-faith complaint. Do not share confidential employer or client materials through the program.

Materials and intellectual property

Participants retain ownership of materials they create or submit, subject to any existing third-party rights. Sharing a résumé or other material for feedback permits only the use reasonably necessary to provide that feedback and administer the program.
No participant may commercially reuse, publish, or claim ownership of another person’s materials without permission. Materials must not be used to train AI systems without separate, informed authorization from the relevant rights holders.

Screening, matching, and program changes

The Foundation may assess experience, availability, suitability, and conflicts before making a match. Introductory conversations or reference checks are not guarantees of a participant’s identity, conduct, or future performance.
The Foundation may decline an application or pause, change, or end a match for legitimate program or safety reasons, consistently with applicable law. No screening disclaimer excuses the Foundation from responsibilities imposed by law.

Withdrawal and complaints

Either participant may end the mentorship or request reassignment. Please inform the coordinator so that records and communications can be updated.
Send complaints to contact.us@shahtoot.org. The Foundation will review concerns fairly, restrict disclosure where reasonably possible, and take appropriate action; confidentiality cannot be absolute where investigation or reporting is necessary.
Making a complaint does not require you to surrender legal rights. Retaliation against a person who raises a good-faith concern is prohibited.

Responsibility and limitations

Participants remain responsible for their own decisions and conduct. The Foundation does not guarantee uninterrupted availability, complete accuracy of every participant statement, or achievement of an individual career goal.
To the extent applicable law permits, the Foundation and its trustees, authorized coordinators, and volunteers exclude liability for indirect or consequential losses arising from participation, including speculative lost opportunities or anticipated earnings.
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, unlawful harassment or discrimination, or any liability that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or limited. Nothing prevents reporting a crime, contacting a regulator, bringing a legally protected claim, or obtaining an available legal remedy.

Applicable law and disputes

These terms are intended to be governed by Indian law, subject to mandatory laws and protections that apply to a participant or activity elsewhere, including applicable U.S. laws. This provision does not require a participant to waive protections that cannot lawfully be waived.
We encourage participants to contact the Foundation first so that concerns may be addressed informally. Doing so is not a prerequisite to urgent relief, reporting, or exercising legal rights, and does not shorten a statutory deadline.
Disputes may be brought before a court or authority with lawful jurisdiction. These terms do not impose compulsory arbitration or a class-action waiver.

Electronic acceptance and changes

Before submitting, you must have an opportunity to read these terms and the Privacy Notice. Selecting the acceptance checkbox and typing your name records your intention to accept these terms electronically.
You may request a copy or an alternative acceptance process through the program contact. Material changes will be notified, and fresh acceptance will be requested where necessary; changes will not retroactively remove accrued rights.
If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent legally permitted. These terms cannot override mandatory law.