May 2013: CRY America Celebrates 10th Anniversary

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May 24, 2013
News India Times
communityaffairs
Gala Raises Over $55,000 to Support Rural Education in India
By a Staff Writer
– NEW YORK
ore than 350 guests
attended Nanubhai
Education Foundation’s
fifth annual gala held
May 10 at Midtown Loft and
Terrance here. More than
$55,000 was raised at the event,
according to a press release
issued by the group.
The foundation provides
scholarships to women in India
to attend college and works to
improve the quality of education
in rural schools in India
Actor Manish Dayal,
spokesman for the foundation,
along with special guests including actresses Melanie
Kannokada, Neelu Sodhi, Pooja
Kumar, Ami Sheth, model Nina
Peter Ferreira
M
At the Nanubhai Education Foundation’s fifth annual gala held May 10 at Midtown Loft
and Terrace in New York, from left, actresses Ami Sheth and Melanie Kannokada;
Raj Shah, founder and chairman of Nanubhai Foundation; Nita Nehru, chair of the NEF
Board; actor Manish Dayal, spokesperson for the foundation; actresses Nilu Sodhi
and Pooja Kumar and model Nina Emanuel.
Manuel, celebrity photographer
and star of Bravo TV’s “Double
Exposure “ Indrani Pal
Chaudhuri and fashion designer
Ramamurthy.
“This year we exceeded our
fundraising goals with the help
of our longtime supporters,”
Dayal was quoted as saying in
the release. “Every year our mission of reforming rural education
is being put to work in a real
way.”
Former Executive Director
Nita Nehru announced her new
role as co-chair of the foundation’s board, along with Kandarp
Shah; Claire Arthurs will take
over as the next executive director.
Guests enjoyed cocktails from
Diageo, Kettle One Vodka and
Guinness, appetizers from
Michelin Star Indian restaurant
Tulsi and desserts by Sonam
Sondhi of Chocal8Kiss. DJ
Gaurav kept the crowd entertained, while Singhal provided
her new collection on mannequins as the décor for the
venue.
The gala is the primary source
to raise funds for the foundation’s Teacher Training and
Professional Development
Program, which focuses on
enhancing the teaching skills,
classroom management techniques and English language
capabilities of local teachers.
CRY America Celebrates
10th Anniversary Gala
Payal Singhal came out to support the charity. Previous gala
supporters have included actors
Kal Penn and Sendhil
Shelter Raises Over $100,000 for
Battered Immigrant Women
By a Staff Writer
– CHICAGO, Ill.
op local restaurants united on May 2 at the
Chicago Cultural Center
to support survivors of
domestic violence in immigrant
communities at the fifth annual
Taste for Life hosted by Apna
Ghar.
More than 400 people attended the gala, which raised over
$100,000 to fund critical services
provided by the group, according
to a press release from the organizers. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn,
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel,
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and
State Comptroller Judy Baar
Topinka sent congratulatory
messages, the press release said.
An hour-long VIP reception
featured hors d’oeuvres prepared
by chefs Hiran Patel and Sahil
Singh.
Later, at the main event, small
plate dishes were provided
American Junkie, Atwood Café,
T
Bombay Wraps, Cabot Creamery
Cooperative, Cantina Laredo,
Chocolat – Uzma Sharif,
Dishoom Foods, Emilio’s Tapas,
Gaylord Fine Indian Restaurant,
Isla Pilipina, Metropolitan Club,
Peacock Indian Restaurant,
Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Sataza and
Untitled. Wine and beer tastings
were offered by Revolution
Brewing Company, Maverick
Wine Company, Wirtz, Vintage
and City Grocery. Pepsi provided
nonalcoholic beverages.
Each restaurant incorporated
a purple food item into one of its
dishes, purple being the color of
domestic violence awareness,
the release said.
Gaylord restaurant received
the most votes for the Purple
Dish Award. The award was presented by “MasterChef” contestant Suzy Singh to manager
Kamran Ali. A raffle featured gift
certificate packages donated by
restaurants, clubs, tourist attractions, etc. Of the six prizes, the
Chicago for Foodies Package was
won by Ruben Salazar who get to
dine at Rosebud Restaurants,
Epic, Argo Tea, Black Dog Gelato,
Travernita and Tru.
Deepika Sharma won the
grand prize donated by Ramzan
Dhanji and the Bellagio
Hotel.Students from the Music
Institute of Chicago took turns in
playing various instruments.
Saiyed G. Rabbani, president of
Apna Ghar’s board of directors,
spoke about its founding by five
women in 1990.
Executive Director Serena
Chen Low explained how Apna
Ghar got its name from a picture
drawn by an elementary school
student.Event chairs Sabrina
Hans and Monika Sharma introduced the participating restaurants. A video titled “Nishaat is a
Survivor” presented the case of a
girl who moved into an Apna
Ghar shelter with her mother for
six months at the age of 4.
She is now a student at
Georgetown University and
wants to start a domestic violence awareness group on campus, the release said.
Participating restaurants show off their commemoration plaques. Manager Kamran Ali of Gaylord Restaurant,
which won the Purple Dish Award, is front center.
Monica Kharkar, marketing manager for CRY America, left,; Padma Desai, Gladys and
Roland Harriman Professor at Columbia University, center, and Shefali Sunderlal,
president, CRY America at the May 10 gala held at Taj, The Pierre in New York.
By a Staff Writer
– NEW YORK
RY America celebrated 10
years of working to
improve the lives of children by hosting Pledge
2013, a benefit dinner at The
Pierre here May 10. A similar
event was held May 4 in the
Seattle area at the Westin in
Bellevue. More than $220,000
was raised at the two events
and will fund various projects,
according to a press release
from the group.
More than 100 people from
the New York and New Jersey
area attended the New York
event which was addressed by
Shefali Sunderlal, president of
CRY America. “As we reminisced about our childhoods at
the events, we also thought of
the 422,878 children living
across 2,395 villages and slums
in India, whose lives have been
irreversible transformed
through our collective efforts,”
she said, thanking donors, volunteers and project partners.
C
www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know
Sotheby’s Priyanka Mathew
led the auction that featured
paintings donated by famous
Indian artists Ram Kumar,
Seema Kohli, Kiyomi Talaulicar,
Prakash Deshmukh, Anand
Panchal; autographed guitars
by the Rolling Stones; autographed record albums by The
Beatles and Pink Floyd; and
other autographed memorabilia.
Prominent attendees included Professor Padma Desai of
Columbia University, Ruchir
Sharma from Morgan Stanley,
Natvar and Janet Bhavsar,
Scarlett Pildes, Suneeta Dewan,
Anu and Naveen Jain, Gurdeep
and Seema Pal, Swati and Raj
Angolkar, Sangeeta and Jigar
Thakkar, Murali and Mithali
Narayanan.
In over 10 years, CRY
America has helped to immunize 156,848 children, provided
regular health checkups for
76,821, activated 364 public
health care centers and 1,111
public schools and ended child
labor in 501 villages in India,
the release said.