Washington: Over $280,000 for poverty relief in India was raised by the American India Foundation (AIF) at a gathering attended by over 250 influential figures from government, business and philanthropy.
The money raised would be used for various poverty alleviation projects being funded by the not-for-profit AIF through its network of non-governmental organizations in India.
Founded in 2001 at the initiative of then U.S. President Bill Clinton, AIF has so far impacted the lives of over 1.9 million of India's less privileged.
It aims to reach 5 million by 2018. At last night's gala, AIF celebrated its success and felicitated honourees including president of the Business Round Table former Michigan Governor John Engler, and Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia, for their altruism, inspiring leadership, and philanthropic commitment to support AIF's mission to help India's poor with opportunity and hope.
Acknowledging the influence of the Indian diaspora to United States, Engler said, "Commitment and contributions by industry, philanthropy and business, to democracies of both, United States and India, are critical to transforming this burgeoning relationship into a defining one for the future."
In addition to honouring the leaders, this year's gala also showcased AIF's William J Clinton Fellowship with a silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind photographs of Fellows on the ground during their time in India.
Ruma Roka, founder and general secretary for the Noida Deaf Society (NDS), an AIF partner NGO, in her remarks appreciated AIF's continued support to NDS and spoke about NDS's valuable work, aimed to integrate deaf people into the mainstream community through specialised vocational programmes that lead to gainful employment.
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