IndiaWest
The American India Foundation’s Orange County chapter held its inaugural gala March 8, hosting more than 270 guests at the historical Bowers Museum here.
Orange County’s AIF chair Tinnie Grewal and co-chair Shiv Grewal, a director and senior shareholder with Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, welcomed guests who had come together to support the chapter’s inaugural gala. AIF CEO Ravi Kumar then highlighted AIF’s strategy of collective, strategic and secular philanthropy.
The gala was chaired by M S International, Inc. and the Tarsadia Foundation, and featured former U.S. Ambassador to India and former governor of Ohio Richard F. Celeste as the keynote speaker.
The evening’s final speaker, AIF William J. Clinton Fellowship Alumnus Charles Ianuzzi, approached the issue of social and economic progress in India from a different angle. He spoke about his fellowship experience at AIF partner NGO Ashram Paryarvaran Vidyalaya and the benefits he saw from the program on the ground.
Rohit Shukla emceed the evening, and multicultural dance group JazzXchange provided the entertainment.
The evening was an occasion for AIF to celebrate its success as one of the leading philanthropies focused on the Indian diaspora, and highlighted AIF’s Digital Equalizer program, which utilizes technology to bridge the digital divide in India and transform under-resourced schools into dynamic places to teach and learn through collaborative, project-based learning.
By the end of the evening, the OC chapter had raised approximately $400,000 to support AIF’s goal of uplifting the lives of India’s most marginalized communities.
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