BOSTON– Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO school meal program that provides hot, unlimited mid-day meals to over 2 million underprivileged kids every day in India, announced that it will host its New England Gala on May 21, 2023, featuring Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an Indian-born American author and poet.
“On behalf of 2 million children of Akshaya Patra, we would like to extend a heartfelt invitation to join us for our upcoming event,” Akshaya Patra said in a statement, adding that Bostonians Renu and Kedar Gupta, have taken it upon themselves to support this noble cause and make a difference in the lives of these Indian children.
Guptas have set up a matching campaign towards ending Classroom Hunger in Lucknow, where they will match every dollar donated to the campaign up to $50,000, the statement said. Join Renu & Kedar Gupta’s Matching Campaign for Akshaya Patra – Akshaya Patra Foundation USA (akshayapatrausa.org)
The Boston Gala will be held on Sunday May 21, 2023, at 6:00 pm at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA.
Ms. Divakaruni will serve as the keynote speaker. She will be joined by Gene McDavid, Professor of Writing at the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program. Ms. Divakaruni ‘s short story collection, Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award in 1996. Two of her novels–The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart as well as a short story: The Word Love—were adapted into films.
Taniya Nayak, who has has been regularly featured as both a host and interior designer on HGTV shows, including “Battle on the Beach” and “Build It Forward” will serve as emcee for the evening. She is a featured designer on Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible” for the last 23 seasons, and is a judge on ABC’s primetime hit show “The Great Christmas Light Fight.”
Reeshabh, classically trained vocalist, music composer and arranger will provide entertainment. Reeshabh has performed at various concerts, and has given playback to two Marathi compositions and has also played the lead role in an upcoming movie ‘4GB’. He has won the prestigious CCRT Scholarship by Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He is a student at Berkley school of music.
Over the past 20 years, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has served over 3.5 billion meals to school children in India. With frugal innovation and a simple desire to do good, the organization now serves 2 million meals daily to government school children in over 20,000 schools via 58 centralized kitchens throughout 14 States in India.
Since the lockdown began in India on March 24th, 2020, Akshaya Patra has served over 240 million meals to migrant workers and vulnerable communities.
Akshaya Patra’s 10 online galas in 2020 and 2021 featured globally notable speakers and artists like Narayana Murthy, Founder & Chairman Emeritus of Infosys; Sudha Murthy, Chair of Infosys Foundation; John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco; Shankar Mahadevan, Music Director and Performer; Vinita Bali, former CEO and Managing Director of Britannia; actors Boman Irani and Paresh Rawal; actress Hema Malini; lyricist and screen writer Javed Akhtar, actress and producer Raveena Tandon; celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor; Jamshydji Godrej, Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce; and Indra Nooyi, a former CEO of PepsiCo, among others.
Established in 2006, the Boston Chapter is the oldest US Chapter and pioneered the way for the other 30 US Chapters. The Boston Chapter has a supportive and generous donor base throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. It is anticipated that 1,000 people will be in attendance.
Anyone interested in becoming an event sponsor or donor, can find out more information by visiting the Akshaya Patra USA website. All event sponsors and donors will be recognized and thanked through event promotional and marketing material, social media, and an e-newsletter.
Established in 2000, Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO school meal program, providing hot, unlimited mid-day meals to over 2 million underprivileged kids every day in 22,000+ schools, by 65 kitchens, across 14 states and 2 Union Territories. It costs only $20 to feed a child for an entire school year. Since the COVID-19 lockdown began on March 24th, 2020, Akshaya Patra has served more than 240 million meals to migrant workers and our beneficiaries and their families.
The New England gala is coordinated by the Boston chapter Co-Chairs Ajita Bhat, Venkat Kolluri, Bela Chandok, Rajeev Jain, and Chandu Shah, along with the Board of Advisor, Rakesh Kamdar.
Please register and join Akshaya Patra USA Boston gala of 2023. on Sunday, May 21st, 2023 at 6;00pm at Marriott Burlington Hotel, in Burlington, MA
