The Sankara Eye Foundation, a U.S. non-profit that fundraises for its namesake foundation in India, held two consecutive fundraisers and volunteer appreciation events in the tri-state area last weekend, raising thousands of dollars to go toward building an eye hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
After successful galas in Austin, Dallas, Houston and California, the SEF held well-attended events in New Jersey Nov. 14 and New York City Nov. 15, organizers told Desi Talk.
The New Jersey SEF Donor Banquet at the The Pind restaurant in Kingston, New Jersey, attracted around 160 guests. The keynote speaker was the SEF founder in India, Dr R.V. Ramani here touring the U.S. to update donors on the implementation of projects.
The SEF conducts close to 150,000 free eye surgeries a year in India and runs 9 hospitals. Its goal is to build 20 hospitals by the year 2020. To date, SEF in India has conducted 1.2 million free eye surgeries and according to founders it is the largest free eye care project in the world. The U.S. non-profit co-founders Murali Krishnamurthy and Sundar Radhakrishnan accompanied Ramani to all the events.
The Kingston, N.J. donor banquet was coordinated by Minal Patel of Plainsboro, N.J. where Ramani gave a roundup of SEF operations and the model on which the organization worked. Local artist Chirag Trivedi, and Neel Desai of DJ Entertainment provided the music for the evening. Several youth volunteers were recognized. Around $12,000 was raised, Patel told Desi Talk.
In New York City, a smaller number of “high value” guests numbering around 75, attended the SEF fundraiser lunch Saturday at The Cotillion restaurant in Jericho, N.Y., raising around $60,000, half of it in pledges, Krishnamurthy told Desi Talk. Board member Raj Modi coordinated the event. Among those attending were representatives from the Rajasthan Association of North America, there to hear about the proposed eye hospital in Jodhpur. “We finally convinced RANA that we are a legitimate organization and they have agreed to raise about $100,000 toward the hospital,” Krishnamurthi said.
So far this year about $400,000 overall has been raised toward the goal of $1 million for the Jodhpur project.
“If we raise $1 million, we get a matching $1 million from a secret donor,” Krishnamurthi said. The secret donor has been giving SEF millions of dollars over the years but only if the organization is able to prove its ability to fundraise effectively. “We have to show we can raise the money. He wants RANA and SEF to work hard,” Krishnamurthi said.