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Community Corner

American India Foundation Raises $1.4 Million at SF Gala

Money supports programs in India that benefits children and people in need.

The American India Foundation (AIF) raised more than $1.4 million to benefit programs in India at its 10th anniversary gala in San Francisco on Saturday, it was announced Tuesday.

More than 550 people attended the event, including numerous local leaders from the South Asian community.

With the theme of “Celebrating a Decade of Impact,” AIF honored several leading philanthropists and social activists “committed to creating long-term change and impact in India from both the subcontinent itself and the United States,” according to an AIF press release.

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Shelley Rubin, co-founder and co-chairwoman of the Rubin Museum of Art, and Dr. Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, were presented with the AIF Leadership in Philanthropy Award.

The AIF Leadership in Social Change Award was presented to Dr. Kiran Bedi for her contributions to advancing various social causes in India, including women’s rights, police and prison reforms, education and health care. Bedi’s sister, Anu Peshawaria, accepted the award on her behalf. Peshawaria is a local attorney and author of the book Immigrant’s Dream.

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NBC News anchor Raj Mathai led the gala’s fundraising drive to benefit rural communities and children of migrant workers across India with access to education through the AIF Learning and Migration Program (LAMP). More than $250,000 was donated to the LAMP program on Saturday night.

According to AIF officials, LAMP has helped more than 237,000 children across India and also supported passage of legislation for migrant children.

Saturday’s gala was chaired by Usha and Diaz Nesamoney, founder of Jivox; Neeru and Vinod Khosia, founder of Sun Microsystems; and AIF founding President and Vice Chairman Lata Krishnan, and AIF Trustee Ajay Shah.

Since its founding in 2001 to raise money to help victims of the Gujarat earthquake, AIF has raised and distributed more than $70 million to support its programs in India, according to the organization.

Leaders estimate AIF has impacted the lives of 1.5 million of “India’s most impoverished and marginalized individuals in the areas of education, livelihoods and public health,” the press release states.

President Bill Clinton serves as the honorary chairman of AIF.

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