The Akshaya Patra Foundation will be holding its 2016 Annual Boston Benefit Event on Sunday, May 1st. Dr. Atul Gawande, author of the recently released bestseller Being Mortal, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.
The event will be held at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, Massachusetts, and will begin with a welcome reception at 5:00 PM. Over 400 business, non-profit, government, and philanthropic leaders from around the region are expected to attend and support the organization’s dual mission of addressing childhood hunger and malnutrition, and to promote education for underserved children in India.
The 2016 Annual Boston Gala is made possible by the support of event sponsors, including Leadership Sponsors Vinay Kumar and Bela Chandhok and Atul and Ajita Bhat. Akshaya Patra appreciates the support of its Signature Sponsors Pramod Kalyanasundaram, Ravi and Gayatri Ika, and Girija and Sanjeev Verma. These sponsors are joined by Community Sponsors Kedar and Renu Gupta of the Gupta Family Foundation, Sushil Tuli, President, CEO and Chairman of Leader Bank, India New England, Anupama and Apurv Gupta, Mahesh Goyal, Drs. Brian and Sunita Pereira, Anu Chitrapu and Rama Ramakrishnan, and Dr. Megha Joshi of Lawrence Memorial Hospital and accomplished saxophonist Phil Scarff.
Dr. Atul Gawande is a surgeon, writer and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Atul has been a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine since 1998 and has written four New York Times bestsellers: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and most recently Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. He is the winner of two National Magazine Awards, Academy Health’s Impact Award for highest research on healthcare, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Award for writing science.
Established in 2000, Akshaya Patra began by serving 1,500 in 5 schools in Bangalore. Today Akshaya Patra is the largest NGO-run school meal programs in the world and serves over 1.4 million children daily in over 11,501 schools through 24 kitchens in ten states in India. In March, Akshaya Patra will celebrate its 15th Anniversary and the serving of its 2 billionth meal to children in India.
Last year, Akshaya Patra USA established the Youth Ambassador Program to empower youth leaders to become representatives for Akshaya Patra in their communities. Youth Ambassadors raise funds and awareness for their peers in India. Youth Ambassadors receive community service credit and recommendations when they reach their fundraising and awareness goals. Youth Ambassadors are invited to travel to India to volunteer with the school meal program and meet beneficiaries of the program. To learn more about the program and how to apply, please call Krista McCarthy at 781-438-3090 x 7 or Krista@apusa.org.
This year’s event will feature an evening of networking, entertainment, and dinner. Individuals interested in purchasing tickets and sponsoring the event, can contact Ankita Narula, Director of Development-Northeast, at 781-454-7247.
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