IMANE 2006 Charity Gala held on Mother’s Day was the first of its kind to be held in the New England region. Organized by Dr. Purnima Sangal, MD, FACOG, and President of IMANE, this fundraiser was created to support the different service initiatives. IMANE has entered into several alliances and has launched new social service projects.  They have expanded their efforts through pro-bono work to meet the medical needs of the under-served, and uninsured patients at their free Health Stops in Waltham, Shrewsbury and Lowell (to be launched this summer).

On the morning of the event, Dr. Sangal invited and met with all the babies (some of them now children and adults) that she has delivered over her years of practice as an Obstetrician/ Gynecologist. It was delightful to watch the joy on her face as she met with all the ones she helped bring to the world.

The day was billed as a fun-mela and lived upto that expectation with delightful cultural events that featured Bhangara and Bharatanatyam performances. There were more than 30 booths by Law offices of Miller, Patel and Donabed, LLP.; Bombay Club; American Home Builders; India Center; Western Union; New York Life; medPolnte Pharmaceuticals; Leader Bank; Quest Diagnostics; Pfizer; Citizens Bank; First Financial Resources, and many others. Even though it was raining, there were hundreds of visitors getting their health and dental checkups at the free onsite health stop.

Three seminars on Retirement and Estate Planning, Global HIV and Asset Protection were very informative. Vikram Udeshi of New York Life focused on 412(i) plans which he said can be used to defer income up to $175K per year. Dr. David Sidebottom talked about the Global HIV epidemic. There are 4.58 million people infected. He stressed on the long term demographic impact, macro economic impact, and the Westoxification – Sexual Liberalization in emerging countries. Rao Garuda of First Financial Resources and Member of The Million Dollar ‘Top of The Table’ group, discussed the benefits of Separate Entity of Ownership, Umbrella Liability, Asset Protecting Trusts, Debt Shield for Homes, Variable Annuities with Living Benefit Guarantees, Multi-Generational IRAs and a host of other very important topics.

The grand finale was the much awaited  ‘Rockstars’ concert featuring Salman Khan, John Abraham. Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Doel and Mallika Sherawat. They delighted the audience by dancing to many popular numbers.

All in all a great event that supported a good cause.

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