THRIVE, the non-profit organization that works to provide access to primary education, basic healthcare and sustainable economic development to rural villages in India announced that they are now joining the Next Generation Foundation (NGF), another Boston-based charity with a shared vision and mission, at the recently concluded NGF-Thrive Annual Deewali fundraiser event held at the Elks Lodge of Lexington.

NGF's Founder Chairman Peo Nathan announced that THRIVE's founder, Monalisa Patnaik, will now be acting as a Director on the Board of NGF. She will continue working with her pet Thrive project, now under the NGF umbrella. Amaresh Mohapatra will continue to lead the effort of helping underprivileged children in India.

THRIVE, the non-profit organization that works to provide access to primary education, basic healthcare and sustainable economic development to rural villages in India announced that they are now joining the Next Generation Foundation (NGF), another Boston-based charity with a shared vision and mission, at the recently concluded NGF-Thrive Annual Deewali fundraiser event held at the Elks Lodge of Lexington.

NGF's Founder Chairman Peo Nathan announced that Thrive's founder, Monalisa Patnaik, will now be acting as a Director on the Board of NGF. She will continue working with her pet Thrive project, now under the NGF umbrella. Amaresh Mohapatra will continue to lead the effort of helping underprivileged children in India.

"The merger has been in the works for quite some time now. Monalisa and I met at a Thrive fundraiser last year, and I was very impressed by her meticulous organizational skills, and her passion and single-minded dedication towards the cause of underprivileged children in India. I was moved by the fact that this US-born and highly educated young woman had such a strong conviction towards our shared cause of helping underprivileged children that, once she completed her education, she spent 2 full years of her life  helping underprivileged children in Orissa", said Peo Nathan.

Peo says he always nurtured the long term vision of bringing together other non-profit organizations in the area that share NGF's vision so NGF can use their collective efforts and resources towards the worthy causes more effectively. Sensing the high compatibility between the teams, Peo initiated the discussions between the NGF and Thrive teams.

"Amaresh Mohapatra, the then President of Thrive, and I started partnership discussions with Peo, Naveed Deshmukh and Pramit Makoday from the NGF team. We instantly realized that we are hand in glove with each other and we share the same levels of enthusiasm, dedication and passion towards our common cause. After talking for a while it was obvious that Thrive and NGF were natural allies. The official merger announcement was now a mere formality, a no-brainer.", says Monalisa.

The annual THRIVE Deewali fundraiser was chosen to make the announcement public. The event turned out to be a huge success attracting about 150 people.

Monalisa Patnaik and Peo Nathan kicked off the evening with introductions, welcome messages and the merger announcement. Philanthropist Puran Dang, President and CEO of Minuteman Technical Service Inc., and a leading member of the Indian American community added to the event's motivational value by sharing his highly inspirational thoughts about how every person at every level can make a huge difference to the society in their own way by sharing even tiny, insignificant bits of their fortunes with the underprivileged.

The dinner fundraiser event continued into the night with brilliant dance performances by various local artists - including quality classical, bollywood and fusion dance performances. Past dinner, the attendees took to the dance floor and danced the night away to the popular tunes played by DJ Teek. Mehendi and jewelry stalls added to the festive atmosphere.

The food catered by Mysore Veggie (http://www.mysoreveggie.com) was excellent and sumptuous. Arif Marecar, a noted Boston area Indian Chef and partner-owner of the newly opened South Indian Vegetarian restaurant donated food towards this noble cause. "Arif, my childhood friend who I accidentally bumped into in a Boston restaurant after a long time, has always been considerate and has been helping out NGF by donating/subsidizing food at various NGF events" shared Peo.

"We are touched by the overwhelming support and enthusiasm showered by our patrons and members. We are excited by the possibilities that will open up for the women and children of the new NGF as a result of the total of about $7000 raised in donations at this event.", said Monalisa.

The event resonated with the symbolic value of Diwali which is the 'Festival of Lights and Hope'. We hope the funds raised will light up the hearts and lives of many an underprivileged child back home in India.

Next Generation Foundation (http://www.nextgenfoundation.org) has branches in various places in India that take up and execute various programs to help underprivileged people. Sadanand Bhagawat, co-founder, who has left US for good solely to concentrate on NGF's social service activities co-ordinates a team of other volunteers to implement NGF's programs and realize NGF's mission. For more details about NGF's activities and how you can HELP SPONSOR A CHILD FOR A WHOLE

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