At its upcoming Annual ”Bow Ties and Bangles” Gala, the American India Foundation (AIF) will celebrate its success as a leading Indian diaspora philanthropy by honoring Mark Nunnelly, Managing Director at Bain Capital. The recipient of Special Recognition will be Anant Agarwal, President of edX. These renowned leaders will be honored and recognized for their continued corporate and philanthropic  and academic leadership and their outstanding efforts in supporting solutions for persistent social issues the world over.

The event will take place on Saturday, November 3^rd, 2012 in the Shapiro Courtyard of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, commencing at 6:30pm with a cocktail hour. The Gala will be chaired by AIF Trustees Raj and Nalini Sharma, Dr. Venkat and Pratima Srinivasan, Dr. Brian J.G. Pereira and Dr. Sunita Pereira. This incredible evening will feature the musical talents of Shirish Nimgaonkar and a special dance performance. Sorboni Banerjee, Fox 25 News Anchor, will act as Mistress of Ceremonies. The program will highlight AIF’s Learning and Migration Program (LAMP), and will draw on local passion and generosity to promote AIF’s efforts to “Educate, Inspire, and Empower” the underprivileged of India.

AIF’s Learning and Migration Program (LAMP) is an educational scheme that addresses India’s substantial and persistent problem of education not being available to migrant children. These marginalized children often do not attend school, and those who are able to attend struggle to achieve age-appropriate learning outcomes. LAMP was created to tackle these problems through the provision of hostels, schools, and stable home and educational environments to ensure that the children stay in school. So far, LAMP has reached 260,000 migrant children in 935 seasonal hotels, 300 villages and 200 urban slums across India.

Since its founding in 2001, AIF has raised and deployed over $70 million to support its programs in the areas of education, livelihoods and public health. As a result of its work, more than 1.5 million of India’s poorest and marginalized people have taken their first step up the ladder of economic opportunity. President Bill Clinton serves as Honorary Chair and Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen Chairs the Advisory Council.

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