American India Foundation Annual New York City Gala Breaks Records Raising $3.1 Million for Innovative S.N.E.H. (Skilling, Nutrition, Education, Health) Program

NEW YORK, June 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American India Foundation's (AIF) New York Chapter hosted its annual gala this week to a sold-out crowd of 600 guests at the iconic Gotham Hall, celebrating 22 years of achievement. The evening highlighted AIF's innovative program integrating skilling, nutrition, education, and health (S.N.E.H.) designed to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 by helping over 10,000 children and adolescents regain ground in the areas of nutrition, school readiness, and emotional well-being; and create income enhancement for women through related livelihood opportunities.

Honoring the professional and philanthropic accomplishments of Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, and Brian Moynihan, Chair of the Board and CEO of Bank of America, the Gala, hosted by Seema Mody, Global Markets Reporter of CNBC, featured a stunning performance by Grammy Award Winning artist, Ricky Kej.

"While our mission remains rooted in eradicating multidimensional poverty through our health, education, and livelihoods programming, we adapt our work thoughtfully to address the changing reality of our beneficiary communities," said AIF's CEO Nishant Pandey. "This has helped AIF stay ahead of the curve, allowing us to positively impact over 16.5 million people across 36 states and union territories since inception. For this we thank our generous donors, our deeply engaged stakeholders, and our 1,800 committed colleagues on the ground in India."

"The Tata Group has been supporting AIF for many years. The work AIF does in India is vital to bridging the wide gaps that exist for marginalized communities. The impact we've made together is heartening and a model for development interventions going forward," said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons.

"Private and public sector partnerships are critical in creating economic opportunity and supporting programs to help our communities in need. For years, Bank of America has cooperated with the American India Foundation and together we were able to develop local initiatives that impact the lives of more than 1.4 million people across India. On behalf of my more than 200,000 teammates at Bank of America, it is an honor to receive this award," said Brian Moynihan, Chair of the Board and CEO of Bank of America.

Guests were visually transported to Madhya Pradesh to experience the impact of S.N.E.H. firsthand. Uma Gupta, President of a local women's Self Help Group, described how AIF created awareness around the unique nutritional needs of 6 month- to 6 year-old children attending the Aanganwadi–many of whom were malnourished. Her pride was palpable when she mentioned how empowered and honored she felt to professionally cook nutritionally-dense meals for children as young as 6 months. Laado, an adorable 3-year-old Aanganwadi student has not only grown healthier because of these meals, but is also thriving as a learner, thanks to the AIF-designed early childhood education curriculum aimed at school readiness. And Jyoti, a 14-year-old who was struggling emotionally in school and at home, learned how to express herself and manage her emotions in a healthy way thanks to the AIF-facilitated adolescent mental health curriculum featuring meditation, mindfulness, and other stress-reducing activities.

The 2023 NYC Gala is the highest-grossing event in AIF's history, raising $3.1 million thanks to the generosity of its donors, including Presenting Sponsors, Bank of America and Tata Consultancy Services.

Learn more about the American India Foundation.

For any queries in the US, please contact Kalpana Kanthan, Chief Development Officer, at [email protected]

SOURCE American India Foundation (AIF)