Pongal-Republic Day 2012
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Event Summary Report
“We may not do great things, but we can even do small things with great love.. this is what Bighelp believes. This is what Bighelp does “. Say the volunteers at Bighelp.
On January 7, 2012, Bighelp held their 9th annual fundraiser Pongal-Republic Day Celebrations at Canton High School, Canton, MA. This year’s event was attended by over 1400 people and lasted nearly ten hours. The event started with Math Bee, Spelling Bee, Art, and Coloring for kids and a Rangoli contest for adults. The Cultural programs were hosted by 6 energetic young students Avinash Gundimeda, Monica Nagalla, Prashant Maddineni, Sanjay Batchu, Abhiram Rao and Madhumathi Prakash who are also part of Bighelp's youth group YouthHelp. A colorful mix of songs and dances, patriotic, devotional, filmy, classical and modern, performed by over 200 children and adults made up the cultural programs. Though everyone thoroughly enjoyed the exciting day, they knew that the real reason behind the event was to extend Bighelp’s mission, and they did just that. A total of $21,000 was raised to continue the organization’s projects in the upcoming year.
The President & Founder Mr. Chand Pasha Shaik said he is very encouraged by the response and thanked all those 150 volunteers and 55 youth members for all their hard work and commitment in making the event an another successful fundraiser for Bighelp. He said the funds raised during this event will be utilized to sponsor additional 50 children, adopt 5 new schools, setup 10 new merit awards and support 2 special needs schools in 2012.
Mr. Shaik said “Alone one can make some difference but together we can change this world. We believe in collaborative work and team work. We at Bighelp make meticulous plans for a better tomorrow for the needy and implement our best in achieving our objectives. I invite committed people to work with us”
Mr. Shaik presented a video showing Bighelp’s accomplishments for the year 2011. In addition to sponsoring the education of 369 poor children of India, sponsoring 25 merit awards, providing support to 150 public schools, Bighelp provided financial help to AID INDIA Eurekha Super Kidz for the education centers at Eurekha Super Kidz village and Samanvai computer training center to visually impaired children in India.
The skit “One life and one planet” presented by GreenHelp group that was formed last year with the core mission to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle plastic & paper has re-emphasized the Bighelp's commitment towards recycling.
Several individuals who made significant achievements in 2011 were recognized at the event by Bighelp. Chief guests of the evening Mrs. Sreedevi & Mr. Ash Ashutosh presented “Raising Star” awards to Sai Balabhadrapatruni and Nitya Yelamanchili in recognition of an exceptional initiative to raise funds as a youth members of Bighelp and making positive impact in the lives of underprivileged children in India through Bighelp. These thoughtful young children raised funds for Bighelp by selling snacks during the weekends. Mr.&Mrs. Avadhuta, Mr.& Mrs. Chaganti, Mr. & Mrs. Nagalamadaka, Mr. & Mrs. Bommaraju and Mr.&Mrs. Chilakamarri were presented with the Volunteer of the Year 2011 Award, for their outstanding contributions to the organization. Winners of the art, coloring, and rangoli contests, as well as the spelling and math bee were presented with trophies and certificates by the honorary guests Mrs. Ranjani Saigal (co-founder - Lokvani.com), Mrs. Karla Talanian (Associate Director - MetroWest School of Mathematics), Natalya Petkova-Perez (Principal - new RSM Sharon branch), Mr. Seshi Sompuram (President - Sishubharathi), Mr. Ram Subramanian (Aloha Mind Math), Dr. Jagannadh Rao & Dr. Sunitha Kandula , Mr. Deepak Wadhwa & Mrs. Bindu Wadhwa. Complimentary dinner prepared by 161 volunteers was served to all guests at the end of the event.