Infosys Founder S. Gopalakrishnan and Award-winning Journalist P. Sainath to Speak at Asha for Education NYC/NJ's Dinner Gala
New York, NY, March 29, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Indian business icon and Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishnan will be the guest of honor at "An Evening of Hope" a dinner gala hosted by the NYC/NJ chapter of Asha for Education on May 19, 2007 at the Waldorf-Astoria. Award-winning development journalist P. Sainath will be the special guest speaker of the night.
The New York City/New Jersey chapter of Asha for Education (Asha) will recognize the contributions these business and journalism representatives have made towards uplifting poverty as well as celebrate the achievements that Asha has made in providing education to underprivileged children in India. This all-volunteer, zero-overhead organization raised over $150,000 last year in innovative fundraising programs such as a marathon program, a 5K run for charity, a Notes of Hope concert featuring classical music legend Pt. Shivkumar Sharma and a comedy show.
100% of net proceeds raised from these events go directly into educational projects supported by the organization. Education initiatives supported by Asha's fundraising efforts include education for slum children, orphans and tribal communities and alternative education for victims of child labor.
The "Evening of Hope" will begin with cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner and speeches by Gopalakrishnan and Sainath at the Empire Suite at Waldorf-Astoria. The host for the night will be comedian Dan Nainan.
Tickets start at $300 and can be bought directly from their website at https://www.ashanet.org/nycnj/gala/index.php. Please contact Jaee Likhite, the Gala Fundraising Coordinator, at 267-471-6786 for more information on tickets or sponsorship opportunities.
SPEAKER BIOS
S. Gopalakrishnan (called Kris by his colleagues) is one of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited, a highly respected consulting, IT services and business process management company operating in the global market. In 1981, Kris, along with N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys Technologies Limited. Currently, Kris serves as chief operating officer and since August 2006 is also the president and joint managing director of the company.
Kris and his family have established a charitable trust – Pratiksha Trust. Pratiksha supports educational and healthcare initiatives targeted towards the poor and focuses on creating systemic changes in society.
Kris is also currently the chairman of Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), Kerala and the vice-chairman of the Information Technology Education Standards Board (BITES) set up by Karnataka Government. He is on the board of directors of National Internet Exchange of India and is the chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Karnataka Region. He is a member of ACM, IEEE and IEEE Computer Society.
P. Sainath, a world-renowned development journalist, covers social problems in India, particularly on poverty and rural affairs. During the early 1990s, Sainath spent two years in the poorest districts in India and avidly wrote about problems associated with the poor, including farmer suicides. He also wrote Everybody Loves a Good Drought, an examination of India's economic policies on poverty in the country. Currently, P. Sainath is the rural affairs editor of The Hindu.
Sainath has won numerous awards for his reportage, including the European Commission's Natali Prize in 1994 for articles on development and poverty. In November 2001, he won the Boerma Journalism Prize from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO). He received other awards including the Amnesty International Global Award for human rights journalism, the PUCL Human Rights Journalism Award, and the B.D. Goenka Award for excellence in journalism. In 2006, Sainath won the Judges' prize at the Harry Chapin Media Awards.
Asha for Education is a secular, zero-overhead, volunteer run, non-profit organization dedicated to developing education of underprivileged children in India. 100% of proceeds go directly towards supporting Asha projects in India. Asha was ranked #1 among "top-ten slam-dunk charities" by Charity Navigator in 2005.
Started in 1991 by a group of students at UC Berkeley, Asha has blossomed into a worldwide organization totalling 66 chapters (45 in the United States, 14 in India and 7 in Europe, Singapore and Australia).
Since 1995, Asha's 66 chapters worldwide have disbursed over $7.3 million to more than 385 projects in India. The NYC/NJ chapter has supported several key projects with focus on special needs, disabilities, infrastructure, formal and non-formal education, community-based intervention and more. By pioneering bold new initiatives in the field of education, Asha is making a difference in the lives of underprivileged children of India.
For more information about Asha for Education, please visit the NYC/NJ chapter website at http://www.ashanet.org/nycnj
Press Contact:
Priyanka Lilaramani
Asha for Education NYC/NJ Publicity Coordinator
priyanka.lilaramani@gmail.com
###
The New York City/New Jersey chapter of Asha for Education (Asha) will recognize the contributions these business and journalism representatives have made towards uplifting poverty as well as celebrate the achievements that Asha has made in providing education to underprivileged children in India. This all-volunteer, zero-overhead organization raised over $150,000 last year in innovative fundraising programs such as a marathon program, a 5K run for charity, a Notes of Hope concert featuring classical music legend Pt. Shivkumar Sharma and a comedy show.
100% of net proceeds raised from these events go directly into educational projects supported by the organization. Education initiatives supported by Asha's fundraising efforts include education for slum children, orphans and tribal communities and alternative education for victims of child labor.
The "Evening of Hope" will begin with cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner and speeches by Gopalakrishnan and Sainath at the Empire Suite at Waldorf-Astoria. The host for the night will be comedian Dan Nainan.
Tickets start at $300 and can be bought directly from their website at https://www.ashanet.org/nycnj/gala/index.php. Please contact Jaee Likhite, the Gala Fundraising Coordinator, at 267-471-6786 for more information on tickets or sponsorship opportunities.
SPEAKER BIOS
S. Gopalakrishnan (called Kris by his colleagues) is one of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited, a highly respected consulting, IT services and business process management company operating in the global market. In 1981, Kris, along with N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys Technologies Limited. Currently, Kris serves as chief operating officer and since August 2006 is also the president and joint managing director of the company.
Kris and his family have established a charitable trust – Pratiksha Trust. Pratiksha supports educational and healthcare initiatives targeted towards the poor and focuses on creating systemic changes in society.
Kris is also currently the chairman of Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), Kerala and the vice-chairman of the Information Technology Education Standards Board (BITES) set up by Karnataka Government. He is on the board of directors of National Internet Exchange of India and is the chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Karnataka Region. He is a member of ACM, IEEE and IEEE Computer Society.
P. Sainath, a world-renowned development journalist, covers social problems in India, particularly on poverty and rural affairs. During the early 1990s, Sainath spent two years in the poorest districts in India and avidly wrote about problems associated with the poor, including farmer suicides. He also wrote Everybody Loves a Good Drought, an examination of India's economic policies on poverty in the country. Currently, P. Sainath is the rural affairs editor of The Hindu.
Sainath has won numerous awards for his reportage, including the European Commission's Natali Prize in 1994 for articles on development and poverty. In November 2001, he won the Boerma Journalism Prize from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO). He received other awards including the Amnesty International Global Award for human rights journalism, the PUCL Human Rights Journalism Award, and the B.D. Goenka Award for excellence in journalism. In 2006, Sainath won the Judges' prize at the Harry Chapin Media Awards.
Asha for Education is a secular, zero-overhead, volunteer run, non-profit organization dedicated to developing education of underprivileged children in India. 100% of proceeds go directly towards supporting Asha projects in India. Asha was ranked #1 among "top-ten slam-dunk charities" by Charity Navigator in 2005.
Started in 1991 by a group of students at UC Berkeley, Asha has blossomed into a worldwide organization totalling 66 chapters (45 in the United States, 14 in India and 7 in Europe, Singapore and Australia).
Since 1995, Asha's 66 chapters worldwide have disbursed over $7.3 million to more than 385 projects in India. The NYC/NJ chapter has supported several key projects with focus on special needs, disabilities, infrastructure, formal and non-formal education, community-based intervention and more. By pioneering bold new initiatives in the field of education, Asha is making a difference in the lives of underprivileged children of India.
For more information about Asha for Education, please visit the NYC/NJ chapter website at http://www.ashanet.org/nycnj
Press Contact:
Priyanka Lilaramani
Asha for Education NYC/NJ Publicity Coordinator
priyanka.lilaramani@gmail.com
###
Contact
Asha for Education NYC/NJ
Priyanka Lilaramani
917-715-3287
www.ashanet.org/nycnj
Priyanka Lilaramani
917-715-3287
www.ashanet.org/nycnj
Contact
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