Children’s Hope Celebrates People and the Power of Giving

Mayor Eric Adams – Chandrika Tandon – Young People’s Choir

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he start of the 2023 CHI Gala in the packed ballroom of New York’s Guastavino’s felt like a mind-blowing global rock concert. There was Grammy nominated Chandrika Tandon on the stage in glittering rock star black, accompanied by 30 young emerging stars of the gold medal winning Young People’s Chorus of New York. Together they made exuberant music, singing from Chandrika’s latest offering ‘Ammu’s Treasures – global songs about love, and family everywhere. The joy of music set the pace for the entire evening, which was dedicated to caring and community – and the much larger world around us.

CHI Gala Mayor Adams with Lavina Melwani, Dina Pahlajani and Tinku Jain

CHI Gala - Mayor remarks — CHI Gala – Mayor remarks

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ver 350 people attended this glittering event, meeting old friends and new ones. What really caused a lot of buzz was the presence of New York Mayor Eric Adams who spoke powerfully about the cause of vulnerable children everywhere. As he noted in his remarks, “To live rich is a blessing, to die rich is a sin – write a check! Write another check!”

CHI Gala - Mayor Adams and Tinku Jain - I Love New York! — CHI Gala – Mayor Adams and Tinku Jain – I Love New York!

CHI Gala - Honoree Prashant Bhuyan with family and presenters Omesh and Monica Lund — Honoree Prashant Bhuyan with his family and members of CHI

CHI Gala - Dina Pahlajani, Nari Pohani and Gigi Ramnani — CHI Gala – Dina Pahlajani, Honoree Nari Pohani and Gigi Ramnani

CHI Gala - Raj and Sujata Vanjani with their families — CHI Gala – Honorees Raj and Sujata Vanjani with their families

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]ndeed, the evening’s awards were given to people who have worked hard to give struggling children a better life. These were all members of New York’s large and successful Indian-American community who have not forgotten how powerful a tool education can be to children’s future. The Lotus Award was presented to Prashant Bhuyan, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Accrete; Making a Difference Award to Nari Pohani, businessman philanthropist; and the Rising Star Award to husband and wife duo Raj and Sujata Vanjani, CEO and COO of TPG Cultural Exchange. All three spoke eloquently about their interactions in making a better life for children through education.

CHI showed powerful videos about the work done in its projects and President Dina Pahlajani and Advisory Board member Tinku Jain spoke about the work being done. For 31 years, funds raised by the Children’s Hope India Annual Gala have supported thousands of children, youth, and young adults in the pursuit of their careers. Last year, Children’s Hope India launched its “30/30 Education Initiative” with the goal of addressing CHI’s Cradle to Career and Whole Child approach by providing early education, tuition and concept learning to prevent school drop outs along with career counseling to children. Since the launch, Children’s Hope India has already implemented the initiative in five centers and is on track to add five more centers by 2025.

CHI Gala - Vivek Rao, Meera Gandhi and Aroon Shivdasani — CHI Gala – Vivek Rao, Meera Gandhi and Aroon Shivdasani

CHI Gala - Lavina, Stacie and Vivek Melwani — CHI Gala – Lavina, Stacie and Vivek Melwani

CHI Gala - Poonam Khubani — CHI Gala – Poonam Khubani

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile raising funds for these projects through a live pledge and silent auction, CHI seriously turned this fundraiser also into a fun-raiser with a carnival of food, influencers, a mentalist and even a spice journey through India via tastings from different Indian chefs from restaurants like Indian Table, Benares and Spice Symphony. The best part of the evening was the networking and an additional new audience had come in to take advantage of the midtown location and the weekday timing