Over $2 Million Raised For Pratham At The Museum Of Modern Art Gala

The New York Chapter of Pratham USA welcomed more than 600 guests to its annual gala held on Thursday, September 18, 2014 at The Museum of Modern Art. End Quote

Indianapolis, IN (1888PressRelease) September 24, 2014 - A "who's who" of prominent Indian Americans, philanthropists, corporate executive and Wall Street elite turned out for this year's festivities. The evening raised over $2 million for Pratham's programs to educate underprivileged children and youth in India.

Washington Post journalist, CNN host and New York Times best-selling author Fareed Zakaria delivered the night's keynote address and spoke on India's recent election and his hope for India's ability to instigate change.

"The most heartening part of this last election is that for the first time in many, many years, an election was held on issues, on substance, on policy," said Zakaria. "This election was about the idea of development. It provides a framework that India has not had in a generation."

"There's never been a better opportunity for India to take advantage of current momentum," he added, closing out the speech with a call to support Pratham. "The Ministry of Education is not going to solve India's education problem. Pratham is."

Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran also gave remarks, congratulating Pratham CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Madhav Chavan on his recent Asia Game Changer Award for "bringing the gift of literacy to millions of Indians."

Gala guests, including Manish Dayal from the celebrated film "The Hundred-Foot Journey," and Ali Velshi, host of "Real Money with Ali Velshi," who served as the night's emcee, enjoyed cocktails in the Sculpture Garden under a beautiful September night sky, followed by a sumptuous dinner in the main hall and dancing to Indian Bhangra music. Attendees were also treated to private gallery tours of The Museum of Modern Art's exquisite collection.

"This was one of my most anticipated events of the year, not only because of the beautiful venue, but more importantly, because of the good work Pratham does," said longtime supporter Rekha Kumar."I'm particularly impressed by Pratham's record of leveraging its resources in an efficient manner to provide education in the far reaches of India."

To raise awareness outside the event, this year's gala also highlighted #WHYPRATHAM, a social media campaign encouraging attendees to share messages about their personal connection to the organization.

"We are immensely grateful to our sponsors, supporters and volunteers for the tremendous success of this year's gala," said Deepak Raj, President of the New York Tri-State Chapter. "The funds we raised reflect our community's commitment to widening access to education in India and our belief in Pratham's unique vision and ability to enact change. We hope we can raise even more next year."

As the largest educational movement in India, Pratham reaches millions of children and youth annually through its operations. Over 90% of every dollar raised from the gala will go to support programs that include pre-school classes, remedial learning programs and vocational training. To learn more about Pratham and its programs, visit http://prathamusa.org

About Pratham
Founded in 1995 to ensure that every child is in school and learning well, Pratham is now one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India's education sector. Pratham employs low-cost, scalable methods and works in partnership with government and community stakeholders to deliver quality education to underprivileged children and youth across India. In 2013-14, Pratham reached nearly 5 million children, adolescents and young adults through a range of programs in 20 of the 29 Indian states.

Pratham USA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a four-star rating (the highest possible) from Charity Navigator, accepts tax deductible contributions from US donors to improve the quality of education in India. For more information, visit prathamusa.org.

Press Contacts:
Anuja Butala
Communications Manager
Pratham
abutala ( @ ) pratham dot org
Phone: 646-593-1404.

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