Harvard physician Sanjiv Chopra will be the keynote speaker.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: The American India Foundation (AIF) will hold the inaugural gala of its newest chapter in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, March 27.
The Atlanta chapter of AIF joins a national network dedicated to raising awareness and funds for its development programs across India.
The AIF (www.aif.org) is committed to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development, with a particular emphasis on empowering girls and women.
Working closely with local communities, AIF partners with NGOs to develop and test innovative solutions and with governments to create and scale sustainable impact. Founded in 2001 at the initiative of President Bill Clinton, AIF has impacted the lives of more than 2.3 million of India’s poor and aims to reach 5 million by 2018.
AIF has fostered the support of internationally recognized members of the Indian diaspora, including Nobel economist Amartya Sen, Chair, AIF US Advisory Council.
At its chapter activities and fundraising galas, AIF has also honored some of India’s most highly venerated business leaders, such as Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal.
AIF’s Honorary Chair President Bill Clinton has commented, “AIF plays an ever important role in bringing together Americans and Indians to become active contributors to India’s development.”
The gala in Atlanta will be held in partnership with the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC), the oldest and largest organization representing Asian American businesses in the United States at the Atlanta Marriott, Century Blvd.
The gala will highlight AIF’s job creation platform for disadvantaged youth – the Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) program and Ability-Based Livelihoods Empowerment (ABLE) for people with disabilities.
This elegant event is expected to draw many of the region’s foremost community leaders, including Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Congressman Hank Johnson, Senator Tom Price, Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed, Fortune 500 CEOs and C-level executives, philanthropists, academics, and well-known media and entertainment figures for thrilling entertainment and an exquisitely catered dinner.
AIF will honor Faizal Kottikollon, founder, CEO, chairman, The KEF Holdings, for his excellence in entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will keynote the event, and Huffington Post contributor and Georgia Tech alum Shinjini Das will deliver special remarks.
Former Mrs. India International Shaveta Jain will lead the fundraising drive dedicated to AIF’s livelihood programs. The gala will be emceed by journalist and author Tulika Mehrotra, and will feature special performances by jazz ensemble The Ruby Reds and foot-tapping dance by NNKB Dance Academy.
AIF’s national chapter network has enabled AIF to deploy more than $92 million through programs in the critical areas of education, livelihoods, public health, entrepreneurship, and leadership development, and aims to reach five million people by 2018. Atlanta joins existing chapters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, Orange County, CA, and Richmond, Virginia.
The Atlanta chapter is chaired by Amitabh Sharma, and the gala has drawn extensive support from sponsors such as Aflac, Coca-Cola, Ingersoll Rand, Kroger, Lufthansa, and UPS, among others.
“We are very excited to be drawing such dedicated supporters and leadership as we expand AIF’s reach, and look forward to great success from the Atlanta chapter,” AIF CEO Ravi Kumar said, in a statement.