Young and old volunteers fundraise for ‘Plant a Billion Trees’ campaign.
AB Wire
On an early Saturday morning recently, 10-year-old Nayan Soni had his laces tied and was ready to go on a walk – to fundraise.
Soni was on a mission to raise money for a cause close to his heart and one that reflects a reality of his time: saving the environment. Reversing the impact of global warming seems like a daunting task in and of itself; however, he was determined to take action and help bring awareness to his local community.
For the last two months, Soni took up the cause of raising funds and awareness to support BAPS Charities Walk Green held in Washington, DC, on June 18th. Inspired by the motto of think globally, act locally, he personally raised $1,271 by inspiring his friends, teachers, and neighbors to get excited about this cause.
Recognizing the need to promote environment awareness, this year BAPS Charities Walk Green is supporting The Nature Conservancy and its ‘Plant a Billion Trees’ campaign to restore 1.6 million acres of land by 2025.
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. With over 1 million members, the organization protects more than 119 million acres of land, thousands of miles of rivers, and operates more than 100 marine conservation projects globally since 1951. In support of this initiative, BAPS Charities walks across North America will contribute to the rejuvenation of dying forests by helping plant over 70,000 trees in the United States.
This year’s walk brought together over 358 participants between the ages of 5 and 78. The walk launched with a traditional prayer for world peace and an opening speech by Raja Bhandari of Bhandari Law Offices.
“We all would like to leave this planet better than we found it for our children and grandchildren, and thanks to the commitment of BAPS Charities to plant thousands of trees, I am confident this will be possible. This Walk was an overwhelming success in that regard, and I’m humbled to have been part of it,” he said.
Chatan Rathod from Washington, DC, a participant in the event, said, “When it comes to the environment, I do little things like recycle at home and shop with reusable grocery bags. But today, I feel like I am part of a much bigger effort to save the environment. Coming out here today and walking with my father, I couldn’t think of a better way to help raise awareness and contribute to such a great cause”.
BAPS Charities undertakes many such charitable events throughout the year to support the community. In addition to annual walkathons across over fifty cities in North America, BAPS Charities hosts a variety of programs to support healthy living, environmental awareness and education initiatives.
The 55,000 BAPS volunteers networked in over 3,300 centers around the world provide over 12 million volunteer-hours of service annually.