New Delhi: The citizens of Delhi have truly accepted the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon as their very own. They not only registered in record numbers for the 5th edition of this world’s most prestigious half marathon on September 30, 2012, but even more heartening was the selfless efforts put in to raise charity for causes of their choice, showing their heart not only beats for sport, health and fitness, but also cares for the less fortunate.
The charity drive associated with the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, spearheaded by official Charity Partner, Concern India Foundation, helped cross the Rs 4-crore mark, raising Rs. 4.04 crore towards charity, the highest figure in the history of the event.
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is developing into the capital city’s most awaited sporting and social event and like in the previous editions, the event helped bring Delhi together like never before. People from all strata of society shared a common platform in a celebration of the human spirit. Every participant who crossed the finish line on Race Day and even those that may have not, but gave it their best shot, were winners.
Every single person associated with the event gave their best to ensure that Sunday, September 30 was an operational success. Title sponsors airtel showed the way with their vision and belief and left no stone unturned in their efforts to spread the message of friendship to every part of Delhi and its surroundings. The concerted, selfless efforts from the officials of departments that coordinate the governance of Delhi, provided the base for promoters Procam International and its volunteers to ensure that the mammoth operation of putting together the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon went off well.
A special mention must be made of Max Healthcare, the Medical Partner to the event, whose doctors, physiotherapists and support staff toiled tirelessly on race day to ensure that every participant, who required medical assistance after completing the event under tough conditions, was administered aid.
The event also proved to be a great platform for the country to give towards causes of their choice and was a success for charity. Money raised showed a Rs 74 lakh growth from last year’s figure of Rs 3.30 crore, grossing above Rs. 4.04 crore and counting. This was announced by Nidhi Singh of Concern Indian Foundation the official Charity Partner at a Press Meet & Greet session at the Hotel Le Meridien, the official Hosts, on Thursday.
In the five years of the event, since 2008, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has helped raise a total of Rs. 14.27 crore for charity.
Sharing the stage with Concern India Foundation was Bharat Bambawale, Global Brand Director - Bharti Airtel, the Title Sponsor, who officially released the Charity Docket. Also present on the occasion was Meena Bhatia, Vice President, Marketing & Operations, Le Meridien and Vivek B Singh of Procam International, the promoters of the event.
“The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has always been a great platform for individuals, institutions and organizations to unite their aspirations of making a difference. On behalf of all of us at Airtel I would like to thank the participants who enabled Bharti Foundation raise a sum of Rs 1.31 Crores.
“The funds raised will be used in providing quality education to more than 4000 underprivileged children, especially the girl child, across over 20 Satya Bharti schools. Bharti Foundation has been associated with the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon since 2008, generating awareness about the cause of ‘quality education for the underprivileged’ while forging strong and sustainable partnerships. As a corporate, we have always strived to empower people, and will continue to associate and support this endeavor,” said Bharat Bambawale.
“Each year, the participants of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon spend much time and energy into raising contributions for their causes. To me, this requires as much dedication as they put into their training. I would like to thank each and every individual participant and corporate team for the energy, enthusiasm and dedication with which they have raised precious resources for charity,” said Nidhi Singh of Concern India Foundation.
Concern India Foundation, as the official charity partner will start distributing the funds among the participating NGOs as per the specific contributions pledged by the corporates and individual donors.
The Season of Giving: The Corporate Challenge was completely sold out, with 72 companies fielding 95 teams. Together these teams raised more than Rs 2.62 crore (Rs. 2,61,57,653).
Fluor Daniel won the “highest pledge raising company” tag, raising Rs 1.82 lakhs in support of Khushboo Welfare Society.
Five Dream Challengers (Aadhaar Mehra, Arun Arora, V R Ferose, Preet Dhupar and Richard Rekhy) and 15 Dream Makers together raised over Rs. 84.06 lakh this year.
Richard Rekhy and Madhur Dhupar were the highest pledge raisers in the Dream Team this year, raising a stunning Rs 10.56 lakhs and Rs 4.37 lakhs in favour of education as the cause and Childline India Foundation respectively. Urvi Maheshwari, at 12 years of age, emerged the Youngest Dream Maker and raised Rs 2.47 lakh in support of Cause-Girl Child.
The I Pledge chipped in with their bit, and the single largest pledge raiser was Dwarka Pandurangi, who raised Rs 10.19 lakhs in support of Vidyasagar, followed by Erin Marie Vignalie, who raised 6.30 lakh in support of Bhartiya Samaj Seva Kendra.
Among the men, it was Yatharth Awtaney who emerged the highest individual pledge raiser, raising Rs 5.02 lakh in favour of Make a Wish Foundation.
Bharti Foundation emerged the highest pledge raising corporate foundation once again with Rs 1.31 crore, while United Way of Delhi was the highest pledge raising NGO with Rs 18.50 lakhs.
Following are the Dream Challengers (Individuals who made a commitment to raise a minimum of Rs 3.50 lakhs for their given cause): Richard Rekhy, CEO KPMG India, raised Rs 10,56,001 in support of the education as his chosen cause; Arun Arora, CEO, Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, raised Rs 5,94,100 in support of Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital; Aadhaar Mehra, a 16-year-old student, raised Rs 4,59,001 in support of Navjyoti India Foundation; Preet Dhupar, BBC, Director Finance and Operations, raised Rs 4,19,201 in favour of Childline India Foundation and V R Ferose, MD, SAP Labs India Pvt. Ltd. raised Rs 3,66,500 in support of Navjyoti India Foundation.
Following is the list of Dream Makers (Individuals who made a commitment to raise a minimum of Rs 1.5 lakh for their given cause): Ajay Bijli; Ajay Chitkara; Alok Goyal; Amod K Kanth; Gautam Jain; Madhur Dhupar; Maria Fernandez; Mohit Parasher; Prasanta Das Sarma; PVV Srinivasa Rao; Rajit B Mittal; Sandeep Ghosh; Sarvjit Singh Dhillon, Tanuja Sodhi, and Urvi Maheshwari.
As the official charity partner, Concern India Foundation will ensure that the funds are disbursed to 59 NGO’s as earmarked by each individual runner or company. The funds raised through the marathon will help reach out to thousands of needy people all over India helping a wide range of causes.
By Indian Sports News Network
