The successful 8th annual Las Vegas EKAL Vidyalaya fundraiser for educating the underprivileged in India got a commitment for approximately 220 schools in rural India along with a remarkable cash collection via ticket sales to the sold-out audience.

The annual fundraiser program under the leadership of President Alok Pandey and Ms. Girija Vijay brought in various sections of the local Indian community for an entertaining evening at the Windmill Library theater. Volunteers, including Ms. Vijay, worked diligently for months to publicize and selling event tickets and raising necessary funds for sponsoring schools in remote villages of India.

Evening program began with a catered Indian buffet dinner by India Palace in a hall outside the theater. Entertainment began at the posted time inside the spacious 300-seat library theater with state of the art acoustics. The evening brought an astounding exhibition of yesteryear Bollywood music mesmerizing the audience, mostly the local Indian immigrants.

Alok Pandey emceed the event and thanked the attendees for their continuous generosity through the years. The evening entertainment program was led by Kaushik Deshpande along with a three-person live orchestra. Kaushik and his fellow group members and parents are well known in entertainment industry India for their commitment towards clean synergetic entertainment.

During the break, Ms. Vijay announced a matching commitment for $25,000 for acquiring a computer lab on wheels for EKAL mobile education programs. The other $25,000 is being raised locally by other volunteers.

The packed sold out evening fundraiser ended on a high note with funding commitments for over 220 schools totaling over approximately $80,000. Some of those in attendance committed multiple schools for the upcoming school year. Organizers thanked profusely to the youth group and members of the volunteer team for their continuing commitment towards the literacy programs in rural India. With the support of so many loyal and dedicated donors, local EKAL committee has decided to continue this annual tradition of making a difference by educating the new generation of kids in remote rural areas of India. The event’s proceeds will support EKAL’s ongoing effort to take quality teaching to India’s poorest and remote areas.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a tax-exempt, registered non-profit service organization dedicated to bringing education & village development to rural India. Ekal’s philosophy is to take a holistic approach to social and economic development. The Ekal movement is the largest grassroots, non-government education movement in India, operating in remote and tribal villages of India.

Disclaimer – the above numbers are estimates only. Repeated request for further transparency to provide the official amount committed and/or collected are ignored by the Las Vegas EKAL organizer