Philadelphia, PA (USA): On October 2, 2015, the American India Foundation (AIF) officially launched its Philadelphia Chapter in the United States. Held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, the event had nearly 75 leaders from the Greater Philadelphia region. The role of AIF’s chapters is to raise awareness and financial resources for the organization’s programs in India.
The event keynote speaker was Ali Velshi, the host of Al Jazeera America’s Ali Velshi on Target. Prior to joining Al Jazeera America, Velshi, who is of Indian origin, worked with CNN in multiple capacities including serving as the Chief Business Correspondent and the Anchor of CNN's Your Money. During the event, Velshi talked about the ups and downs his family had to endure for generations, including his great-grandfather and grandfather dealing with the apartheid regime in South Africa. He also discussed how his father became the first Indian elected public officials in Canada.
In looking at immigrants today, he said, “The contribution of immigrants is vital to the U.S. and countries around the world. We can no longer refer to immigrants as ‘them’ anymore. Now, we all must take problems head on whenever they come. This is exactly what AIF is doing.”
The chief guest of the event was Raj L Gupta, the Chair of Delphi Automotive. Gupta, who formerly served as the President and CEO of Rohm and Haas, lauded AIF for its commitment to inspiring the Indian diaspora to give back to their home country. “There are not many organizations out there that ensure that 100% of donor’s contributions goes towards the programs on the ground,” said Gupta. “This innovative model has inspired me and countless others to engage with the organization.”
Another special guest at the event was Deepak Jolly, the Vice President of Coca-Cola India. He spoke of the strong partnership between AIF and Coca-Cola India, specifically with the Veer 2, a national campaign in India to train 2,000 persons with disabilities (PwDs), run an effective media campaign to raise awareness on the inclusion of PwDs, and to sensitize 200 employers on inclusion of PwDs
AIF will focus its efforts on cultivating the Greater Philadelphia region, which comprises of the City of Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware. The newest chapter of AIF is taking off with energetic participation from a diverse local community leadership comprising of leading physicians, attorneys, entrepreneurs, media persons amongst others. Kavita and Sanjay Gupta, Founding Members of AIF’s Philadelphia, are very excited about the organization starting its efforts in the region.
“Philadelphia has so many exciting things happening, but I always felt that having an amazing organization such as AIF was the missing piece,” said Sanjay Gupta. “The organization is going to play a big role in getting people in this region excited about philanthropy.”
Now with Philadelphia, AIF has a chapter presence in eleven regions around the US Other regions include Atlanta, the Bay Area (California), Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New England, New York Tri-State, Orange County (California), Richmond (Virginia), and Washington D.C. “The Greater Philadelphia area is home to leading universities, businesses and a population that has strong ties to India and is eager to engage with India-US philanthropy, thus contributing to the greater good,” said Ravi Kumar, the CEO of AIF. “Today, AIF is excited to expand to this vibrant region, and hopes to inspire more people to join our efforts in disrupting poverty in India and empowering 5 million people by 2018 – 19.”
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