The year 2020 was a rollercoaster ride that nobody signed up for.
It brought with it a pandemic, horrendous natural calamities, and unexpected celebrity deaths, to name a few. But, it was also a year that taught us about community, and the importance of unity in the most adverse circumstances. We, at Vibha, never put a pause on helping out those in need, and in fact, ramped up the efforts. Our volunteers across India and the USA organised fundraisers, delivered care packages and more. So, to rewind 2020, we decided to look at a few positives, and what Vibha did throughout the year for the community.
Vibe – Dancing For A Cause
To shake a leg is fun, but to shake a leg for charity is noble. In February 2020, the Dallas Action Center hosted Vibe – Dancing For A Cause, one of Vibha’s most prestigious and exciting events aimed at raising funds for less fortunate children. As one of the prominent children’s education charities, events like these play an important role in raising awareness about our efforts, as well as funds. The event was attended by community leaders in Dallas, and Dino Moria, famous actor and model, made a guest appearance. The action center successfully raised $90,000 for the noble cause!
COVID-19 relief in April
In the month of April, the attitude towards COVID-19 had completely changed, and it was declared a pandemic. With a nationwide lockdown, many vulnerable families were deprived of their basic needs. This is where Vibha volunteers stepped up, and took charge of helping out their neighbouring communities. With the raised money, Vibha supported 600 families with children in urban-poor Mumbai and Pune, distributing 1200 ration kits, nutritional supplements, hygiene and cleaning supplies.
They also connected face mask and hand sanitizer distributors and donors to Door Step School in Mumbai; and volunteers in Bangalore conducted online events to engage about 100 children from their city, to build awareness about COVID-19 hygiene and social distancing protocols.
The months of virtual events
Our partners and volunteers didn’t let the spirit of Vibha die, even in the middle of a worldwide lockdown. Plenty of virtual events were organised to raise funds for those in need. Vibha Bay Area hosted its very first virtual cooking class in May with two celebrity chefs. A total of 63 people participated and the action center was able to raise $936!
Vibha, along with BollyX organized an online dance competition, Bhangra Challenge. 45 enthusiastic people participated, and raised $765!
The youth stepped up
Difficult times can bring out something incredible in strong people. That is what happened with our youth volunteers in the USA during the early stages of COVID-19 outbreak. Vibha youth chapters across the country organized events like bake sale, summer tennis camps, Diwali diya sale, summer book drive, and more to raise funds.
Bollywood Trivia Night
If there is one thing that bonds us all, it’s the love for all things Bollywood! That’s why the New Jersey Action Center decided to host a virtual Bollywood Trivia Night. The event garnered close to 90 registrations and raised $13,500! The format, the execution and the experience was very well received, and we look forward to its second edition.
Dream Mile X
Our yearly marathon fundraiser was a huge success, even with the whole world under lockdown! We moved the marathon to the virtual world and had participants from all over the world. A total of 4400 people participated in Dream Mile X to run for charity, helping us raise $400,000! All the funds raised will be used to provide better education and avenues for less fortunate children in the USA and India.
Ray Of Light Gala
To cap off 2020, we organized our first-ever virtual fundraising event on 12th December. The event commemorated Vibha’s 28-year journey of transforming and evolving public education in the USA and India. The online fundraiser played host to some prolific philanthropists and exciting performers. The Ray Of Light Gala helped us raise over $200,000, adding another feather to our hat in a year that was full of unforeseen challenges.
Here’s to 2021, a year where we see more positivity, growth, and where more children get to live their dreams!
