A volatile financial market did not stop 450 supporters from attending Children's Hope India's gala, "Timeless: A Fashion Journey," at Cipriani Wall Street on October 12. Fashion designer Alia Khan and American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar headlined the event. The event raised over $230,000 for the CH education and health programs in India.

The chief guests at the gala were the Honorable Santosh Bagrodia, Minister of State for Coal, and Consul General of India in New York, Prabhu Dayal, who both addressed the guests. A moving documentary about Children's Hope projects in India, made by filmmaker Sangitika Nigam, was shot in actual locations and took the audience right into the lives of the children.

Dipped in the surreal glow of red strobe lights, the opulent interiors of Cipriani showcased a lively fashion-dance-music event with both classic as well as fusion wear from Alia Khan's new collection. The highlight of the evening was teen idol Sanjaya Malakar who sang two of his new songs, written by him, wearing a striking sherwani from the Alia Khan collection.

Media personality Tinku Jain, the evening's emcee, spoke eloquently and from the heart about the work being done by Children's Hope in India and the need to continue such efforts to improve the lives of children.

Dr. Dina Pahlajani, the president of Children's Hope, said, in acknowledging the hard economic times, "When businesses and earnings are challenged, the job for non profit organizations like ours gets tougher. We want to assure you that your donations are being utilized for programs like non-formal education centers, medical services to remote villages and vocational training programs for the youth and income generation programs for women."

The prestigious Making a Difference Award was sponsored by HSBC Private Bank and the award was presented by CEO Patrick Campion to Akhilesh Sharma, the dedicated project manager of Children's Hope Prayas in New Delhi, who has used innovative means to transform the slum of Kathputli Colony into a community with civic pride and well-run projects for the entire family.

Sharma spoke of the need to empower women to make a difference in the lives of children and families and described the project's self-help groups for women, and micro credit programs. She said, "Neglected children, especially street children with no education have no place in the day to day social life and we are working in India for all out development of such children, along with women empowerment. There is no doubt your financial support is playing a very crucial role in our efforts."

Such a successful evening in the midst of a world financial crisis would not have been possible without the continued donations from supporters and sponsors. The many sponsors for the evening include Diamond Sponsor HSBC Private Bank, Entertainment Sponsor Nationwide, Gold Sponsors Air India, Andrew Sports Club & Plugg Jeans, Continental Airlines, Douglas C. Lane & Associates, Inc, PepsiCo, Raju and Vanita Mirchandani, Sani Family Foundation, and Tilda Rice

ABOUT CHILDREN'S HOPE INDIA

Children's Hope India is a volunteer organization of Indian women professionals in New York that has been raising funds for children's causes since 1992. Its junior branch CH2 comprises of second generation young professionals who organize fun networking events to raise awareness and funds. All proceeds go toward health and education initiatives in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Bhuj, Pune, Jabalpur and several villages in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Children's Hope Prayas covers an entire slum - Kathputli Colony, on the outskirts of Delhi, which has been transformed by CH initiatives such as informal education, nutritious meals, a health clinic, a computer center and vocational training for the children, adult workshops and self help groups to facilitate micro-credit and income generation for the parents.

Children's Hope also supports education in the US by scholarships to qualified, needy students at Baruch College.