An Indian-American NGO has raised $1 million to fight hunger in India and the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This translates to 4,700,000 meals for people in the United States and ration kits for 106,000 migrant workers in India that will last them seven to 10 days, said M R Rangaswami, founder and chairman of the board of NGO “Indiaspora”.
It was a volunteer group in San Jose, California that made the last donation of $5,000 after which the campaign fund crossed $1 million.
It is so heartening to see that this is just a group of regular Indian Americans, who are a volunteer group, and are gifting to different non-profits and charities. They on their own decided that this was the best cause,” Rangaswami, an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, told PTI.
The money raised by Indiaspora through its ‘ChaloGive for COVID-19 online campaign will be used to provide relief directly to vulnerable population in both the countries.
Contributions given are sent to two beneficiary organisations, Feeding America in the US and Goonj in India.
Feeding America is using the contributions to bolster its nationwide network of 200 food banks. Goonj is using the funds to provide food, dry ration and hygiene kits to displaced migrants in parts of eighteen states in India.
In this hour of coronavirus pandemic that has hit both the United States and India, the Indian-American community has resoundingly shown up across the country, said Rangaswami.
One of the donations that helped Indiaspora cross the $1 million threshold came from Bay-area based volunteer group Aram Sei, whose vision is to support grassroots charities worldwide in the areas of education and healthcare.
“Our team of twelve members is proud to support the ChaloGive fundraiser initiative that helps us make a direct impact to those in need,” said Sangeetha Lakshminarayanan, president and founder of Aram Sei.
“We feel fortunate to be able to make a difference in our country of origin and the country we have embraced and made our home,” she said.