Credits its 18,944 donors, 2,000 volunteers and 64 project partners for this success
NEW YORK, NY (TIP): CRY – Child Rights and You America Inc, a 501c3 non-profit organization that works to restore the rights of underprivileged children, especially in India, celebrated 10 years of ensuring happy childhoods by hosting two benefit dinners in New York and Seattle.

‘Uphaar 2013’ was held on May 4th, at Seattle’s Westin, Bellevue and ‘Pledge 2013’ was held on May 10th, at New York’s Taj, The Pierre. Speaking at Pledge 2013, Shefali Sunderlal, President of CRY America said, “As we reminisced about our childhoods at the events, we also thought of the 422, 878 children living across 2,395 villages and slums in India, whose lives have been irreversible transformed through our collective efforts.

We thank our 18,944 generous donors, 2,000 committed volunteers and 64 dedicated project partners and the media, without whom this change would not have been possible.” Pledge 2013 was attended by over 100 guests from New York and New Jersey, while Uphaar 2013 was attended by 275 guests from the western Washington community, who came together to partner CRY America’s work to benefit underprivileged children. $220,000 was raised across both dinner events, valuable resources that will be directed towards funding several Projects which will ensure lasting change for children.

The events were attended by prominent personalities, Professor Padma Desai from Columbia University, Ruchir Sharma from Morgan Stanley, Natvar and Janet Bhavsar, Scarlett Pildes, Suneeta Dewan, Anu and Naveen Jain, Gurdeep and Seema Pal,Swati and Raj Angolkar, Sangeeta and Jigar Thakkar, Murali and Mithali Narayanan. Event sponsors include Inome, Apple Core Hotels, State Bank of India New York,Mayuri Restaurants and Star TV.Paintings donated by famous Indian artists Ram Kumar, Seema Kohli, Kiyomi Talaulicar, Prakash Deshmukh, Anand Panchal; autographed guitars by Rolling Stones; autographed Record Albums by the Beatles and Pink Floyd; along with other autographed memorabilia were auctioned by Sotheby’s Priyanka Mathew at the New York dinner.

In over 10 years, CRY America’s work with 64 Projects has resulted in 156,848 children being immunized, 76,821 children provided with regular health checkups, 364 public health care centers activated, 1,111 public schools activated and 501 villages in India are free from child labor today. Professor Padma Desai, Director of the Center for Transition Economies at Columbia University reminisced that she loves seeing the sight of little girls going to school during her trips to India. She strongly felt that girls and women must be enabled to go beyond their roles as daughter, mother, sister and wife to become independent individuals and realize their potential and dreams.

She further stressed that education plays a key role in this process. Ruchir Sharma, Head of Emerging Market Equities and Global Macro at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and the author of the bestselling Breakout Nations said, “We should encourage children to build on their interests and talents from an early age, which at times is stifled by teachers and parents who push careers on them that appear popular and hot at that moment. My passion for writing started at the age of 16 and remains a significant part of my career today”.

“It’s important that we leave a better world for our children, but it’s even more important that we leave better children for the world,” said Anu Jain, Vice President, Community Relations, Inome. Since its inception a decade ago, CRY America has provided a platform for people to take responsibility for the situation of underprivileged children. Sunderlal concluded, “If we all come together and address children’s issues with a sense of urgency, then no child will remain illiterate, malnourished or exploited.” She appealed for people to join CRY America as donors, volunteers and supporters and visit www.america.cry.org for more information.

About CRY America:
CRY – Child Rights and You America Inc. (CRY America) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is driven by its vision of a just world in which all children have equal opportunities to develop to their full potential and realize their dreams. With the support of over 18,944 donors and 2000 volunteers, CRY America has impacted the lives of over 422,878 children living across 2,395 urban, rural and tribal communities in India and the USA through support to 64 Projects. For more information: visit http://america.cry.org or write to support@cryamerica.org To know more about CRY’s work, contact Steshia Monserrate at steshia.monserrate@crymail.org or 617-959-1273.