Hundreds attend successful annual fundraising gala of women’s organization Manavi

Close to 500 people attended the Annual Fundraising Gala of the leading women’s organization, Manavi, on April 26th, 2024 at The Marigold, Somerset, New Jersey.

This was a celebration of 39 years of Manavi’s work to end gender-based violence in the South Asian community. “It was wonderful to see so many friends and supporters who believe in Manavi’s mission,” the organization said in its press release.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Grammy nominated musician, Chandrika Tandon was the keynote speaker, who gave a “powerful” speech, and met with attendees during the meet-and-greet.

Among the many dignitaries at the event were NY Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, Former Assemblywoman Dr. Sadaf Jaffer, Former Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, Freeholder Shanti Narra, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Mayor Neena Singh, Councilman Ram Anbarasan and Council member Vinita Jethwani.

The Emcee for the evening was Kanika Chadda Gupta and there were special performances by Ariaki and Arohi Dandawate, Anu Sahasrabudhe, and Sucharita Iyer.

Manavi honored Amol Sinha with the Public Service Award, Aparna Khurjekar with the Trailblazer Award and Zoë Timms with the Community Service Award for their work in uplifting members of the community.

A survivor of domestic violence shared her powerful story.

Manavi’s live auction and Fund a Need Pledge with Live Auctioneer, Blake Menezes, KLM Auctions, was very successful and saw the entire community stepping forward to donate and support the organization’s mission.

The evening ended with a special performance by Kavya Jones and DJ Kawan!

Manavi thanked its board members, staff and volunteers, as well as the community for its support.

“Your support makes a meaningful difference in the lives of many survivors,” it said, urging people to continue contributing at paybee.io/manavi@6. Thank you for supporting the movement to end gender-based violence.

Founded in 1985, Manavi is the first organization in the United States dedicated to ending all forms of violence against South Asian survivors, the press release noted. Using a survivor-centered approach, Manavi provides culturally specific and linguistically appropriate services to 900+ South Asian survivors of gender-based violence every year.

Its range of services include counseling, advocacy, transitional housing (Ashiana), 24/7 multi-lingual hotline (732-435-1414), support groups, sexual assault support services, legal services, community outreach and more.