You are here because you believe in me, my running or in my cause. Thank you. I am here because I ask for your positive energy for bright, young people who have the potential to change the world. The opportunity and encouragement that your contribution can create could change their lives and the lives of all those around them.
I have been volunteering for Asha for Education since 1999, and running to raise funds for schools funded by Asha since 2007. Using my runs to help educate underprivileged children has always given me perspective on the sport as well as the relative privileges we have to pursue it as a leisure activity.
Feel free to skip the rest straight to the donation links. You can always call me to chat about the rest and I will be thrilled to share my running experiences in India running with Jayanagar Jaguars #JJ.
Donate in INR
Why am I reaching out to you for a donation ?
You want to see a better world and I can connect you with an easy way to engage. Asha is a great steward of money, achieving high impacts. You may have been unsure in the past of where to give and whether the impact is worthwhile. I can confidently connect you to Asha as a high quality organization whom you can confidently contribute to, tax free!
Does your contribution matter ?
Absolutely! It doesn’t matter how small your contribution is. The span of recorded history shows that tangible good-will matters; more apparent still is that societal indifference retards our collective evolution. On an immediate level, I use your support as inspiration. Each step I take during my training and during my run is fueled by knowing its purpose, knowing what I can achieve to improve myself, what we can achieve to improve the world, if we each just stretch ourselves a little bit.
Why do I run for Asha For Education ?
Our efforts at anything often build towards our life progress. Children of Asha projects pour their effort into the daily struggle for basic needs. Just a little extra effort from us, a little contribution for the cause, can get them out of a cycle of wasted potential and into a zone of sustainable progress. This makes a better world for us all.
Why Asha For Education?
Asha achieves tremendous change with an all volunteer (no one gets paid), non-hierarchical, near-zero overhead, non-sectarian and secular group. I wouldn’t have thought it possible but I’ve seen it myself through my 19 years working for the group and watching it from within and also through the eyes of a critical donor. It’s been termed a “Slam Dunk Charity” (you can close your eyes and contribute without caution). Charity Navigator, an independent U.S. review group rates it with 4 out of 4 stars for financial accountability, transparency, efficiency etc.
What is my target ?
I would like to raise at least Rs 84,400 ($1200). This works out to be about Rs 2000/per km or about $46 / mile) for Asha projects. Every rupee or dollar donated will go to projects, Asha is a near-zero overhead organization. No amount is too small.
Experiences working for Asha For Education
Picture an Assembly hall full of determined children; large eyes all fixed on you with hope – it is a powerful and humbling experience.
-Some have reluctant parents at home (for those who have parents at all)
-Or hungry little siblings who make them wonder if they need to work instead of studying.
-Some of them have alcoholic fathers.
-Some have mothers in prison.
-Some are girls who are told that they are not fit to do anything but marry and bear children.
-Some are rejected by society because their parents were lepers or prostitutes.
Yet these children fight to come to school. They believe in the power of their own education, against so many odds. Through Asha, let us together empower them, their communities, their teachers, and everyone who believes that their reality can change.
Please choose Asha as your charity of choice this year, and support the cause as well as support my run. Your contribution is an important motivator for me to go farther and faster! No amount is too small.
Thank you,
Anjana