It is 5:30 AM on a pleasant Sunday morning and the Kanteerava Stadium in the heart of Bengaluru is radiating with an unmatched energy- the energy of camaraderie and sportsmanship. It is the Race Day for the most awaited running event of Bengaluru and there is a crowd of more than 27,000 participants waiting on the starting line to get ready, set and go!
It was the debut association for aidbees as the Philanthropy Partner and the TCS World 10K, Bengaluru touched new records in 2023 with regards to philanthropy. A total fund of more than INR 2.72 Crores in this year took the tally of overall funds raised since the Run’s inception to a whopping INR 51.88 Crores. This year, the enthusiasm of the participating NGOs, individuals and corporates made the philanthropy pillar of the event stronger and the event was a hit with flying colours!
The heartwarming numbers didn’t just stop at that. A total of more than 100 individual fundraisers donned the tracks with a spirit of running for a cause and raising funds through aidbees.
Gautham CB was the highest fundraising individual and reached his target of INR 10 Lakhs to save premature babies while Usha, Sudheer, Manisha and Patrick raised more than INR 5 Lakhs each for their chosen cause and made it to the Top 5. Deepa Bhatt, one of the pacemakers of the event, ran on the tracks in a saree while there were multiple individuals breaking their own records of fundraising from last year.
Age felt like a mere number when the audience saw young fundraisers like Ishaan Gwalani, PV Sricharan, Kiva and Sahaj Mehta. All these kids are in the Young Leaders category and are aged between 6 to 9 years old. Each of them fundraised INR 1-2 Lakhs each and set an example of being a strong warrior of change, no matter what their age is!
Over 80 NGOs came forward to register and fundraise for their grassroot level projects and life changing efforts. To list down a few, where there was Right to Live (Kote Foundation) fundraising for digitizing education for children, there was also Veer Ratna Foundation and Shrimad Rajchandra Love & Care participating to support women empowerment. Each One Educate One Foundation raised funds to provide free education to the less privileged whereas Save Aravali Trust, Environment Association of Bangalore and Water for Voiceless were the NGOs that came forward to support Environment and Sustainability for the planet. The ongoing list of these NGOs and their projects kept aidbees going from time to time. It was a houseful with social welfare initiatives, community building and heartfelt emotions for the causes.
In an all time high for the Bengaluru edition, 29 Corporates came forward to collectively contribute a sum of over INR 1 Crore for various causes ranging from Environment to Education to Community Development and Disability. Atkins India was the highest contributing company followed by Informatica and Karma Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd. The contributing companies also ran on tracks with their teams consisting of about 100-150 members each. As they finished their chosen race category, aidbees welcomed these companies at the Corporate Tent, where fun and frolic and dancing in celebration was all that was done.
In all aspects, 2023 was a massive hit for the TCS World 10K, Bengaluru and there is a hope of continuing and strengthening this association in the future.
In a hope of changing the world with kindness, aidbees stepped into the spectrum of Philanthropy for helping NGOs and their beneficiaries alike. This was the first time for the social kindness platform to be engaged in so many activities to make the Run not just a success, but an overall celebratory excellence for runners, companies and NGOs. Observing and contacting so many participants gave the boost to manage things more efficiently for aidbees and it is a matter of pride to announce that
BENGALURU DID IT!
On behalf of the entire team at aidbees, this is a thank you and gracious acknowledgement to each donor, every fundraiser and all stakeholders for making this event a success and joining the Kindness community with aidbees. As we look forward to many more years of association with the event, we bring a promise of making the world a kinder place through our efforts and interventions!
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