Our Bureau
New Brunswick, NJ
Manavi successfully hosted its Annual Fundraising Gala on April 26th, 2024, at The Marigold, Somerset, New Jersey. The Gala was attended by nearly 500 people which celebrated 39 years of Manavi’s mission to end gender-based violence in the South Asian community. The event was held wonderfully with the presence of so many friends and supporters who believed in Manavi’s mission.
The Manavi Gala was honored to have Ms. Chandrika Tandon as the Keynote Speaker. Ms. Tandon graciously met with attendees during the meet and greet and shared powerful remarks as the Keynote. The gala had a rich presence of many dignitaries, including Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, Former Assemblywoman Dr. Sadaf Jaffer, Former Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, Freeholder Shanti Narra, 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.
At the gala, Manavi honored Amol Sinha with the Public Service Award, Aparna Khurjekar with the Trailblazer Award and Zoë Timms with the Community Service Award for the crucial work they do to lift the communities. Manavi expressed its deepest gratitude to the survivor who had the courage to share her powerful story and commitment to stand with all the survivors.
Manavi gala had a very successful live auction and Fund a Need Pledge with Live Auctioneer, Blake Menezes, KLM Auctions, where the entire community was engaged and stepped up to donate, and support Manavi’s mission. The evening ended with a special performance by Kavya Jones and DJ Kawan! Manavi expressed its appreciation to all its media partners for supporting and uplifting Manavi’s work and mission.
In the end, Manavi thanked all who attended the Manavi Gala, supported its cause, and made it a sold-out event and a grand success. Manavi expressed its gratitude to Manavi’s board, staff, volunteers, and the gala committee for their dedication to Manavi and 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. Using a survivor-centered approach, Manavi provides culturally specific and linguistically appropriate services to 900+ South Asian survivors of gender-based violence every year.
Manavi provides a range of services including, 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.
