Mumbai, India – Creative agency VMLY&R Commerce Encompass in India has recently produced a virtual fundraising campaign called ‘I Breathe For India Campaign: Covid Crisis Relief’.
Currently, India is grappling for the lives of its citizens as it recently tallied a record-breaking number of daily positive cases of COVID-19, where in just four months, it added 10 million cases. Currently, the healthcare supply in the country is running way below its need, with Indians dying in their own homes, ambulances, and parking lots, in dire need of a hospital bed or oxygen.
As a way to help the country battle the COVID-19 crisis, Indian actress Lara Dutta and sports scientist Shayamal Vallabhjee led this initiative together with US-based non-profit organization The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and online donation platform Give India.
The virtual fundraising event has already kicked off last 9 May 2020, bringing together various famous Indian personalities, namely actor Amitabh Bachchan, religious leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and film director Karan Johar, as well as professional cricketer Rishabh Pant, and actress Samantha Prabhu, among others.
During the event, the stars have recited poetry, sung songs, and delivered heartfelt messages, as part of a specially curated showcase, which was streamed live across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The donation drive will be running until 20 May, and funds collected from the campaign will go towards essential life-saving medical supplies, humanitarian aid for families under the poverty line that has been affected by the crisis, and manpower support for setting up vaccination and isolation centers to strengthen the nation’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Commenting on the virtual fundraising event, Vallabhjee said that the campaign was more than a fundraiser as it represented the collective consciousness of many people whose only desire was to help India and its citizens in its hour of need, and in many ways, it helped redefine what is possible as the world moves towards the new normal.
“Thanks to the unwavering dedication of the Encompass team and its partners, we more than doubled our initial goal of $1 million and now, as a result, have extended our deadline to allow us to shatter the proverbial glass ceiling. Both Lara and I, and the teams from TIE Global and Give India are eternally grateful to the entire unit that made this possible,” said Vallabhjee.
Meanwhile, Dutta commented, “The success of the #IBreatheForIndia fundraiser would not have been possible without the individual efforts behind the scenes. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to each and everyone for selflessly giving your time and talents. God Bless and keep you all and your families safe until we are able to overcome this crisis together.”
