We did it again! We are grateful to our Chicago friends for another wonderful gala to celebrate effective strategies for fighting chronic disease. With the help of our community, we raised a record $165,000, which will directly help 350,000 people lead healthier lives—in India as well as here in the United States.
This year marked our 5th celebration, and was held in the Chicago Cultural Center. We were fortunate to have the support of great corporate sponsors including Quinnox, Aon, Hartford Funds, Cigna, Mesirow, Merrill Lynch, Novartis, Duane Morris, the American Heart Association, and TiE Midwest. We also received gifts from many generous individuals.
During the celebration, we honored Raj Rajaram and the Lions Clubs organization for their incredible support of our mDiabetes program, and heard from Dr. Namratha Kandula of Northwestern University. We also previewed our exciting plans to scale up our NCD prevention programs in India, as well as to bring our multi-pronged community approaches to Chicago this year.
Our annual auction, again led by Gary Seybold from Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, was a great success. Top bidders left with prizes such as a holiday in Italy and Hamilton tickets!
Many thanks to Co-Chairs Seema Singhal & Jayesh Mehta and Kary & John McIlwain, our wonderful Chicago-based Arogya World board members Seema Bhatia, Neeru Arora, and Heather Nornes, and the 2017 Arogya Gala Committee.
Check out more photos from the event on our Facebook page gallery!
The Tiffany Dome at the Chicago Cultural Center
We honored Raj Rajaram of the Lions Club at our 5th Annual Gala.
Raj Rajaram accepts the award from Arogya World Founder and CEO Nalini Saligram.
Guests enjoy speakers during the gala.
A lively auction run by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers had guests bidding on a trip to Italy, Hamilton tickets, and more!
Guests enjoyed fine wine and healthy treats.
Musical entertainment was provided by harpist Janelle Lake.
Guests celebrate Arogya World’s successes and future plans to expand in the United States.
Nalini Saligram (center) welcomes guests.
Many guests wore colorful Indian attire.