300 guests pledge support at BBG Gala Ball

The British Business Group (BBG), Pune’s annual charity Gala Ball was held on February 4 at Hyatt Regency in aid of ECF.

300 guests attended the evening, theme for which was ‘A Royal Occasion’.

Tom Tom, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Hyatt contributed towards one of the highlights of the evening – the grand auction. A holiday at Keralan Palace, a stay at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong and stay at a luxury villa in countryside of southern coast of Sri Lanka was up for grabs.  Guests bid generously knowing they were getting good value and the fact that money was going for a good cause. A silent auction and sale of raffle tickets followed the grand auction. All items were donated by local businesses and supporters.

The ball brought together a fantastic mix of people, amazing prizes, delicious food and drinks, live band, casino tables – overall an event that everyone enjoyed.

The money raised at the Ball will contribute towards implementation of the Action for Equality Programme across 20 communities in Pune over the next 1 year. It costs approximately Rs. 1.2 lakhs to run one branch of Action for Equality Programme for a year.  In 2012, ECF will work with over 1,300 adolescent men, and graduate 600 of them under the AfE programme from 20 communities. As a result, nearly 2000 women will benefit from reduced violence and discrimination.

On behalf of ECF we would like to thank Vandana Poria (BBG co-chair), BBG executive committee members, all sponsors and most importantly all guests who attended the event for making it a huge success. We would like make a special mention of Aditi Tembe from ECF for doing a fantastic job of organising the ball.