NDTV telethon for 'Our Girls Our Pride' campaign raises funds for the girl child

Priyanka Chopra, NDTV and Vedanta raise funds to educate over 2,000 girls; the entertainment and sports industry, corporate houses, NGOs and people from different walks of life come together to extend their support to the cause

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 4, 2013

Priyanka Chopra the brand ambassador of NDTV and Vedanta's Our Girl Our Pride hosting the Telethon

On Sunday, December 1, NDTV, along with Vedanta and campaign ambassador Priyanka Chopra, came together for a live Telethon to raise awareness and support for India's girl child under 'Our Girls Our Pride – A Khushi Initiative'. The day was dedicated to honouring and encouraging India's girls to find their voice, become independent, follow their dreams and make a place for themselves in society. The day-long telethon was televised live across the NDTV Network channels – NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, NDTV Profit and NDTV Good Times.

The campaign has received overwhelming response from people across different walks of life from its inception. Sunday's telethon generated funds to support an annual education of over 2,000 girls, with the Indian film & tv fraternity, corporate houses, athletes, NGOs and others contributing wholeheartedly to the cause. The funds raised will be given to the NGO Pratham, the implementation partner, known for its incredible work in the field of providing quality education to the underprivileged children of India.

Hosted by NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra and campaign ambassador Priyanka Chopra, the telethon featured some heart-wrenching examples of the plight of Indian girls, many inspiring stories of women and girls who have beaten the odds, engaging and thought stimulating discussions with various experts and stakeholders, entertaining acts, live on-air donations and more.

A host of prominent personalities including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Kajol, Aruna Jayanthi, CEO of Capgemini India, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman & MD of Biocon Limited, Vinita Bali, CEO, Britannia, Anu Aga, MP & Former Chairperson, Thermax, Suhel Seth, Karisma Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Shaan, Sania Mirza, Shahnaz Husain, Alia Bhat, Varun Dhawan, Ayushman Khurrana, Kunal Kohli, Vandana Luthra among others joined Vikram Chandra and Priyanka Chopra, who took centrestage to appeal to millions of viewers to generate maximum funds for this worthy cause.

Later, Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Group, too joined and encouraged his own employees to come forward and adopt a girl child and secure their future. His company has been looking after 200,000 underprivileged girls with focus towards their health, education and nutrition.

Hundreds of people came forth to make their contribution, including special contributions from Scholastic India which contributed one lakh books and Max Life contributing 5 lakh for the treatment and camps for the girl child. Priyanka Chopra added to this by making a personal contribution and taking on the cost of the educating 100 girls for the year.

Speaking on the day's success, Priyanka Chopra said, “It was an emotionally draining day, but so worth the effort. On one hand, there were moments of utter despair as we saw heart-breaking stories unfold about the plight of the girl child in India today and on the other hand there were also the positive stories… the reality of women and girls fighting back, against all odds, to overcome their circumstances and to emerge triumphant. There has been overwhelming outpouring of support for this cause and I am deeply touched. As we stand here today, we know that over 2,000 girls will be educated. It's a first step we've taken and I believe that together these baby steps can turn into a movement that will help change the lives of millions of girls across the country for the better. I would like to thank my friends from the film industry for their generous contributions and also for sparing their time to create awareness for this worthy cause.  We have much more planned – this is only the beginning.”

Anil Agarwal said, “We are pleased to be associated with 'Our Girls Our Pride – A Khushi Initiative', which focuses on care for the girl child and related issues. Vedanta has been associated with child care projects since 2008 and this association with NDTV has further strengthened our mission to make India free from malnutrition, with specific attention to education and health issues of the girl child."

Thanking everyone for their generous donations, Prannoy Roy, Co-Chairperson, NDTV, had a special thank you for Priyanka Chopra, for sparing so much time to appeal for and support this cause. He added, "The problem is men; women are the solution."

Key contributors:

Anil Agarwal supported 133 girls

Shah Rukh Khan supported 125 girls

Karan Johar supported 83 girls

Aamir Khan supported 5 girls

Priyanka Chopra supported 100 girls

Karisma Kapur supported 20 girls

Anushka Sharma supported 50 girls

Varun Dhawan supported 20 girls

Alia Bhatt supported 20 girls

Suhel Seth supported 100 girls

Farah Khan supported 2 girls

Aruna Jayanthi supported 25 girls

Indian Overseas Bank supported 100 girls

Vandana Luthra supported 100 girls

Kunal Kohli on behalf of his daughter Radha supported 4 girls

Sanjeev Bijli supported 4 girls

Ranjit Pandit supported 100 girls

Suhel Seth supported 100 girls

NDTV supported 125 girls

HSBC supported 10 girls

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