Asha-Jyothi Receives Overwhelming Response from the Community

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep. 12, 2011 - Fairfax, VA – September 11, 2011 ---Asha-Jyothi (AJ), a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education and healthcare for the underprivileged, was very successful in creating awareness, garnering support from corporations in Fairfax and Loudoun community since it started a 5K run/walk event in 2009. In 2010, registrations doubled from 600 to 1200 and proceeds tripled from $15,000 to $45,000 as compared to the previous year. AJ is poised to repeat a similar level of success this year in five cities – Fairfax VA, Dallas TX, Fremont CA, Kansas City KS, and Somerset NJ.

Ray Pugsley, the director of Potomac River Running (http://www.potomacriverrunning.com/), who organizes many races in the area, said "AJ 5K has grown quickly in a short period of time and now has the attention of the local running community". One of the key success factors to this growth is the activity following the run where, participants are greeted with energizing music, food, and refreshments. Kids have a blast with activities like moon bounce, face painting and Bollywood dancing. Thanks to generous sponsors, fabulous prizes (including a ticket to India, gift cards, and spa certificates) are given out to the race winners along with many raffle prizes. Washington Post reporter Moira E.McLaughlin summarized it as “Talk about footloose and family-friendly. Runners can aid underprivileged Indians, and learn a few Bollywood dance moves at the post-race party. During the run, volunteers will babysit and entertain kids”

In the last two years AJ disbursed a total of $241,404.65 and touched 5,230 lives with the help of more than 150 volunteers. AJ supports education for seven hundred students from twelve schools on an ongoing basis and many others on an as needed basis. About fifty people per week avail free health checkup and medications as a part of healthcare program. In addition, AJ also supported people in need during emergencies such as earthquakes in Haiti, and floods in South Asia. Talking about Asha-Jyothi, Hemanth Ganta, Operations Director of AJ, said “In 2009, AJ started its charity run/walk event with a lot of hope and a big promise. It was unclear as to how much we could do. Today, we have a rhythm and our focus is on how we can be more effective”.

One of the unique aspects of AJ campaigns is the ability for a donor or their family and friends to participate at the event. This provides the transparency that many donors seek and increases their trust in the organization, which usually results in giving more. A Loudoun donor wrote to AJ after one such campaign and said “My mom and dad spoke to me for a long time about the school function and distribution. They were full of tears and overjoyed to see the ceremony and felt very happy that we all as a team made this happen”.

AJ will be holding third annual 5K run/walk fundraiser event at the Fairfax Corner Shopping Center in Fairfax, VA on September 25th, 2011. Come join us and be part of the fun and contribute to a good cause by registering at http://www.asha-jyothi.org/?page=2011Run.

For any enquiries, please contact us at contactus@asha-jyothi.org

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11657170/1