Running with Asha
Asha for Education is a volunteer run organization aiming to catalyze socio-economic change in India through education. The objectives of the group are:
- To provide access to education for underprivileged children in India
- To promote universal education and decrease child labor
- To support grass roots initiatives in deprived and marginalized communities in India
- To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting human life such as health care, environmental and socio-economic issues, women's issues, human rights issues, etc.
As a part of Team Asha this runner has committed to meet the above objectives through your support. Please read the runner's personal statement below and use the donate button on the right to make a contribution to the runner's objective.
Ashok Srikantappa
I am back for my 2nd marathon with Asha for Education in Dec ‘09!
In Dec 2008, because of my commitment to wonderful cause, I managed to complete my first full marathon, and raise $2000+ with help from donors like you. I have committed to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon again in Dec ‘09 with a goal of raising $2620 for Asha ($100 per mile).
Why Asha?
i) The Children - Asha’s mission is to catalyze socio-economic change in India through education of underprivileged children. Please follow this link to get a good understanding of “Asha For Education“.
ii) Asha is a volunteer run organization with an almost zero overhead cost which means all your money goes directly to the children.
iii) 100% non-religious
My personal involvement with Asha:
I have been an Asha donor for a number of years, but have started volunteering with Asha last year. I had the privilege of doing a site visit for a project that Asha is supporting (Shikshana Gangotri - Dr. Sudharshan’s project in BR Hills). I was completely touched by the excellent work being done by good people like Dr. Sudharshan and his team of very dedicated teachers. They have built a comprehensive and self sustainable institution to help the tribals living in the BR Hills forest in Karnataka. This includes a health center that is on par with private hospitals in India, a boarding school strictly for children of tribals that houses about 500 children, and many vocational training centers like handlooms, candle making, honey processing, and organic farming.
This is just one of many project that Asha supports. Please see this list of Asha projects - you can always find one that is near and dear to your heart. We also encourage you to visit the children at these schools on your next trip to India, and see the impact of your help.
How can you help:
My personal goal is to raise at least $2620 before December 13, 2009. Please donate as much as you can to this worthy cause. You can choose to donate to a specific Asha project of your choice or let Asha decide how to allocate the funds.
Tax deductions:
Contributions to Asha are 100% tax deductible in the US (under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code), and 50% tax deductible in India (under section 80G of the Income tax act).
Note: If you live in India, and wish to donate in Rupees, please mail a check payable to ‘Asha’ (NOT ‘Asha for Education’) mail it to this address and please add a note “Ashok Srikantappa’s Marathon Goal”:
Asha Trust
c/o Vallabhacharya Pandey
Village: Bhandahan Kala
Post Office: Kaithi,
Varanasi 221 116
Uttar Pradesh, India.
Asha Trust is a registered 80G organization and all donations are tax-deductible as allowed by Indian laws for 80G organizations in India.
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December 13, 2009: Dallas White Rock Marathon
The Dallas White Rock marathon was held on Dec 13, ‘09. Team Asha
Mile 23 - looking way better than I felt
participated in full numbers. The weather was perfect for a marathon - started in the 40’s and ended at about 60F. This was my 2nd one, and I had a far reaching goal of doing it in 4 hrs. My previous one took 4:27. In spite of not being very well trained, and having borderline injury issues, I started at a fairly fast pace, and decided to see how I felt at the halfway point. I did the first half in 1:56, and was not doing great. I then reached mile 20 looking for Sunil (Asha Dallas) who ran with me till the finish. I was quite done at this point, but having Sunil run with me was great - could not have done this race without his help. I finished in 4 hrs 58 seconds! Just slightly over 4hrs, but a fantastic time for me (equivalent to a 6.5 pace on a treadmill, for 4 hrs)! The cause of helping children’s education and the support of Team Asha has really inspired me to train for the past 6 months and achieve this huge accomplishment of running 26.2 miles. Thank you all for your generous donations.
