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 3rd marathon with Asha for Education in Nov 2010! Please see this video of CNN’s coverage of one of the projects supported by Asha - the Olcott School in Tamil Nadu, to get an idea of how your donations will be used.
In Dec 2008, because of my commitment to this wonderful cause, I managed to complete my first full marathon, and raise $2000+ with help from donors like you. I repeated this effort in Dec 2009 and raised money for Asha. This year, I have committed to run the New York Marathon in Nov 2010 with a goal of raising $2000 for Asha. As always, I will cover the costs of the training and the race with my personal funds, and 100% of your donations will be channeled into the project of your choosing.
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 started volunteering with Asha in 2008. 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 $2000 before December 31, 2010. 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.
