Vibha raises $275K through the Dream Mile Fundraiser in Atlanta
Dream Mile is one of Vibha`s Flagship annual run/ walk fundraising events. In the last 23 years, Dream Mile has become an important fundraising event for promoting change and grassroots ideas that bring education, healthcare and social betterment to underprivileged children.
[Left] Warm-up session by Jazzercise.
On September 19, 2021, in the wee hours of the morning, volunteers started pouring in at the Collection Mall at Forsyth in Cumming. It was drizzling and nobody was sure what was in store with the weather. But just as the first rays of the sun hit the ground, the rain also stopped making it a perfect morning for a marathon.
As the day unfolded, the arena was filled with around 1000 enthusiastic walkers and runners. There were five race categories: North Fulton Smiles 1K walk, Pyramid Consulting 5K walk, Datum Software 5K run, 33 Holdings 10K run and 27th Investments Half Marathon. The half marathon began at 7:00 am and the race was flagged off by Pramod Sajja, CEO and President of Paramount Software Solutions. This was followed by the 10K run at 7:15 am which was flagged off by Sanjay Raghavraju, Founder and CEO of 33 Holdings. The 5K run at 8:00 am was flagged off by Malini Swaminathan from Datum Software. Sanjeev Tirath, Co-Founder and CEO of Pyramid Consulting, along with Namita Tirath, Chief Customer Officer of the firm, flagged off the 5K walk at 8:05 am. Dr. Veena Bhat from North Fulton Smiles flagged off the 1K walk.
[Right] Vibha Dream Mile volunteer team.
The course was very well managed by the volunteers. There were snacks and water stations along the way. One of the participants said, “This is one of the most organized races that I have attended, and it is a beautiful course.” A fun warmup session by the Jazzercise group led by Maneesha Kulkarni had everyone flexed and warmed up. The Vibha volunteers performed a flash mob dance which had everyone dancing and grooving.
At the finish line, individually wrapped snacks and water was served to the participants. There was a lot of buzz and fervor at the sponsor booths. An LED screen was set up which captured the participants sprinting and walking down the finish lines. The list of winners can be viewed at https://runsignup.com/ dream-mile-atlanta.
Prashant Kollipara and his team of Bytegraph Productions took care of the production. Dr Jyoti Manekar and her team had a first-aid booth and they attended to the emergencies. The event leads, Raj Vuchatu and Ramesh Movva, thanked all the participants, sponsors and volunteers. “In spite of all the uncertainties, the Vibha family came together and made this event possible,” they said.
[Top] The Pyramid Consulting team at Vibha Dream Mile event.
The title sponsor of the event was Paramount Software Solutions; and its CEO, Pramod Sajja, speaking about his association with Vibha, said, “We all should make giving back to the community a part of our lives.” Covid precautions were taken throughout the event. More than 150 volunteers worked countless hours to organize and execute the event.
An amount of $275K was raised which will go towards the post-Covid education initiatives in India and the U.S. The local beneficiaries are Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and Inspiredu. Inspiredu is doing phenomenal work to close the digital divide here in Atlanta.
A global virtual month-long Dream Mile was also launched on September 1 in which anybody could participate from anywhere. There were 4250 participants from 11 countries and 33 U.S. states. Pyramid Consulting was the title sponsor of the virtual event. $383K was raised through the event.
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