Marathon organizers hope to raise Rs 20cr for charity

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Marathon is known for charity and this year will be no different. In its 11th edition, organizers of the event hope to raise more than Rs 20 crore for 269 NGOs.
"We are so confident of raising so much money this year because we have already managed to collect more than Rs 16 crore so far and the amount is increasing. We are glad that more NGOs will benefit with the money that has been raised by participants," said Jayanti Shukla, executive director of United Way of Mumbai, official charity partner for Mumbai Marathon 2014.
"This figure has been possible through the support of 171 companies, fielding 265 teams, 2,620 charity fund raisers and more than 24,000 individual donors," added Shukla. These figures were released at a press conference held in the city on Monday.
"The event has helped raise around Rs 100 crore towards various causes in the past ten years, benefiting hundreds of NGOs and touching the lives of countless individuals. We hope to continue the drive for many more years to come," said one of the participants who has pledged to raise over Rs 10 lakh this year.
Also present at the press conference was singer Suneeta Rao, who will run this year.
"I have been fighting for the rights of the girl child and other issues related to population control for many years now, and opportunities like the Mumbai marathon are a perfect platform for us to get our message out. It's the generosity of the people around me who have helped me raise funds this year and I look forward to the race day," she said.