For the last four years, the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) has been raising funds to help underprivileged primary school-going kids in Northern India through their ‘Caring Sharing Dinner & Dance’ events.
On 2 November, the eve of Diwali, GOPIO Sydney North West celebrated their fourth such charity dinner dance at Bowman Hall, Blacktown.
The event was attended by the leading citizens of the area including the Parliamentarians, the Police Commander, Counsel General of India and many other politicians who shared in the spirit of Diwali.
MP Michelle Rowland and Mayor Len Robinson were the chief guests.
Bollywood dances, Gujarati garbas, raffle prizes, a fashion show and more were some of the highlights of the evening, while Sapphire Catering took care of the scrumptious spread.
“The charity dinner was booked out well in advance, and attended by more than 350 people. The public response was overwhelming. This year, proceeds from the event will be donated directly to a school in Northern India, which requires new separate bathroom amenities for high school boys and girls,” said Sumit Joshi, a member of GOPIO North west. “What makes our charity different from most others is that the money is not just sent across. One of the members of our team presents the funds to the school,” he added.
Ravi Singh, President of the organisation, said, “GOPIO Sydney North West has annually donated to charitable causes both in India and Australia. In previous years, the team had provided winter uniforms, mats, shoes and clean drinking water to underprivileged schools in India.”
He added that GOPIO has also donated $1000 to a local senior citizen’s social group called RAINS to pave the backyard at their community centre in Pennant Hills.
“Our team including the members Balkar Kang, Harmohan Walia, Sumit Joshi, Raj Mangat, Neeru Singh, Tia Singh, Baljit Pelia, Parmjit Multani and Aman Singh worked hard to make this event a grand success,” said Ravi.
The platinum sponsors for the event were Jasbir Kang and Yogesh Manav of Sapphire Function centre; Gold sponsors were Sarjit Rahi of Caltex Australia; Silver sponsors were Amrjit Khela CEO of Unique International College, Pankaj Khurana of Prime Real Estate and Indian Fusion Restaurant.
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