The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) has seen a phenomenal growth over the last 12 years and the event now stands unsurpassed as India’s largest charity raising platform. Over the course of its journey at the SCMM, an amount of over 6 crores has been raised by Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care (SRLC) for charitable causes that have brought about a transformation in innumerable lives. Continuing the tradition, SRLC won several awards at the SCMM 2015 - Charity Awards Night held on 27th March.

The bright morning on the day of the SCMM saw the SRLC team of more than 550 supporters geared up to walk the streets of Mumbai with an innovative prop - a giant purple umbrella, sheltering volunteers dressed up as beneficiaries, depicting them being under the shelter of love and care. Young and old alike were throbbing with enthusiasm in purple caps and SRLC T-shirts carrying the message of this unique 10 fold benevolent programme through banners, slogans and jingles along the 6 km Dream Run route. SRLC had a participation of 366 supporters in the Dream Run, 197 in the Half Marathon and 8 in the Full Marathon, including 16 teams of corporate supporters and a senior citizen aged 83! SRLC had the distinction of having the maximum number of Change Runners i.e. individuals raising more than Rs. 1.5 lakhs, as well as the maximum number of corporate supporters. SCMM 2015 introduced a new category of ‘Student Challenge’ to encourage young philanthropists and participation from educational institutions to raise funds. SRLC received the support of 4 educational institutions in the first year itself. This wide scale participation affirmed the faith they have in SRLC’s sincere efforts of serving the needs of the less privileged! SRLC’s eye-catching theme of the umbrella and the associated costumes won it the First Runner-Up Award in the Kingfisher Bindaas Bandhe contest! 

The SRLC Cheering Zone was one of the most sought places along the stretch of the Dream Run. It depicted images of the 10 Care Programme beneficiaries sheltered under an arch of purple umbrellas with the chitrapats of Param Krupalu Dev and Pujya Gurudevshri towering above. Dance performances by children of Greenlawns High School and The Somaiya School enthralled one and all while special performances by the tribal children from rural interiors of South Gujarat enthralled the onlookers. These students were participants of Shrimad Rajchandra Kala Utsav, a talent competition for tribal students to showcase their skills and turn them into an employment opportunity in future. A song performance by Samarpit Namaha Mehta “Be the Change”, paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhiji, commemorating 100 years of his return to India to fight for freedom and reignited the principles that Gandhiji stood for! Garbharpit Sharan Choksi extolled the importance of seva through a beautiful rendition while exuberant Yuvarpits impressed the audience with their mesmerising dance using umbrellas as the prop!

The young ones not only took the centre stage at the cheering zone, but in fund raising too! Samarpit Meera Mehta is a committed SRLC fund raiser, who raised over Rs. 2 lakhs online on her birthday and won the online contest for SRLC - NGO raising Highest Funds online in one day. Having been the Youngest Dream Maker, Dream Wizard and Dream Champion in the last 3 editions of the SCMM, she dreamt of raising Rs. 25 lakhs and becoming a Change Icon. However, she knew it would not be possible individually, considering she is in the 10th standard and would not be able to spare that much time from her studies. But, she believed in the spirit of teamwork. 11 of her friends got together and collectively raised over Rs. 30 lakhs for charity in support of SRLC. This clearly showed the enthusiasm of seva, the values of loving, caring and offering, the spirit of teamwork amongst these Shrimad Rajchandra Divinetouch (SRD) children. Their jingle below touched hearts of media and celebrities alike…

Love is something that all deserve

So let’s live a life to give and serve

In 10 different ways with all we share

We support Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care

Actress and Film Producer, Juhi Chawla met up with these children one evening. She said, “I am extremely impressed with what their Mission stands for, what these kids are doing and what they have achieved so far. It is very rare to see that children are contributing actively and raising funds for charitable initiatives and these children have done this for their supported NGO, Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care. SRLC derives its inspiration from Shrimad Rajchandraji, who was the spiritual mentor to Mahatma Gandhi. Under the guidance of their Spiritual Master Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai, it is heartening to see the followers doing seva in the tribal areas of Gujarat by providing healthcare, education and basic amenities for living. SRLC has participated in the Mumbai Marathon since the last 5 years and have broken records each year, from the amount of funds raised to the highest number of corporate support to the number of people who participate and support SRLC.”

SRLC’s participation received coverage in television channels like Times Now, Star Sports, Jia News, TV9, ABP Majha and Mi Marathi and print media like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Asian Age, Mid-Day, Janmabhoomi, Dabang Dunia etc. Social media was abuzz with SRLC’s participation which trended swiftly on Facebook, Twitter etc.

Continuing its winning streak into the 5th year of its participation, with the Grace of Param Krupalu Dev and Pujya Gurudevshri, SRLC was awarded with several accolades at the dazzling SCMM Charity Awards Night held on 27th March at The Trident Hotel, Mumbai. The event was attended by dignitaries like Shri Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao - Honourable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Nand Kumar - Principal Secretary - Education and Sports, Government of Maharashtra, Smt. Indu Sahani - Sheriff of Mumbai, John Abraham - Film Actor, Perizaad Zorabian - Actor, Armaan Malik - Singer and a host of NGO heads and Corporate leaders. SRD children gave a very sweet performance on stage, dancing to a song by the young singer, Armaan.

SRLC received the following awards:

• Highest Fund Raising NGO

SRLC raised over Rs. 1.66 crores for charity and amongst a pool of 292 participating NGOs, was the top fund raising NGO for the 5th time in a row.

• Highest Number of Corporate Teams

SRLC received the enthusiastic support from 16 corporate teams, making it the NGO with the largest corporate support.

• Highest Number of Change Runners

SRLC had 32 individual Change Runners, individuals who raised more than Rs. 1.5 lakhs each.

• Young Change Runners

The young team of SRD children made a mark in this event by collectively raising more than Rs. 30 lakhs and received individual certificates of recognition.

• Dynamic Duo

Sarvarpit Dr. Bijal Mehta and Samarpit Meera Mehta (Mother – Daughter) had the distinction of being fund raisers for 4 years in a row.

Vanprastha Abhaybhai Jasani received a special mention as one of the only 7 Change Icons, having raised over Rs. 25 lakhs for SRLC.

Thus, SCMM 2015 was yet another successful initiative which provided SRLC the opportunity to carry forward its benevolent vision of bringing joy to the underprivileged. The accolades are testimony to the continuous faith that the corporate world has in SRLC’s charitable initiatives. SRLC extends its gratitude to all the corporates, donors and fund-raisers who have contributed to this benevolent cause.