Actress Lara Dutta and Sports Scientist Shayamal Vallabhjee joined hands with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), a non-profit headquartered in Silicon Valley for ‘I Breathe For India Campaign: Covid Crisis Relief’, a virtual fundraising campaign to help India battle the Covid-19 crisis.

The campaign, which runs until May 20, brings together Indian luminaries, actors and sports personalities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, H.H. Radhanath Swami, Karan Johar, Rishabh Pant, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Samantha Prabhu, Tarun Tahliani, and many more, who appeared in a live special two-hour fundraising drive for Give India — India’s largest non-profit working actively with 2200 NGOs on the ground in the fight against Covid-19.

During the drive, the stars appeared reciting poetry, singing songs and delivering heartfelt messages, as part of a specially curated showcase, never before seen in India, which was streamed live across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Funds from the campaign will go towards essential life-saving medical supplies, humanitarian aid for families under the poverty line that have been affected by the crisis, and manpower support for setting up vaccination and isolation centres to strengthen the nations’ efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19.

“The ‘I Breathe for India’ campaign was more than a fundraiser. It represented the collective consciousness off many people whose only desire was to India and its citizens in its hour of need. In many ways it helped redefine what is possible as we move towards the ‘new normal’. Thanks to the unwavering dedication of the Encompass team and its partners, we more than doubled our initial goal of $1 million and now as a result, have extended our deadline to allow us to shatter the proverbial glass ceiling. Both Lara and I, and the teams from TIE Global and Give India are eternally grateful to the entire unit that made this possible,” said Shayamal Vallabhjee.

Lara Dutta added, “The success of the #IBreatheForIndia fundraiser would not have been possible without the individual efforts behind the scenes. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to each and every one for selflessly giving your time and talents. God Bless and keep you all and your families safe until we are able to overcome this crisis together.”

‘I Breathe for India: Covid Crisis Relief’ was produced by global creative commerce agency, VMLY&R COMMERCE ENCOMPASS with platform partners including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Sony Liv, Voot, Eros Now and Glance, helping to amplify and restream the event.

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