United in need
Cutting across social divides, the world comes to India’s aid
No crisis in the recent past has created as much havoc and worry as the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many countries were caught in a bad situation earlier, they seemed to have controlled the pandemic to an extent, but in India, it rages on. The only ray of cheer is the fact that India’s plight has brought together people from all walks of life – celebrities, the business community and the common man – to offer support. At this time when the Government seems to have failed to rise to the occasion, social influencers, NGOs and big corporations have taken up the challenge.
From comedian Kusha Kapila to Bollywood’s Alia Bhatt and Hollywood’s Ellen DeGeneres, many celebrities have dedicated the last few posts on their timelines to aid India in its hour of need.
English author Jay Shetty started a fundraiser, Help India Breathe to raise a total of $1M, and prominent Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities joined in to make it a success.
Expressing gratitude, Jay tweeted, “Thanks to @IndiasporaForum & @vkhosla our fundraiser was tripled! We raised over $1M for @GiveIndia & $3M will go towards serving those in need. Appreciate you @ShawnMendes @TheEllenShow @Camila_Cabello @iHrithik @BrendonBurchard @JamieKernLima @RohanAOza for your contributions!" (sic)
On Instagram Jay revealed that The Smith family donated $50,000, Jamie Kern Lima donated $100,000, Ellen raised $59,000, Hrithik Roshan sent $15,000. Rohan Oza provided $50,000, Brendon Burchard gave $50,000, Shawn Mendes donated $50,000 and Camila Cabello raised $6000. Among other celebrities, Shawn Mendes, Jay Shetty and Camila Cabello even added the new fundraising Instagram feature to their bios, which helped them receive funds from their fans as well.
Sponsors Indiaspora Forum & Indian-American billionaire businessman Vinod Khosla matched the amount raised under Help India Breathe, by contributing $1M each.
Several Bollywood stars including Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar used the power of social media to facilitate those in need, including finding hospital beds and sourcing oxygen supplies.
Recently Priyanka Chopra too established a fundraiser with Give India. She urged fans to donate. She wrote: “Your donation will go directly to healthcare physical infrastructure (including Covid care centres, isolation centres, and oxygen generation plants), medical equipment, and vaccine support and mobilization,”
Expressing his gratitude to those who donated funds, Jay tweeted : "You all have such huge hearts and we couldn’t be more grateful for your support! This money will go a long way! Let’s keep going." (sic)