Special Performances in RHYTHM 2020

Getting into RHYTHM 2020

RHYTHM 2020 – SOFKIN’s annual event for all of our supporters is coming Saturday, Sept. 19! We have an exciting virtual global celebration planned for you, beginning at 11:00 AM EST and 8:30 PM IST. Please join us!

31-Aug-20

Sponsorship

This Year’s Highlight – Our Special Performers!

The overall goal of the event is twofold. First, we want to express our sincere gratitude for your ongoing support. And, second, we want to show how your support and donations are being used to transform lives. A highlight of the event will be dance performances and storytelling from the children of SOFKIN. This virtual event will allow supporters from across the world to be directly involved with the children for the first time and witness personally the kind of transformation your support has made possible.

The children are very excited by this opportunity. For weeks they have been diligently learning and practicing the dances they want to perform for you. And, with the help of SOFKIN staff members, Jhunu Roy and Madhu Yerramilli, they’ve been busy coordinating all of their costumes, with props and sets made by the children!

Hear from the Children

The program will also feature an overview and update from SOFKIN founder, Chaya Pamula. There will be a panel of SOFKIN children discussing how the values of SOFKIN guide their everyday lives. Celebrated singers from India and the U.S. will round-out the program.

The fundraising goal of RHYTHM 2020 is $20,000 earmarked for the Education Fund. This Fund was established last year to raise money that would enable all the children to become educated in their areas of interest and develop the knowledge and skills needed to realize their dreams. A variety of interactive, fun activities will be used to solicit donations – small and large – for the Education Fund.

Every cent of the donations from this event will go directly to this fund – and every one of them matters!

Another Exciting First

We are also very pleased that accomplished artist and SOFKIN supporter, Swarna, has donated 4 of her acrylic paintings to be auctioned at the event for US participants. Largely self taught with a passion to create and share, Swarna works in a variety of mediums. While memories of her Indian childhood have often been the inspiration for her subjects, all creations of God fascinate her, and she enjoys depicting “the awesome, picturesque moments of today” as well. She has been very generous to donate most of her artwork to various charities, and SOFKIN is fortunate to be one of them. Pre-bidding is underway at SOFKIN’s website. The final bidding will take place live during RHYTHM.

Our RHTYHM Team

Like every year, the SOFKIN Youth Group is actively engaged in RHYTHM 2020 under the leadership of Kirthi Chigurupati, a high school student in New Jersey. She has been participating and contributing to RHYTHM events for the past several years with her parents. Kirthi explained that she sees a parallel version of herself in the kids at SOFKIN, and is very motivated to use her privilege as a first generation American to help.

Kirthi recruited a cross-cultural group of her peers to join the Youth Group, including Arya Shukla, Claudine Montakhab, Meghna Prakash, Siddhi Kalantre, and Isabella Markey. Key activities to date have included developing marketing materials and exploring the best technologies to use for global, virtual events, in addition to planning the overall event. The Youth Group, based in the U.S., has also been collaborating closely with SOFKIN alumni and PamTen employee volunteers: Prasad Tenjerla and Joanne Tartaglino from PamTen New Jersey, and Kalpana Challa and SaiDeepthi Bitra from PamTen India.

When asked what the Youth Groups hopes people take away from RHYTHM 2020, they said they hope people really learn what SOFKIN is all about and understand the life-changing impact it is making in children’s lives. They all believe, “SOFKIN has created a family with the underprivileged children it serves. I hope we are all inspired to use our privilege and resources to do what we can to help them.”

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