CRY Gala 2025 series kicked off in New York City on April 25 at the elegant Taj Pierre with 120 guests. Contributing his star power to the event was celebrity chef Vikas Khanna of NYC’s Bungalow. Legendary actor Shabana Azmi talked about the importance of the work done by organizations like CRY and appealed to the audience to pledge their support for the cause of children. Guests heard from Lalithamma from Project PORD about her work and the changes she has brought to the lives of children. Shefali Sunderlal, CRY America’s CEO, talked about the ‘multiplier effect’ that these programs have, not only irreversibly transforming the lives of children in CRY supported Projects, but also lifting communities out of cycles of disenfranchisement. Thank you to our CRY Gala Committee Satwant Narula, Jigar Thakkar & Sangeeta Mudnal, Anupam & Shruti Yadav, Rupal & Harsh Patil, Sridhar Pattisapu and Kriti Sehgal for their guidance and generosity. We are grateful to our donors, volunteers, staff and event sponsors TV Asia, Parikh Worldwide, Guru Krupa, Laxmi, GDB International and SBI NY.

Our first CRY Gala in Austin was held on April 26 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Round Rock. The evening included a photo booth, dinner, donor appreciation, pledge session, Bollywood music and dancing. Lalithamma from Project PORD spoke about her work and the changes she has been able to bring about in the lives of the children. Shefali Sunderlal, CRY America’s CEO, talked about the ‘multiplier effect’ that these programs have, not only irreversibly transforming the lives of children in CRY supported Projects, but also lifting communities out of cycles of disenfranchisement. Shabana Azmi talked about the importance of the work done by organizations like CRY and appealed for support for children. Thank you to our volunteers Prasanna Kumar, Rangam Addepalli, Pragya Sen, Sudha Valli, Sheetal Bandi, Narayani Harika and Keerthi for organizing this successful event. We are grateful to our donors,, staff, event sponsors Taproot Solutions, RockNGrill, Prime Dental, Shiva Jewelers, Marc Robinson Jewelers, Genpiper Technologies, Trinity Texas Realty, Austin Dreamworks and DB Foods for being child rights ambassadors.

The CRY Houston Gala held on April 27 at the Royal Sonesta was attended by 250 guests along with legendary actor Shabana Azmi. The evening was filled with inspiration, entertainment, and generosity. Guests were treated to graceful dance performances by Karmagraphy, whose artistry added a touch of cultural elegance to the evening. The live auction was well received. Corporate Speaker, L&T’s Subrat Tripathy reaffirmed the importance of collaboration between the corporate sector & organizations like CRY. Lalithamma from Project PORD shared heartfelt stories of progress in the lives of children. Shefali Sunderlal, CRY America’s CEO, talked about CRY Projects irreversibly transforming the lives of children. Thank you to our Advisory Board, Texas Board and Gala Committee members Juuhi & Prakash Ahuja, Dharam & Priya Bali, Dr. Tina & Dr. Harish Pariani, Pradeep & Madhavi Gokhale, Ruchika & Darren Dias, Pooja Revanur, Devina Bhojwani & Zuli Jasani. The event demonstrated a shared commitment to positive change and we are grateful to everyone who joined us and made the night unforgettable.

CRY Gala 2025 was held on May 2nd in Green Acre, La Jolla and was attended by 120 guests. The guest of honor was the legendary actor-director Shabana Azmi, GM from Qualcomm, Nakul Duggal, and director of project PORD, Lalithamma from Telangana, India. Deven Parlikar was the emcee and the guests were treated to performances from the musical group B-sharp and dance by Cosmic Beats. A big thank you to the CRY Gala Committee Sonali Soni, Seema Pai, Deven Parlikar, Rashmi Kalita, Anil Tata, Palak Gosalia, Meenakshi Jain, and Edward Remias for their guidance, skills and generosity. Our gratitude to our donors, volunteers, staff & sponsors Terri Brown and Minx Events for making the event a great success.

On May 3, 2025, the Seattle community came together for CRY Uphaar 2025 at Columbia Collective with over 200 attendees. We welcomed Shabana Azmi as our special guest, and heard impactful updates about CRY America from Patrick Bocco. Lalithamma from Project PORD shared heartfelt stories of transformation and progress in the lives of children. Thank you to our Advisory Board member Murali for his ongoing guidance, to Gurdeep Pall for appealing to guests during the pledge session and to our event sponsors: Dallas Venture Capital, MSR Communities, Allstate Foundation and Alice for their continued belief in our cause. This event would not have been possible without the dedication of our volunteers, Rajesh & Prachi, Yogita, Shilpa, Anuashka & Varun, Pramila & Deepak, Amruta, Anay, Kalpana, Ramnik, Dheeraj and many more. Thank you to our committed donors and supporters for their generosity towards the cause of underprivileged children.

The final 2025 CRY Gala was held in the Bay Area on May 4 at Villa Ragusa with 110 guests. Indiaspora founder MR Rangaswami, Corporate Speaker, spoke about how the community can achieve greater impact ‘if we put our hearts into it’. The evening included a cocktail hour, pictures with Shabana Azmi, talks by CRY’s Patrick Bocco, Lalithamma from Project PORD and special moments with the amazing Shaban Azmi. Comedian Abhay Paranjape brought laughter to the room. Heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, sponsors, volunteers and Gala Committee members Arti Kulkarni, Renu & Chaitanya Upadhyay, Kiran Mantripragada & Murthy Pappu, Sujay & Sushmita Saha, Amit & Revathy Duvedi, Anita Kapadia & Feroze Taraporevala, Rajiv & Pinky Patel and Vinay Patwardhan for making the evening an awesome success. Together, we made it a night to remember and a future to believe in for so many children.