Sankara Nethralaya raised $120,000 with Mani Sharma Concert in Phoenix Valley

The Sankara Nethralaya musical concert on November 3rd was a resounding success, marking the first Telugu concert in Phoenix Valley. The community showed incredible support, raising a total of $120,000, which includes contributions from six MESU donors.

The evening began with heartfelt tributes to Dr. S.S. Badrinath and Ratan Tata, honoring their contributions. We shared the journey of Sankara Nethralaya USA, from its founding to its current initiatives. Under the leadership of founder and president emeritus S.V. Acharya and current president Bala Reddy Indurthi, the organization has greatly expanded its reach, especially through the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) program.

Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) program provides critical eye care to underserved rural areas. We highlighted the main centers in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Jharkhand, along with plans for new centers in Puttaparthi and Vishakhapatnam. The highlight of the evening was Mani Sharma Garu’s incredible performance, which captivated the audience for over three hours.

During the intermission, we honored past MESU donors and celebrated new pledges, with one additional donor committing to fund a MESU unit for 2025 in Tamil Nadu. By the event’s end, we had secured pledges for a total of six MESU units: four for Tamil Nadu and two for Andhra Pradesh.

After the concert, Feringhee Modern Indian Cuisine in Chandler hosted a special meet-and-greet, where Mani Sharma Garu’s signed photos were auctioned. In addition, a send-off meet was held in Peoria on Thursday night for Mani Sharma and his team. The combined auctions raised a total of $4,875, funding 75 cataract surgeries through Sankara Nethralaya’s MESU program.

Sankara Nethralaya is immensely grateful to Syam Appali for his efforts in promoting the event, Moorthy Rekhapalli for arranging banners and standees, and Theagu for preparing the flyers. Their dedication and hard work played a crucial role in making this event a success.

Sankara Nethralaya also want to express our heartfelt thanks to Vamsi Krishna Eruvaram (Joint Secretary), Adi Morreddy (Chapter Vice President), Srinivas Guptha (Publicity Committee Member), Rekha Vemala, Dheeraj Pola, Saravanan, Srinivasan, Sreedhar Chemidthi, Sathish, Sudha Balaji, Syam Byra, Syam Avvari, Manu Nair, Chenna Reddy Madduri, Kasi, Moorthy Venkatesan, Manjunath, Deva, Jayaprakash, Mahith, Saketh, Terry King, Sita Ganta, Sarita Garuda, Raj Bandi, Shoba Vaddireddy, and Rupa Midhe. Their collective efforts and dedication were key to the success of this event.

These generous donations, including those from the MESU donors, will directly fund life-changing cataract surgeries, bringing the gift of sight to those in need. We are incredibly grateful for your support and commitment to Sankara Nethralaya’s mission.

The event received high praise from attendees, with many expressing interest in joining the growing Phoenix chapter. We are deeply grateful to the Shining Sprouts and Loving Kindness teams for their exceptional support. Their commitment to promoting Sankara Nethralaya’s mission, often over their own initiatives, was truly inspiring.

We extend our sincere thanks to president Bala Reddy Indurthi and to everyone who contributed to making this event a success. It was a night filled with joy, generosity, and community spirit in support of Sankara Nethralaya’s life-changing work.