We For India, the global fundraiser for Covid-19 relief, raised over $5 million on Independence Day. Hosted by Rajkummar Rao, the event was attended by actors like Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, R Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Sidharth Malhotra, Kartik Aaryan, Sonakshi Sinha, Prosenjit Chatterjee, and Arjun Kapoor, among others.
The event was live-streamed on Facebook and can still be watched on the social media platform. It featured performances by several artists, including AR Rahman, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, Sister Sledge ft Sledgendary, Nancy Ajram, Nile Rodgers, and Shankar Mahadevan.
The fundraiser also featured filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Rajkumar Hirani, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar, Imtiaz Ali, and Farhan Akhtar.
The event was organised by Reliance Entertainment, GiveIndia, The World We Want, and Facebook. In total, more than 100 entertainers, influencers, and musical artists performed during the five-hour+ event.
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According to the press release, the donations will be used for building critical oxygen infrastructure, by providing oxygen cylinders and concentrators across India. It will also be used to support genome sequencing in Mumbai to prevent further spread of the virus and to help set up isolation centres in Bangalore.
Furthermore, the press release stated, the funds will also be used to set up Covid care facilities, ICU units, and hospital infrastructure in rural areas of India.
“In addition, donations will provide meals and ration kits which will help sustain a family of four, and give cash support to low-income families who have lost their sole earner to the virus. The funds will also be used to facilitate vaccinations among rural populations. Also, the retail funds raised through the campaign will help support humanitarian causes such as providing meals and rations, cash relief to families who have lost their breadwinner to Covid, and rescue and rehabilitation of orphans who have lost one or both parents to Covid,” the press release stated.