Past Fundraisers 2012-13

U.K., London, March 23rd - 24th, 2013
Ganga Prem Hospice at a Craft Fair in London
April Pierrot and Caroline Tautz attended a Craft Fair in New Cross, London last weekend on behalf of Ganga Prem Hospice U.K. A table was set up in aid of GPH, and altogether £323-worth of goods were sold.

The Crafts Fair was held at the Telegraph Hill Centre, opposite Kitto Road, where Caroline holds her Yoga classes. St Catherine's Church, a Church of England Parish Church, has a very vibrant community based arts and crafts progamme. Throughout the year there is a varied schedule of arts and crafts events, serving the local community of 6,000 households. Events range from drama to young people's theatre and classical concerts, and are all facilitated by local people for the local community on behalf of the local community and their respective interests.

Caroline, her husband Bill Tautz, a human rights barrister, and her son Harry, a nine-year old student, all manned the stall with April, and helped from 10 am to 4.30 pm. So many of the local people were intrigued by the goods, which are made by the Kulu Valley Women's Co-operative and sold wholly in support of Ganga Prem Hospice. "A splendid day was had by all, and the lunch was superb!" said April.

April Pierrot at the GPH stall at the Craft Fair in London

"We were proud to participate and generated a lot of enthusiasm for Ganga Prem Hospice!"

U.K., London, February 24th, 2013
Fundraiser in the U.K.
On Sunday, the 24th of February a fundraising event was held in Southeast London.

Items on sale at the fundraiser in Southeast London

It was a very cold, grey day, and everyone who attended enjoyed a delicious hot vegetarian lunch. A sale of woollen shawls and socks was held, as well as of recycled teak wood items made by The First Leaf in India. Swami Saradananda gave a talk on chakras to a varied audience of students and children. It was a very relaxed afternoon and £650 was raised for Ganga Prem Hospice.

INDIA, Rishikesh, December 23rd, 2012
Krishna Das Charity Concert in Rishikesh
The 23rd of December was a sunny winter day when world-renowned kirtan vocalist Krishna Das performed in Rishikesh on the banks of the Ganga.

At a charity concert in aid of Ganga Prem Hospice, Krishna Das sang to an enthusiastic and full house. As one walked towards the Parmarth Niketan venue from Ram Jhula, one knew that KD was in town as conversations about him and the concert could be overheard.

The event began with an introductory address by Sadhvi Bhagwati of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, who spoke sparklingly and warmly about Gangaji and the cancer work of Ganga Prem Hospice in Rishikesh. Prem Baba of the Sacha spiritual lineage also graced the occasion and was present at the concert. The inaugural lamp was lit by Krishna Das, Prem Baba, Sadhvi Bhagwati and Nani Ma of Ganga Prem Hospice.

Krishna Das performed uninterruptedly for three hours

Seeing many foreigners among the large number of people who had come to listen to him, KD joked that he had not seen so many white people since he was in New York. It wasn't long before the concert began and the chanting of Bhagavan's name, which is so characteristic of Krishna Das' bhajan singing style, had taken the 600-odd listeners into a devotional trance.

Little children who had come with their parents twirled around as the atmosphere came alive with the chanting and the tabla beats

Krishna Das, supported by Arjun Bruggeman on the tabla and Prema Michau on the cymbals, as well as Archit, his sound man. He sang uninterruptedly for three hours, giving his listeners a memorable experience. After the concert, Krishna Das, his team and a group from Ganga Prem Hospice were treated to some warm hospitality by Parmarth Niketan Ashram, who had also donated the concert venue for the day.

Credit for the concert's successful organisation goes to the Ganga Prem Hospice volunteer team in Rishikesh, headed by Alan Neachell and Anil Gupta. Together with Panchanan Pandey, Steven Lopresti, Swami Sarvamangalananda, Satya Rao, Panshula Rai, Rohit Anand, Anuj Gupta, Akshey Koushal, Chandan, Vanu, Mauna Giri, Gaja Lakshmi and many more helping hands, they handled the concert operations and publicity arrangements, and saw that everything was in place for the event. The First Leaf, an Ahmedabad-based company, provided items made primarily of teak wood for a souvenir stall, with the proceeds being donated to the Hospice. Ganga Prem Hospice calendars and cards were also available on donation.

A short slideshow of the concert can be viewed on YouTube. Photos taken and presentation prepared by Julien I. Balmer.

U.K., London, December 12th, 2012
Christmas Sock Sale Fundraiser in the UK
On Wednesday, 12th December, a successful fundraising event was held at Tooks Chambers in Farringdon, London.

Tooks Chambers is a law firm well known for its work in the field of human rights. They kindly offered a room for a Christmas sale of the lovely hand knitted socks, made by the Kulu women's cooperative in the Himalayas, and Ayurvedic products, all from Northern India.

The socks sold successfully and over £300 was raised during the afternoon. A further £600 has been raised by sales and donations by the friends and yoga students of Caroline Tautz, and as sales continued in the busy Christmas period, the target of £1,000 was reached, and even a little more than that was raised!

Selling warm stockings for Ganga Prem Hospice

U.K., Surrey, New Malden, November 17th, 2012
Diwali Fundraiser in England
Gabrielle Steen (Natraj) held a Diwali fundraiser at her house in New Malden, England.

The group who took part in the Diwali fundraiser

A small group of eight people came for some chanting and a special candle-lit meditation, and afterwards some sweets and a warming soup were shared by the group. £73 in cash was raised on the night of the event but some yoga students who were unable to attend donated online. The total so far, including gift aid, has come to £233.

INDIA, Haridwar, November 11th, 2012
Crossfit Fundraiser by Sri Ram Ashram Orphanage
Children of the Sri Ram Ashram Orphanage were all ready on the morning of November 11th for their "Crossfit Fitness Workout" event, lifting weights and dumbbells, skipping rope and partaking in a host of other workout activities.

Sponsors pledged money for every point the young athletes earned, which will go to the Ganga Prem Hospice cancer-care project in Rishikesh. The children did splendidly well, raising an astonishing Rs. 41,951 for the Hospice.

The 28 athletes of all ages performed spiritedly as spectators cheered them on. Those children who were not participating directly, supported the event either as hostesses or judges, or by running the sound system. The children had earlier visited the Ganga Prem Hospice charitable cancer clinic on October 28th, 2012 and had observed the clinic operations. This made them even more enthusiastic.

Many activities were featured at the Nov 11th event

Some of the terminally ill patients that the children had seen on their visit served as motivation for them. Vijay Pal, a young athlete from the orphanage, who at the end of his workout was exhausted and didn't think he had the strength to do another exercise repeat, thought of an elderly prostate cancer patient he had seen at the Ganga Prem Hospice clinic a few days ago. As the patient's face flashed in his mind, Vijay felt he could still do a little more so that more money could be raised for the Hospice.

When the children's representatives came to the November cancer clinic in Rishikesh to hand over the money they had raised, they were thrilled to see a welcome banner specially made for them hanging outside the venue. After a short wait they were called in to see Dr Dewan and were presented with a certificate of appreciation and a thank you letter from the Hospice.

The children were also given the welcome banner as a souvenir. When they returned home to the orphanage, everyone crowded around to see the certificate which was proudly shown to all. The banner was hung over the official Crossfit blackboard near the Ashram office and the certificate was temporarily lodged in the office until it can be hung somewhere else permanently.

The Sri Ram Ashram gives loving care to children in the orphanage, which is a home for 50 destitute and orphaned children. The foundation also runs a school for 300 children and a medical clinic in Haridwar.

U.K., London, October 26th to 28th, 2012
Ganga Prem Hospice Stall at London Yoga Show
On the weekend of October 26-28, Ganga Prem Hospice volunteers manned a stand at the annual Yoga Show at the London Olympia.

Paul Wooton designed a lovely banner, socks were sold that had been produced by the Kulu Valley Women's Cooperative, and Ganga Prem Hospice brochures were handed out. A total of £513 was raised from sock sales and donations. Contacts were made, including several people who are interested in helping to raise funds for Ganga Prem Hospice in the future.

Swami Saradananda by the Ganga Prem Hospice booth

U.K., Devon, August 10th to 12th, 2012
Devon Yoga Festival in the U.K.
The Devon Yoga Festival, which was attended by 150 participants, is the brainchild of Duncan Hulin, founder of the Devon School of Yoga. Not only is Duncan an inspired yogi, but he has the good fortune to live in Devon, probably the yoga capital of the U.K.!

The beaufitul venue of the Devon Yoga Festival

There was blue sky and sunshine in Devon last weekend, as yogis from all over the country gathered to create a loving community. They took part in over 50 amazing yoga workshops over the three days. Saturday evening saw a wonderful satsang, with chanting led by Barry Kristadas, Dinesh and Bharati. Swami Saradananda spoke about "chakra meditation" and gave a workshop on "mudras."

On Saturday evening, she presented the concept of Ganga Prem Hospice to the gathering. This is part of a plan to establish grassroots support for the Hospice within the U.K. yoga community.

The Festival was a non-profit event. Funds that were raised will be split evenly between Ganga Prem Hospice and the Dame Hannah Trust (that maintains the venue for educational purposes).

ITALY, Rome, July 8th, 2012
Parvati Baul Dance Performance in Rome
Parvarti Baul, famous singer and dancer of the Baul tradition, gave a wonderful performance in Rome on July 8th at Le nuvole scuola di yoga. About two hundred people attended the two hour performance. Diane Long gave a short talk on Ganga Prem Hospice and €340 was raised in donations.

U.S.A., California, May 2012
Francesca Genco and Shakini CD on Sale
Francesca Genco and her band, known as Shakini, have chosen to support Ganga Prem Hospice by donating the proceeds of the sale two of their CDs. Proceeds from select chanting and healing circles hosted by Francesca Genco were also donated to Ganga Prem Hospice.

U.K., London, May 20th, 2012
Yoga-based Charity Event in the U.K.
On Sunday, the 20th of May, a yoga fundraiser in benefit of Ganga Prem Hospice was held at Yotopia, the innovative new yoga studio in Covent Garden, London.

Caroline Tautz held a yoga class and April Pierrot taught an Alexander technique session. Swami Saradananda also gave a talk based on her book The Power of Breath.

There was a wonderful selection of goods on sale, including ayurvedic incense, hand-knitted socks from a Himalayan woman's collective, Ganesha statues and hand-made soaps. Delicious cakes were baked and donated by Caroline's yoga students. Maria Annibal offered "taster" massages in a specially designed chair in the foyer.

Swami Saradananda giving a talk on her book

Yotopia kindly donated the use of their premises to Ganga Prem Hospice UK. They continue to sell their soaps, socks and crystal Ganeshas, with proceeds of the sales going to Ganga Prem Hospice in India. Sara laCuesta took and donated some lovely professional photos of the event. Although the fundraiser was less well attended than expected, over £400 was raised for the benefit of Ganga Prem Hospice.

ITALY, Rome, April 14th, 2012
Dancing on the Banks of the Ganges
On the 14th of April, Rome's IALS hosted a special contemporary dance performance to raise money for the patients of Ganga Prem Hospice in the North of India.

Dancing in the primarily improvisation-based show was dancer Benedetta Capanna and eight other Italian artists. It was a jam session off "dance and love" depicting the need for mutual support among people.