New Delhi, January 06, 2023:  The New Year began with a special note for Smile Foundation children with entrepreneur-singer-songwriter Ananya Birla spending a day with them. She organized a special meet and greet musical session, titled, ‘Spreading of Love with Music – One beat at a time’. The event also marked the beginning of a meaningful association of Ananya Birla with Smile Foundation.

The day was made memorable by the sterling performance of Ananya Birla with her band, followed by a special dance performance which the children had prepared especially for her. 

The event which was organized at ‘NeeV – a learning center’ in Gurugram, supported under Mission Education programme of Smile Foundation, laid emphasis on the power of education to enable dreams and transform lives.

Ms. Birla had words of motivation for the children and encouraged them to pursue their dreams. During the event, Ms. Ananya Birla said, “It is a great experience being here and I feel really inspired. It is truly commendable what Smile Foundation is doing and I wish more people did this at this level and at this quality. It has also been a great experience singing for these children. I would not say I was performing, it was all of us singing together and I really had fun. What NeeV is doing with Smile Foundation for these children is truly inspiring.”

Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said, “I believe in the philosophy of ‘Civic Driven Change’. It means that unless privileged members of the society take part in the process of development, lasting change cannot be achieved. We thank Ms. Ananya Birla for her encouragement and participation.” 

Smile Foundation is an Indian development organization directly benefiting over 1.5 million children and families every year through more than 400 welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment spread across 2,000 villages and urban slums in 26 states. 

‘NeeV- A Learning Centre,’ a brainchild of Dr. Shalini Malhotra, was founded in 2007 to educate and empower underprivileged children. In the last 16 years, NeeV has grown from strength to strength, and under the guidance and support of Smile Foundation’s ‘Change the Game India’ programme.