The youth council of March of Dimes hosts its fifth annual benefit evening Saturday, June 10, at High School North to benefit the March of Dimes and its mission of giving all babies a healthy start in life. The annual event that began as an Indian cultural experience has grown and Rangeela 2006 will be a multicultural event featuring songs, dancing, and dinner by the Palace of Asia.
Past Rangeela events have raised more than $100,”000 to benefit March of Dimes.##M:[more]## Coordinators for this year’s event are seniors Poojitha Regualapati from High School North and Rajvi Shah from High School South. “The March of Dimes allows me to bring together my leadership abilities and my love of children to better the lives of those less fortunate,” says Shah.
Committee members include high school and middle school students from area schools. High School North members include Rima Kotak, junior; Rhea Hans, freshman; and Deeksha Taneja, freshman. From High School South: Vishal Pathak, a freshman. From Grover Middle School: Aakash Bhatia and Ronak Gandhi, both eighth grade students. Also, Ranajoy Bose, eighth grade student from Community Middle School, and Neha Desphande, a junior at South Brunswick High School.
Rahul Bansal of Plainsboro founded the event five years ago. Now a junior at Georgetown University, he recently returned from an internship in Australia. Bansal has recently been elected as the 2006-2007 chair of the National Youth Council, where he works with 18 college students around the country to assist the March of Dimes in the design and implementation of programs targeted to youth. He also currently sits on the National Capital Area Board of Directors.
“Someday in the future — all of our time and effort will pay off because we’ll be able to prevent birth defects, prematurity, and infant mortality,” says Regulapati.
Rangeela 2006, March of Dimes, High School North, 90 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro, 609-655-7400. All proceeds are to benefit the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. $35 to $50. Saturday, June 10, 4 p.m.
