Mumbai:
The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has not only seen record participation over the years but the amount of money it raised for charity has also seen phenomenal growth.
This year, Rs 20.11 crore was raised for charity and in the ten years since its inception, the marathon has generated nearly Rs 110 crore for charity.
At a an event to honour those who have raised the most amount of money, teenagers to octogenarians stole the show. The governor of Maharashtra, K Sankaranarayan, who gave away the awards congratulated the winners for doing so much for the underprivileged.
13-year-old Sumer Punjabi emerged as the youngest winner for raising Rs 2.52 lakhs for Concern India Foundation while 16-year-old Meera Mehta was awarded for raising Rs 10 lakh for her NGO, Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care. 83-year-old Rumi Taraporewala was awarded for raising Rs 11.6 lakh for his NGO, Society for Education of the Crippled.
The highest fund raising company among corporates was Kotak Mahindra Bank. The runners-up in this category was Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company.
Around 241 NGOs will benefit from this fund raising effort. Speaking on the occasion Jayanti Shukla, executive director of United Way of Mumbai, the charity partner for the annual event said, "The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has transcended its sporting nature to become one of the most important philanthropy events in the country and the world."