During the Yogi Jayanti Celebrations to mark the 117th birth anniversary of Brahmaswarup Yogiji Maharaj, a special cheque presentation evening was held at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London on Saturday 23 May 2009. A cheque for £22,000 was presented to Mr. Robert Spigel, Head of Marketing at The Anthony Nolan Trust. The Anthony Nolan Trust is the charity that tackles leukaemia through recruiting to the life-saving bone marrow register.
This year’s Annual BAPS Sponsored Family Walk & Fun Run was partnered with The Anthony Nolan Trust and held at 13 BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs and Centres across the UK on Sunday 26 April 2009 where over 4,000 people walked to raise money for this, and various other local charities and good causes. BAPS has also committed through the rest of the year to help support Anthony Nolan Trust’s work by assisting in recruiting members of the community to the bone marrow database.
The evening programme included an awards ceremony for those participants who had made significant contributions to this year’s event through the amount of funds collected and number of sponsors gathered prior to the event. A gift presentation was also made to healthcare company Goldshield who had sponsored this year’s event, and a cheque was offered to Ashiana, the local London charity working for disabled and disadvantaged young Asians.
In his address, Mr Spigel thanked the collective efforts of everyone at BAPS who had worked together for the event, “We are so very impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the BAPS community. They have worked tirelessly to raise this fantastic sum of money as well as encouraging members to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register. Through the commitment of selfless volunteers – prepared to donate their bone marrow to help save the life of a stranger – The Anthony Nolan Trust is able to continue its vital work. BAPS and Anthony Nolan are demonstrating a perfect partnership by working to increase the number of people from the Asian community on the UK’s bone marrow register. We are thrilled!”
Arvind Joshi, trustee of Ashiana said, “On behalf of the volunteers, carers, members and trustees of Ashiana, we would like to thank you for enabling us to transform the lives of those with learning, physical, mental and sensory difficulties. We are very grateful to BAPS for nominating us as your local charity.”
Members of the Mahila Mandal celebrated Yogi Jayanti on Saturday 16 May 2009 in a traditional way through dance, drama and discourses. Awards also presented to those participants who had made significant contributions to this year's Annual BAPS Sponsored Family Walk and Fun Run.