Mumbai: The 14th edition of Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) conducted in January has raised funds totalling ₹32.93 crore, bettering the collections of all its previous editions. Over 20,000 donors contributed this year, helping surpass the previous year’s figure of ₹28.14 crore.
A number of awards for the biggest fundraisers were given away at a felicitation ceremony on Thursday.
The annual event, which is Asia’s biggest marathon, saw over 42,000 participants this year. As many as 281 NGOs, 151 corporates and 912 individuals raised funds during the marathon. Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care bagged the highest fundraising NGO award, with a total collection of ₹3.83 crore. Isha Vidhya and Amar Seva Sangam finished second and third with ₹1.47 crore and ₹1.27 crore respectively.
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“SCMM charity figures have risen steadily from ₹1.44 crore in 2004 to ₹32 crore in 2017. This highlights the generosity of numerous people who want to make a difference,” said Jayanti Shukla, executive director, United Way Mumbai, the organisation that facilitated the fundraising.
Mihir Doshi, who participated in the 6-km Dream Run, raised ₹1.30 crore and was named the highest individual fundraiser. In the previous years, he has raised ₹Rs. 1.77 crore. Sankara Raman, who participated in the Champions with Disability category, finished second in the list of highest individual fundraisers with ₹1.25 crore. He raised funds for Amar Seva Sangam based in Tamil Nadu.
“The per capita satisfaction of the people is more important than the per capita income. In that way, the marathon has made a huge difference in the lives of many people,” said Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Finance, Planning and Forest Departments.
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Since 2007, the annual marathon has served as a platform for a cumulative fund-raising of ₹195.57 crore.