May 8, 2008, Fords, NJ: Bitiya, a non profit organization announced the arrival of their Summer Dhamaka 2008 Mela event on June 1st, 2008 amidst a gathering of press, media, sponsors, supporters and a large number of volunteers. The Summer Dhamaka 2008 event is to be a fun filled family event comprising of a full day of activities. On Sunday, June 1st, the Ukranian center will come alive with 40 vendor booths selling all types of merchandise ranging from food, clothes jewelry, books, artifacts and a whole host of services. As part of the entertainment, two dance competitions are to be held for juniors and seniors. The grand finale is to be an exquisite fashion show by Raaz followed by the award ceremony and recognition of sponsors. The mela has a minimal entrance fee of $2 per person and all proceeds raised will be going towards charity – particularly girls in need in India. More than 2,500 people are expected to come.

Bitiya, as its namesake, is a charitable organization committed to serving underprivileged girls worldwide. It was formed and started by Neetu Thomas and Sandhya Goel, two regular working moms decided to do something irregular – taking out the time to make a difference in the lives of under privileged girl children in India, primarily through education. Bitiya was thus born with the vision that education is power. Soon, the team of Bitiya became a total of twenty like minded, dedicated and committed women with a deep passion for their cause.

In January 2008, Bitiya hosted its first fund raiser event “Surelee Sapne” – musical dreams. More then 300 people attended the well organized show, raising nearly $30,000 for the children. The funds went to support Bitiya’s three projects in the Utter Pradesh state of India. Fueled by the first events success and the positive response from the community, Bitiya aims to provide better living conditions as well as education for these girls from the funds raised during the mela.

The press conference began with a welcome note by Trupti Banker, CEO of Indian Era, the marketing and PR agency affiliated with Bitiya. Neetu Thomas and Sandhya Goel jointly presented the Bitiya dream and activities before Vinita Garg recognized the grand sponsors of the event, Albert Jasani of Royal Alberts Palace and Nikhil Bhalja of Abhishek Decorators. Both the sponsors spoke passionately about their desire to be more involved in Bitiya’s cause. Seema Singh gave an inspiration speech urging one and all to support the good cause. Radio Guru Kulraaj Anand had nothing but good things to say about the Bitiya team. The question and answer session gained such momentum that people from the audience started pledging their support. Such people included Vijay Shah of 1st Class Caterers and Pankaj Dayal of All State. Albert Jasani and Nikhil Bhalja came forward and spoke of supporting an orphanage in the state of Gujarat. A fund raiser is also to be held shortly for the good cause. The evening ended with a vote of thanks from Shama Grover and Bina Rewari before dinner was served.

Bitiya extends a warm welcome for the community to join them for a day filled with fun activities and to help make a difference in many lives. One thing that the founders definitely know is that even a small amount can go a long way.