3th Edition of Ramp for Champs Launched in Mumbai

Smile Foundation, a national level development organisation in association with Pernia’s Pop Up Show came forward on 13th February to host the 13thedition of ‘Ramp for Champs’ in Mumbai. A cause related celebrity fashion show, ‘Ramp for Champs’, is a continuous fund raising effort to educate the girl child. The funds raised through the show will be utilized through Smile Foundation’s program ‘She can fly’.

Theme of this year’s show ‘six yards and more’ observes and celebrates the glorious power of a woman in a saree. Supporting the event and the cause were ace designer Sailesh Singhania from Hyderabad and choreographer Lubna Adams. The show witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 25 people. It ended with a sequence of 25 celebrities and donors walking the ramp wearing sarees designed by Sailesh Singhania, who has been working towards promoting handloom. Some of the eminent personalities who walked the ramp included Shanya Kapur , Debina Bannerjee , Mansi Joshi Roy , Gautami Kapoor , Shriya Kolte , Dipika Singh , Sonali Gupta , Rakhi Pandit , Akhila Banoth , Neha Chauhan , Srishty Rode , Preeti Sood , Flora Saini , Meenakshi Dixit , Payal Kothari , Mahjabeen Patel , Aradhana , Dionne , Vijeeta Neekhrey , Priyanka Seth , Poonam Jhawar , Vaidehi Parshurami  and Isha Koppikar .

Abhishek Agarwal , CEO- Purple style Labs ,the parent company which organizes Pernia Pop Show said, “’She can fly’ is an important initiative which actively advocates for woman empowerment. It is an effort to enable, equip and empower girl children with quality education, proper nutrition, good health, adequate skills, and above all a lot of self-confidence to help them live their lives to their fullest potential. By using a progressive and public platform such as this, we are hoping to give the voiceless a voice, the unheard a chance to be heard and the unseen a chance to be recognised. Our objective is to be enablers – helping girls all over India be the best versions of themselves by providing support in any form possible.“

Sanjeev Dham , COO – Smile Foundation said, “By promoting ethnicity through ‘Ramp for Champs’ we are hoping to convey to women that they should be proud of their heritage, where they come from and what they stand for. They should wear their ethnicity proudly and continue to strive for excellence.  As of today, the statistics relating to the holistic development of the girl child are dismal. 62% of the total 17.7 million children who are out of school are girls. 73% of girls do not get past 10 years of school. 68% of all undernourished children are girls. 4.5 million girl children are involved in some kind of child labour. At least 47% of women in India are married before they turn 18. A substantial change is the need of the hour.”

Extending his support for the cause , Designer Sailesh Singhania said , “ It is a brilliant opportunity to blend fashion with a purpose and when the purpose is to support the woman of tomorrow we stand committed towards the same . Each woman who has extend their support towards this noble cause we salute them and thank Smile Foundation for bestowing us with this opportunity to be a part of this initiative .”

Other prominent supported to came forward to make this event a memorable experience and a give back to the upliftment of the girl child through her education , health and nutrition . Ok Sir joined us a powered by sponsor and pledged their support to benefit 50 girl children for an year .They were represented on stage by Shanya Kapur who also curate this sequence for Smile Foundation . Shruti Tejwani created wonders behind the camera and sealed these memorable moments through her photography . VK Media a constant supporter joined us as a talent partner for the event . Loacker , the Italian brand of assorted chocolates and wafer biscuits joined us as a gratification partner as well

Out and out the event turned out to be a mix of great fashion and a heart-warming cause . The little girls dressed like angles were the actual attraction and the crowd applauded them each time they came on the ramp for spread smiles.

‘Ramp for Champs’, brings together children studying at Mission Education centres of Smile Foundation. The objective of this initiative comes from the need to sensitize and engage civil society proactively, enabling them to meaningful change in the lives of underprivileged childrenby supporting their education.