Meera Gandhi

Meera Teresa Gandhi
Gandhi speaking at Maestro Cares Foundation event alongside Marc Anthony and Henry Cardenas
Born (1963-01-28) January 28, 1963
Mumbai, India
Alma mater Harvard University (Executive Education Program)
Boston University (MBA)
University of Delhi (Bachelor's in Economics)
Notable work

Creator of the hit TV show The Meera Gandhi Show (2017-2018)

Producer of “Giving” products line Giving fragrance and Giving Candle (2015-2016)

Founder of the Ledgewood Retreat for Mental Wellness (2013-2014)

Author of “Giving Back” Book released in (2012)

Produced and wrote Giving Back Documentary (2010-2011)

Founder of the Giving Back Foundation (2010)
Children Kanika Gandhi, Kiran Gandhi, Kabir Gandhi
Website

meeragandhi.com

thegivingbackfoundation.net

Meera Teresa Gandhi[1] (born 28 January 1963) is the founder and CEO of The Giving Back Foundation.

Early life and education

Gandhi was born in Mumbai, India to an Irish mother and an Indian father.[2] At the age of 16, she met Mother Teresa and worked with her helping children at Asha Dan, Mumbai. Inspired, Meera Gandhi, went on to found the Giving Back Offices with projects in India, NY, Hong Kong, Turkey and the UK.[3]

Gandhi attended The Cathedral and John Connon Schools in Mumbai and Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. She has an MBA from Boston University School of Management. In 2007, she completed the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School.[2] Meera Gandhi is currently on the Harvard University South Asia board, recently renamed The Laxmi Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University.

The Giving Back Foundation logo

Charitable activities

Gandhi is the founder and CEO of The Giving Back Foundation, a foundation geared towards alleviating illness, poverty and suffering while also addressing education issues which affect women and children around the world. The Giving Back Foundation's mission has 3 platforms. The first is to empower and educate girls through transformational education. Second, it serves as a platform for positive dialogue and debate for young people to promote positive social change. The third platform is to spread mindfulness and happiness.[2]

One of the Foundation's main projects is the adoption of New Delhi's St. Michael's School in India. As a result of the program, the children of St. Michael's School are provided with meals on a daily basis and have had their entire school and its grounds refurbished. The program provided a new hostel, a playground, and a new school block filled with classrooms. This is a soup to nuts priority 10-year undertaking by the Giving Back Foundation.[4]

The Giving Back Foundation supports many entities with scholarships and grants which have been very carefully selected, and most often with 5-year commitments. Through her Foundation, she devotes her life to charity and help for those in need, notably abused and hungry children, widows, the sick, the deaf and blind. She is particularly interested in education as the stepping stone to success.[5] Gandhi has supported charities with strong female leadership programs and workshops, in part because of the role models in her life: Hillary Clinton, Cherie Blair, and Gandhi's own mother, an Irish woman living in India. These charities include the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in the United Kingdom and the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center in the United States.[6]

Gandhi's Giving Back Foundation is involved in a number of philanthropic programs which include: providing, on an annual basis, awards & honorariums to teenage students at the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center;[7] providing annual grants to South Asia college students for their studies at Baruch College in New York City; and a five-year commitment to the Woodstock Film Festival which includes providing annual honorariums and awards to people involved in filmmaking whose work serves to causes social change. In 2011, Gandhi presented the first annual Meera Gandhi Giving Back award to Mark Ruffalo. The award is given each year at the Woodstock Film Festival to the director, producer or actor who best delivers a message of social change and who has a strong compassion for philanthropy. Subsequent winners of the award were actor, director and screenwriter Tim Blake Nelson in 2012 and acclaimed filmmaker and activist Mira Nair in 2013.[8]

Other charities Gandhi is involved with either directly or through her Foundation include the Happy Home and School for the blind in Mumbai, the Robert F. Kennedy Centre for Justice & Human Rights, the Cambodian Landmine Relief Fund, Centerpoint, Give to Colombia and The American Friends of Prince William and Prince Harry.[9]

Gandhi's Foundation has also contributed to certain institutions of learning. In 2012, the Foundation funded a high-powered, state-of-the-art telescope, which was installed on the roof of the Harrow School in London.[10]

Publications and products

In 2017, Meera Gandhi produced The Meera Gandhi Show which airs on B4U TV Network, along with on themeeragandhishow.com, southasiantimes.com. Each episode is based on essential life changing topics used to de-stress and live a more joyful, positive life. The show goes in-depth into one-on-one interviews with significant influencers from all walks of life : friends, healers, spiritual gurus, politicians, diplomats, actors and lawyers. Gandhi provides a close glimpse into the lives of the successful and spiritual, as well as current and trending topics and new, upcoming music.

In 2016, Gandhi introduced her world class candle, "The Giving Candle". Also, scheduled for launch in 2016, Gandhi will launch The Giving Fragrance. The Giving Candle and Fragrance are available on GivingBackFragrance.com,[11] and will be available on Amazon.com.

In 2010, Meera produced and directed a musical CD entitled "Giving Back" featuring a host of International artists including Marco Figueira, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Juliet Hanlon, David Harilela and Chandrika Tandon. She also authored a coffee table book, and produced a documentary film, both of which are also entitled "Giving Back."[12]

Both the documentary film and book are meant to demonstrate the philanthropic efforts of her friends and those who inspire her.[13][14] The book also features interviews with Bono and others[15] Alex Counts, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, found Meera's message of "giving back" to ring true: "'giving back' – when done thoughtfully and in the right spirit – does not leave the donor with less, but rather with more.".[16] The documentary film was sold out at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2011. One hundred percent of the proceeds from all of Meera Gandhi's Giving Back Foundation projects go to her charitable projects around the globe.

Meera was a part of a panel discussion hosted by the Asia Society about her book. The other panellist on the panel was Donzelina Barroso, senior advisor with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The panel was moderated by Alisyn Camerota, host of Fox and Friends Weekend. The discussion included ways to encourage teens and children to "give back" at an early age.[17]

Personal life

Meera Gandhi lives mostly in NYC, and owns the historic town house of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She has three grown children, 29, 24 and 20. Two daughters and one son. She loves yoga, meditation and history. Meera is currently producing The Meera Gandhi TV show that is airing every Sunday on B4 U TV network on Health, Happiness and living a stress free life. Hugely successful it can also be found on www.TheMeeraGandhiShow.com and has begun shooting a second season. Meera owns the GIVING line of products. Meera Gandhi and family own properties in Palm Beach Florida and Hyde Park NY.[1][18]

Awards and recognition

Over the years, Gandhi and her Foundation have received numerous awards.

  • Marc Anthony Maestro Cares Foundation - Global humanitarian award, 16 February 2016 [19]
  • Humanitarian award of the Year from the Mayor’s office of the City of NY in 2015
  • The Ellis Island Gold Medal Award in 2015
  • The Marc Anthony Maestro cares Humanitarian award in 2015
  • NYC Mayor Award 2015
  • Share and Care Foundation, NJ 2014-2015
  • Ellis Island Medal of Honor [20]
  • J. Luce Foundation Award, 26 February 2015 [21][22][23]
  • City of New York Proclamation at The United Nations Sri Lanka Mission, 26 February 2015 [21][22][23]
  • Marc Anthony Maestro Cares Foundation - Global humanitarian award, 17 February 2015 [24][25][26]
  • Children’s Hope Humanitarian award, 13 October 2013
  • Corporate Global Humanitarian award, 2013
  • Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, the University's highest honour, 2011 [27]
  • Donna Karan International "Women Who Inspire," 2011 [28]
  • Person of the Year by the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, 2010 [28]
  • Gandhi and Vikram S Gandhi, were honoured by One to World at its annual Fulbright Awards Dinner, 2007

References

  1. 1 2 "About". Meera Gandhi. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  2. 1 2 3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-12.
  3. ↑ Gunjeet Sra (2011-12-08). "The fountainhead: Meera Gandhi : Woman - India Today 19122011". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  4. ↑ "st michaels renovation giving back foundation rajiv agarwal many others meera gandhi award woodstock film festival". Goodnewsplanet.com. 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Usha Devi Rathore". Ashacentre.org. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "GLW Program Report". ELEANOR ROOSEVELT LEADERSHIP CENTER AT VAL-KILL 2013: 7. 2013.
  8. ↑ "WFF 2013 Giving Back Award". Woodstockfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  9. ↑ Editor, Bibi (2012-08-28). "Meera Gandhi "Gives Back" - Bibi Magazine Modern Global Style, Bridal Fashion | Bibi Magazine Modern Global Style, Bridal Fashion". Bibimagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  10. ↑ "The Harrovian". Harrowasscoiation.com. November 24, 2012. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  11. ↑ "The Giving Line Of Products by Meera Gandhi". Givingbackfragrance.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  12. ↑ Melwani, Lavina (2010-07-25). "Meera Gandhi on Giving Back". Lassiwithlavina.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  13. ↑ "The ASHA Centre". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Re-cap of Meera Gandhi's film screening: Giving Back |". Questmag.com. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  15. ↑ Archived 28 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ Counts, Alex (17 May 2012). "Giving Back: A Simple and Powerful Idea". Grameen Foundation. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "'Giving Back' discussed at Meera book signing". Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  18. ↑ Posted by Christine M (2009-09-10). "MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Meera Gandhi, CEO of MTG Productions and Committed Philanthropist". Whom You Know. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  19. ↑ "Maestro Cares Foundation Event NYC Feb 16th 2016". The Giving Back Foundation. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  20. ↑ "Indian Americans Receive Ellis Island Medals of Honor". Thegivingbackfoundation.net. 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  21. 1 2 Jim Luce James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (2015-05-05). "Honoring Young Leaders, Humanitarians at U.N. Mission". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  22. 1 2 "Photo Flash: 2015 Luce Leader Awards Reception Honors Humanitarians & Future Global Leaders". Broadwayworld.com. 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  23. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  24. ↑ Hammel, Sara (2015-02-18). "How Marc Anthony's Kids Inspire Him to Change Orphans' Lives - Kids & Family Life, Marc Anthony". People.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  25. ↑ "Supporting Maestro Cares With Marc Anthony, Meera Gandhi, Bravo's Luis Ortiz And Chi Chi Rodriguez". ArthurKade. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  26. ↑ "Marc Anthony & Henry Cárdenas, Co-Founders of Maestro Cares Foundation, Host NYC Gala Fundraiser to Help Disadvantaged Children in Latin America". Latin Post. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  27. ↑ "Alumni Weekend" (PDF). Bu.edu. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  28. 1 2 "Meera Gandhi". Claudia Chan. 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
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