Palm Roots is a charity based auction, which was initiated in 2013 to raise funds for children in North/East Sri Lanka. As cliched as it sounds, my first visit to Jaffna in 2013 helped me realize how thankful we should be of the privileges we have and take for granted.
Seeing the consequences people faced due to the war in Sri Lanka made me realize that we have been primarily focusing on events from the past and I wanted to do my share to ensure that children, the representatives of our community are provided with proper education and an environment to change the current living condition and become strong leaders of the future.
I've always had the drive to combine my creative work with charity and thought it would be a perfect method to feature my travel photographs while raising funds for a good cause.
2013
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Venue: Mayfair on the Green
Photography: Senduran Bhakthakumaran & Viknesh Srinivasan
MC's: Dela Muhundarajah & Yasodha Gowrinathan
Video: Mathusan Senthil (3D Media)
Photography: Senduran Bhakthakumaran & Viknesh Srinivasan
Funds from this auction was donated to Durgapuram Mahalir Illam - Home for Girls (Tellipalai, Jaffna), which provides women with a safe place to stay, daily meals and support for education.
KALVI CONNECTIONS ANNUAL GALA
2014
Kalvi Connections is a non-profit organization incorporated in Ontario. They work with the mission of providing assistance to underpriviledged students around the world to further their educational goals.
My photograph of the newly renovated Jaffna Public Library was sold for $7000 at Kalvi Connection's Annual Gala. Funds from this event was used to provide scholarships for post secondary students in Vanni.
Check out http://www.kalviconnections.ca/ for more information about Kalvi Connections & their future projects.
MAIN EVENT
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Venue: Chandni Grand
Photography: Senduran Bhakthakumaran & Viknesh Srinivasan
MC's: Thushanth Sivaananthan & Yasodha Gowrinathan
Video: Basement Office Pictures (BOP)
Decor: INDS Decor
Due to the overwhelming response from Palm Roots 2013, I organized another charity based auction this year featuring photographs from my recent trip to Dubai, Oman & Sri Lanka.
Donations from this event was used to support several projects in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka through Miracle Family Care (MFC). MFC was established in 2005 after Sri Lanka was hit by a Tsunami. Reverend David Loganathan, C.E.O. of MFC along with his wife Sherina Loganathan, Director of MFC have helped people in the Northern districts rebuild their lives by providing monetary donations.
SPONSORS
GA LAW / Thiva Paramsothy
Deltaura Canada
IDEAL Group
Empire Realtors
Media supporters
Tharamai.com & TamilCulture
2015
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Powered by Ideal Incubator
Platinum Sponsor - Swasam Jewellery
Catering by Chef Ramanaa
Official TV partner Tamil Entertainment Television TET HD
Decor by Geethams Event Decor Inc.
Official photography by Ninaivukal - Moments of Events
Additional media coverage: Gow Naguleswaran, ekuruvi
Radio partner: Tamil INI FM
Official Audio team: RLE SoundCrew
Official Supporter/ Marketing Coordinator: Koby Yogaretnam
Official DJ: DJ KOW
Media sponsor: Tamil Culture
Official Promoter: Tamil Events
Live instrumental music by Veena Thambaps (Veena) Gobiraj Sivalingam (piano), Bhranavi Arul (Flute)
The 2015 Palm Roots fundraiser took place on Sunday, November 15th at Scarborough Convention Centre.
PALM ROOTS 2015 raised a whopping $12,500 CAD which will support school fees for 50 less fortunate students in North/East Sri Lanka through the Ideal Hope Foundation.
Connecting Roots Awards - eKuruvi's Biztha Marketing Excellence Awards Night
2016
A great start to 2016! Received the Connecting Roots Awards at eKuruvi's Biztha Marketing Excellence Awards Night for Palm Roots. Was motivating to receive encouragement from entrepreneurs and well established businesses for my effort to connect Tamils in Toronto, Canada with Tamils in Sri lanka.
INDOSOUL - Karthick Iyer Live
As a part of the North American IndoSoul Tour, Karthick Iyer and his band blessed Toronto with a spectacular performance on July 23rd at the Markham Theatre. Proceeds from this event supported Ideal Hope Foundation's Build Basics Program. Thank you Ideal Hope for recognizing the contribution of Palm Roots to Ideal Hope at this event. It was an honor to share the stage with such accomplished individuals.
CROSS ROADS - TVI
Snippets from my interview for Crossroads on TVI (2015) with Neethan Shan. Discussing photography, a little bit about 3D Media and my journey so far with Palm Roots.
2017
Interview on TET with Steve Cliff Valentine - a discussion about my journey as a photographer, the initiation of Palm Roots and the challenges faced.
A small brief on the children supported by Palm Roots 2017/Miracle Family Care
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Video by Wooden Panda | Track: Prague Interlude (Ft. aayuthaa) by DirtyElephant
PALM ROOTS 2017 raised a total of $15,000 that will be donated to Miracle Family Care to support children with disabilities in North/East Sri Lanka for their education. I am extremely grateful to everyone who contributed to the event by attending, donating and most importantly for being a positive force through this journey.
Sponsored by:
IDEAL Group of Companies
PC Lending & Investments
Gourmet Partner: Chef Ramanaa
Official TV partner: Tamil Entertainment Television (TET HD)
Setup by: Stage Worx Corporation
Official DJ: Untouchable Sound Crew
AV services: USC AV Engineering
Decor/drapery: Geethams Event Decor
Raffle ticket sponsor: VMS Travels
Media:
Wooden Panda
Ninaivukal
E-kuruvi
Tamil Mirror
Puthinam Media
MCs: Thushanth Siva, Banujan Kanagaratnam
Independant artists: Gobiraj Sivalingam, Bhranavi Arul, Veena Thambaps (Aathy&Aara)
The coord team: Ram Mangales, Darshi Jesudasan, Nive Thambithurai, Nivetha Siva
"Pioneer of the Future Generation" Award
Tamil Mirror Awards Gala 2017
What a honor to receive such a powerful title from the honorable Dr. Parveen Sultana, a Tamil professor & public speaker from Chennai, India. Thank you TamilMirror for the recognition & support towards Palm Roots!
2018
MAIN EVENT
For its 5th year, Palm Roots took up the theme of collaboration and expanded from an event into a global platform which supported talented photographers across the world.
In partnership with Ideal Group, Palm Roots raised funds to support a project for Miracle Family Care. Miracle Family Care is working on developing a training facility in Pudhukudiyiruppu (Mullaitivu). This new training facility will provide English and computer science courses for students in the region with a focus on students from Olirum Valvu, an organization that focus on supporting people with physical disabilities.
MFC’s long term plan is to provide English courses through remote access, and will soon begin accepting graduates interested in participating in this initiative.
Palm Roots raised a total of $21,500
Gourmet Partner: Chef Ramanaa
Official TV partner: Tamil Entertainment Television (TET HD)
Setup by: Stage Worx Corporation
Official DJ: Untouchable Sound Crew
AV services: USC AV Engineering
Raffle ticket sponsor: VMS Travels
Media:
VM Images
Ninaivukal
MCs: MC Pak, David Billa
Independant artists: Bhranavi Arul, Veena Thambaps (Aathy&Aara), Bharradhi Mathivasan
Immense gratitude to all the photographers who donated their photographs to Palm Roots 2018
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Ashanti Omkar (UK)
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Bremendra Siva (Chennai, IN)
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Charles Prithvi Raj (Chennai, IN)
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EM Photography (Toronto, CA)
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Jenson Singarajah (Chennai, IN)
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Joshua Karthik (Mumbai, IN)
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Kalainithan Kalaichelvan (Toronto, CA)
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Len Theivendra (Toronto, CA)
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Muhunthan Sathasivam (Toronto, CA)
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Mohammad Firos (Colombo, SL)
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Myuri Thiruna (Toronto, CA)
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Nivetha Siva (Toronto, CA)
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Pratheepan Baskaran (Toronto, CA)
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Srivatsan Srinivasan (Chennai, IN)
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Supendra Chandrakumar (Toronto, CA)
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Sugeevan Shan (Toronto, CA)
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Vinopa Sivakumar (Toronto, CA)
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Yaalini Ilankumaran (London, UK)
Interview on TET with Aishu - discussing the 5 year journey of Palm Roots
2020
Sowing Educational Roots - The Brew Magazine
Excited to be featured in Chennai's 'Brew Magazine' for their International Women's Day Special alongside many other inspiring women & artists.
Link to the online copy: https://issuu.com/thebrewmagazine/docs/brew_march_2020/16