"Work an Hour" campaign to raise money for children in India

'Asha for Education', a non-profit organisation, today launched its two-month online "Work an Hour" campaign to raise nearly $200,000 for educating underprivileged children in India.

As the name suggests, under the campaign 'Asha for Education' asked the Indian community living in the US and other parts of the globe to donate an hour of their month's salary for this noble cause.

The money raised would be used to reach out to over 7,000 children in 70 schools in various parts of the country, organisers of the campaign said.

The on-line campaign was first launched in 1998 when over $30,000 was raised from roughly 700 donors.

Last year the campaign generated over $150,000 from close to 1,250 participants.

This year the campaign's theme is 'Quality in Education', wherein 15 projects have been selected across India to be showcased for donors.

'Asha for Education' was started by three students in the UCLA, Berkeley in 1991. The non-profit organisation now has over 1000 volunteers in 66 chapters worldwide.    

It is also involved in community related issues which have a bearing on the learning environment of the children of urban and rural poor.