Anita Choudhrie Celebrates Path to Success’s 10th Birthday with a Fund Raiser Dinner Party

Anita Choudhrie is a renowned and celebrated philanthropist who embodies the very notion of charity and benevolence. She has contributed a major portion of her life towards charity work, and is determined to continue doing the same. Believer in the work of Saint Mother Teresa, Anita always wanted to be the change she wished to see in world and thus started Path to Success, a London based charity organiSation, with the vision to provide funds for the disabled and disadvantaged. Path to Success turned 10 this year, and Anita threw a grand gala dinner through which she managed to raise £100k to be used for future activities.

Talking of this auspicious occasion, Anita remembered her days of struggle and said, “I have always wanted to help people and always admired Mother Teresa. At university in Delhi I was involved in social aid, working with children with disabilities and with the impoverished. I started a charity in India 2002 working with children; I always found it a huge challenge but an amazing experience.

“I set up Path to Success as an umbrella charity. We help the sick, the homeless, children who can’t get funding for their education and anyone with physical or mental disabilities. There are people with so many different disabilities and I wanted to help them all. Just to focus on one became difficult. It’s so satisfying to be able to share as much as possible.”

The team at Path to Success also undertook the challenge of helping disabled, and emerged successful. “We collected a lot of data and research in 2012 and launched our ’60 for 60’ campaign to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to support 60 NHS hospitals from north to south with 60 wheelchairs. But we raised enough money to buy 83 wheelchairs.”

Anita expressed how this project, that they perceived challenging, was actually very heart-warming and emotionally rewarding. Anita expressed how special this project was for them that turned out to be an emotionally rewarding experience. “We have always championed the disabled. Wheelchairs can cost anything from £500 to several thousand pounds and over the years we have helped so many people and made so much difference to so many lives. I wish we could support even more people.

“We will always help victims of injury, mental, physical. There is so much you can do for people now with power-assisted and mechanised wheelchairs, but they are increasingly expensive. Personalised equipment is helping patients become more independent, and more mobile. They need funding.”

Mrs. Choudhrie is elated to know that there are multiple charities functioning across the globe which are self-empowered, well-kept and have larger goals in mind. Path to Success was established on the idea of supporting a different charity or cause every year, but sometimes they extend their support for two years or more if the situation is grave. This year they are collecting funds for London Titans Wheelchair Basketball Club and will be extending the support for next year too.

Anita Choudhrie’s ‘Path To Success’ Ensuring Happiness For Unprivileged Since 10 Years

Reputed philanthropist Anita Choudhrie celebrates the 10 year anniversary of her charity house ‘Path to Success.’ The charity house helps in uplifting backward section of society and fighting against issues that require immediate attention in both India and the UK. Alongside this, Anita also founded and runs Stellar International Art Foundation which carries exclusive artefacts dating back to 19^th century till date of notable artists such as late MF Husain and Paresh Maity.

Founded in 2006, Path to Success is famous for fighting for a particular cause every year and work wholeheartedly to curb the situation. To date they have collected £300,000 to allocate for various causes. This year, Path to Success decided to work for the hard working and greatly talented team of London Titans Wheelchair Basketball Club – the former training ground for two athletes heading towards Rio in September for Paralympic Games. They also arranged for a fund raiser wheelchair basketball tournament in April and the money collected from here was spent on buying new custom wheelchairs, training equipment and book venues for training sessions of London Titans. So far they have collected £42,000 for the team.

“We are delighted to have helped so many worthwhile causes over the last 10 years both here and abroad,” Choudhrie exclaimed.

“Our 60 for 60 campaign to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 2012 was special. Originally we planned to buy 60 wheelchairs for 60 hospitals, but we kept on going, raising more money, and ended up buying 83,” said Choudhrie.

“It was a cause that was not fashionable; people were not aware of it. We collected a lot of data and did a lot of research. We worked across the whole of England, from north to south. That was the most emotionally rewarding project I’ve ever been involved in. When you see the impact your fundraising has on people’s lives, it’s amazing.”

Anita Choudhrie is also a patron to India’s Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, which helps disabled children in India, Trust of Learning Matters Indian and the Dhuk Bhanjani Trust. Through Amar Jyoti, which provides sporting activities and cultural enrichment to over 750 youngsters, Path to Success successfully collected £65,000.

She was also felicitated with The Globe Award by Commons speaker John Bercow in July’10 for her outstanding charitable work.

“We have always championed the disabled and we will continue to do that,” she said. “We will continue supporting good causes according to our four core principles: helping educate those who can’t take education for granted; helping people overcome their disabilities; supporting organisations which help people with long-term health problems but limited financial resources; and providing overseas aid in the event of natural disasters. We will follow our philosophy which is to help individuals overcome their difficulties.”

Anita Choudhrie’s ‘Path to Success’ – 10 Years and Counting

Dedicatedly working for good causes and raising funds for people in need, philanthropist Mrs. AnitaChoudhrie has come a long way. Her dear project and charity house ‘Path to Success’, which helps to uplift THE unprivileged in India and United Kingdom, celebrated 10 years of existence recently.

Born in 2006, Path to Success till date managed to raise over £300,000 for various causes. The charity house which is currently raising funds for London Titans Wheelchair Basketball Club is said to collect money every year for different causes. This year they are supporting the multi-talented wheelchair basketball club and till date have collected £42,000 for London Titans. They also organised a fund raiser wheelchair basketball tournament in April, and the money collected was spent for purchasing new custom wheelchairs, training equipment and book venues for training sessions.

Excitedly, Anita said “we are delighted to have helped so many worthwhile causes over the last 10 years both here and abroad.” 

“Our 60 for 60 campaign to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 2012 was special. Originally we planned to buy 60 wheelchairs for 60 hospitals, but we kept on going, raising more money, and ended up buying 83,” said Choudhrie.

“It was a cause that was not fashionable; people were not aware of it. We collected a lot of data and did a lot of research. We worked across the whole of England, from north to south. That was the most emotionally rewarding project I’ve ever been involved in. When you see the impact your fundraising has on people’s lives, it’s amazing.”

Anita is also associated with India’s Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, which helps disabled children in India, Trust of Learning Matters Indian and the Dhuk Bhanjani Trust. Amar Jyoti also provides sporting activities and cultural enrichment to over 750 youngsters, and through them Path to Success has been able to collect £65,000.

In July 2010, Anita was also presented with The Globe Award by Commons speaker John Bercow for outstanding charitable work.

“We have always championed the disabled and we will continue to do that,” she said. “We will continue supporting good causes according to our four core principles: helping educate those who can’t take education for granted; helping people overcome their disabilities; supporting organisations which help people with long-term health problems but limited financial resources; and providing overseas aid in the event of natural disasters. We will follow our philosophy which is to help individuals overcome their difficulties.”

‘Art as Investment’ – Is the world running out of true art lovers?

World economy is undergoing drastic changes. With the shifts and developments affecting the world on a larger scale, various aspects concerning human behaviour towards monetary benefits are also evolving. Art, which once used to be personification of an era brought together, is now promoted as an investment option. The latest Deloitte Art & Finance Report highlighted that 75% of buyers and collectors buy art as a form of investment.

But every coin has a flip side too. There are several art enthusiasts who are trying to restore the actual value and essence of art across the globe. Amongst them there is one of the notable philanthropists and founder of Stellar International Art Foundation, Mrs. Anita Choudhrie who believes that “the value of art collection as a form of social and cultural expression must not be underestimated.”

Addressing the issue, Anita said “Art collection requires patience, passion, interest and intellectual curiosity. It necessitates taking a more holistic view, to knowledge that, whilst an art may prove to be a worthy financial investment, its value extends much further.  Though paintings often have a price tag, art itself is priceless.”

Anita Choudhrie loves to encourage people to select art pieces for personal interest than financial motives. . “This is because my personal experience has taught me that, by collecting a series of artistic works purely out of interest, a buyer begins to value their collection as more than the sum of its parts.”

Anita explicitly said, “Part of the reason for such a dramatic change in sentiment is because during the last few years, the global arts market has achieved an impressive degree of financial growth. Online art purchases were estimated to reach $4.7 billion in 2015 and the sale of post war and contemporary art fetched their owners a total of $5.9 billion. Moreover, auction records are broken nearly as soon as they are made, works by Paul Gaugin and Picasso are fetching over $100m apiece and according to a recent report by the European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF), art market sales reached an astounding $51bn in 2015, the highest level ever recorded.

“However, what this also highlights is that art is always more than a financial investment. It is a cultural investment. In fact, I would be inclined to emphasise the social and cultural aspects emphasised by the act of collecting.”

Carrying over 600 exclusive art pieces and artefacts, SIAF houses largest private collection of World of Colours creator Paresh Maity, and the entire Maria series of late MF Husain.

Anita Choudhrie Speaks About Perceiving Art as Investment

Art and aesthetics have kept the generations alive, by capturing their essence in wonderful strokes of colours. While art enthusiasts have always tried to preserve the interest behind this, the latest fad amongst people is to buy art as a form of investment. In fact over 75% of buyers and collectors do this, as suggested in Deloitte Art & Finance Report.

Over this, Anita Choudhrie, founder of StellarInternational Art Foundation expressed her viewpoints in an interview. Anita has been working on preserving the classic art pieces, and harbouring legendary art work under the Stellar umbrella. 

Here are some excerpts from her latest interview. 

“The fact is many now laud art as an investment, not least in comparison to the volatile stock markets, as on paper it is impervious to economic uncertainties. It is a largely non-correlated asset – insofar as it is not affected by the financial or other markets that collectors might be part of – which makes it attractive to those wanting to diversify their portfolio.

“I would strongly encourage buyers to consider their purchase in terms of a wider collection portfolio and to select for personal benefit rather than simply for financial motivations. This is because what drives any passionate collector is their individual perception and viewpoint on an artwork.”

She also narrated her own experience, “Art is more than a financial investment. It is a cultural investment. I have found that by collecting a series of works by a chosen artist simply out of genuine interest, a buyer can begin to value their collection as more than a mere sum of its parts.”

Anita addressed the issue of art being exploited as investment, and blurted, “Personally, I am inclined to argue that one should focus first and foremost on the non-financial benefits of art collection. Under this view, any financial gain is merely an additional benefit rather than an expected outcome.

“While art may well prove to be a worthy financial investment, its value certainly does not end there. Indeed, whilst paintings may have a price tag, art itself is priceless.”

Stellar International Art Foundation houses over 600 artefacts and antics by international artists dating back from 19^th century to present day. The collection includes largest private creations of Paresh Maity, creator of World of Colours, and entire Maria series by late MF Husain.