Hilary Swank to Travel to India to Support amfAR’s Inaugural Fundraising Event in INDIA

Hilary Swank to Travel to India to Support amfAR’s

Inaugural Fundraising Event in INDIA

New York, NY, — November 12, 2013—On Sunday, November 17th, 2013, actress and producer Hilary Swank, will travel to India to join amfAR’s Global Fundraising Chair Sharon Stone and the India select co-chairs, amfAR supporters and Bollywood movie legends Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, for amfAR’s inaugural fundraising event in Mumbai. The event will take place at the Taj Mahal Palace.

Hilary Swank is the third youngest woman in history to win two Academy Awards for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” winning for Boy’s Don’t Cry and The Million Dollar Baby.

World-renowned recording artist Ke$ha will travel to India to give a special performance at the event. Cyrus Poonawalla is the event’s presenting sponsor.  LoveGold and Delta Airlines are the event’s Signature Sponsors.

Adding a bonus dose of glamour to the night, amfAR India will also feature an Indian edition of the Gold Fashion show in collaboration with LoveGold – an initiative by the World Gold Council. The Gold Fashion Show will present the work of India’s unbeatable trio of design – Abu Jani – Sandeep Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Bal. This spectacular runway presentation at amfAR India will celebrate gold and exquisite gold jewellery for the contemporary Indian woman. The participating Indian designers will display five unique and exquisite creations that will be accessorized in Gold.

amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole, Anuj Gupta, and Rocky Malhotra will be amongst the special guests attending the event which will include a black-tie dinner and auction and will be similar to amfAR’s black tie galas that take place all over the world.  A host of Indian celebrities, industrialists and a who’s who are expected to attend to make this inaugural amfAR event an annual fixture on the socialite calendar.

Through the years, the Indian community has been exemplary in its support of amfAR, particularly in connection with its events in Cannes and Milan. amfAR’s first international benefit was held in 1993 during the Cannes Film Festival and hosted by amfAR Founding International Chairman Dame Elizabeth Taylor.  Since then, the Foundation’s international galas in Milan, New York, Los Angeles, Cannes, São Paolo, Venice, Rome, and Dubai have become some of the most high-profile, eagerly anticipated and consistently successful charity events in the world, raising millions for critical AIDS research programs.

While this is its first fundraising gala in India, amfAR has worked hand in hand with Indian physicians and researchers for many years through its TREAT Asia program.

Furthermore, amfAR-supported research contributed to the development of four of the six classes of drugs used to treat people living with HIV in India and around the world. And amfAR pioneered the research that ultimately led to the use of antiretroviral drugs to block mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As a result, this mode of transmission has been virtually eliminated in many parts of the world.