As an accomplished state level basketball player and evangelist of the sport, I had the opportunity to witness practice sessions of the Mumbai Wheelchair Basketball team. I was pivotal in enabling the 7th National Wheelchair Basketball Championships which shall be held from Nov 23-29th, 2023 after a gap of three years owing to a lack of funds. The championships shall include more than 250 players from over 12 states. 

I personally raised INR 650,000 ($8,000.00) or a third of the total funds required for the tournament from corporate sponsorships and donations to the Wheelchair Basketball Association of India, a registered non-profit that promotes the sport of wheelchair basketball in India and is affiliated to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation and Paralympic Committee of India. 

During this process I was inspired and humbled by the courage, fortitude, determination, adaptability, resilience, and spirit of the wheelchair bound players. I was also blown away by the selflessness of the staffers and volunteers of the WBFI and the amount of time & effort it takes to raise money even for a worthy cause. I created presentations, scheduled meetings & follow up calls, negotiated sponsorship deliverables, ensured statutory legal and taxation requirement compliance, dealt with rejection, and learnt not to judge a book by its cover. Most importantly I learnt the joy of giving and the art of living.