Bank of the West Aids Sankara Eye Foundation with Its Mission to Eradicate Curable Blindness in India

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its philanthropic efforts to serve communities, Bank of the West sponsored Sankara Eye Foundation's Shreya Ghoshal Concert Fundraiser hosted in Los Angeles on August 27, 2017 helping the organization with its mission to eradicate curable blindness in India.

The concert, featuring leading Indian playback singer of Bollywood Shreya Ghoshal, kicked off Sankara Eye Foundation's fundraising drive on August 27 with the goal of raising $500,000 in 2017. The funds raised will go toward building Sankara's tenth hospital in Mumbai in order to expand treatment of curable eye disease. The facility, with construction slated to begin by the end of this year, will perform 25,000 free eye surgeries each year.

"Bank of the West is proud to support the Indian-American community locally and contribute to this critically important work in India. Sankara has changed the lives of 1.5 million people and it is truly a privilege to support its extraordinary mission to end curable blindness," said Bank of the West President & CEO Nandita Bakhshi.

At the event, Bakhshi addressed attendees and donors about the importance of supporting communities and giving back. The partnership with Bay Area-based Sankara exemplifies how Bank of the West is coupling its local roots with global reach, in order to make a larger positive impact on the communities it serves.

Sankara Eye Foundation is one of the largest charitable eye care providers in India, performing more than 150,000 free eye care surgeries annually for those in need. The organization currently has eight state-of-the-art eye care hospitals across India. Its ninth hospital is currently under construction in Jaipur City, Rajasthan, with plans to open its doors to patients by December 2017.

The Foundation has been awarded the top four-star rating by Charity Navigator for its commitment to accountability, transparency, and governance and is among the top eight percent of all U.S. charities exceeding industry standards. Bank of the West has been a supporter of Sankara for six years, and this year marks the Bank's fifth year supporting the Foundation's annual concert.

Bank of the West parent company BNP Paribas has had a local presence in India for 156 years and is the sixth-largest foreign bank in India. Earlier this year, Bakhshi was honored by the American India Foundation in San Francisco, an organization dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India.

About Bank of the West 
Bank of the West is a regional financial services company headquartered in San Francisco with $86.9 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states and digital channels. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 74 countries with more than 192,000 employees. To learn more about Bank of the West, visit About Us via BankoftheWest.com.

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