‘The Papa CJ Happiness Project’ Partners 10 Charities for 7 Shows in 6 Cities

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | August 17, 2017 | News

Papa CJ

In March 2017, comedian Papa CJ launched an initiative called ‘The Papa CJ Happiness Project,’ where he performed for free in order to raise funds for charities across India.

Performing in the last two weeks of May 2017, Papa CJ did 7 shows in 6 cities to support 10 different charities, raising over 40 lakh in funds.

Shows were held at Kamani Auditorium and Mavalankar Auditorium in Delhi; Mayfair Convention in Bhubaneshwar; at GD Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkata; Humming Tree, Bangalore; Classic Rock Coffee Co., Pune; and CC Mehta Auditorium in Vadodara. A cumulative audience of over 3500 people attended these shows.  

Watch the after-movie below.

Talking about the success of the project and what it meant for him as an artist, Papa CJ remarked, “I’m thrilled with the success of the first tour under The Papa CJ Happiness Project. I had put out an offer to perform for free to raise funds for charities in the last two weeks of May. Over 30 charities applied and we ended up supporting 10 of them. Fellow artists also kindly volunteered their time to support this initiative in all the cities that I took it to. Members of the public also chipped in and not just by buying tickets. For example, when I visited an orphanage in Pune I shot a live Facebook video of my visit. During the visit I noticed that the children didn’t have slippers and the ground was not safe to walk on. So I said I’d buy slippers for all the children there. However someone off my Facebook fan page wrote in and offered to pay for the slippers. All of this is very encouraging. The learnings from this tour will help me ensure that I can get more stakeholders involved going forward and a larger positive impact is made on the next tour.”

Charities Papa CJ partnered with include People For Animals, Parinaam Foundation, Baroda Citizens Council, Wildlife SOS, Salaam Baalak Trust, Picturewala, Association of Social and Health Advancement and Round Table India in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and Pune. “This time around I did not approach other partners as the individual charities were organising the shows and approached local partners for individual shows themselves. For example the Delhi fundraiser for People for Animals and Wildlife SOS was supported by Audi, Nubia and Halmari Tea. However going forward, given the success of this initial tour, I shall be approaching sponsors and aim to run the next Happiness Project tour centrally. I will also try and interest venues, artists, hotels, airlines, event companies, PR firms, videographers and other potential stakeholders to come on board as partners,” remarked Papa CJ.

Comedy has always been a powerful medium of communication, and The Happiness Project is a great illustration of this. Papa CJ has provided a great example of what an artist can accomplish for society. Tapping into not only his own talent, but the talent of fellow comedians, Papa CJ shows just how powerful an event can be.