Fashion designer Maheka Mirpuri is busy working on her latest project, which is a fundraiser for the cancer-stricken. Considering that she recently finished fundraising for the Terry Fox Run some weeks ago (which was also for the cancer-affected), we’re surprised to see her at it again so soon. Clarifies Maheka: “This is a fundraiser that is totally my own, unlike the last one which was organised by the Terry Fox Foundation of which I am a committee member. This one will be held in October and is called ‘I Believe’.” Maheka says that she was so deeply affected by the losses of her father and her brother-in-law some years ago to cancer that she approached the doctors at Tata Memorial Hospital to find out a way if the disease could be treated more effectively. “I offered to use whatever resources I could to ensure patients suffering from the disease could get the best available treatments at that hospital. Thus came about this fundraiser which has been held for the last six years.” Last year the event was named ‘Can Fly’ indicating an ability that cancer patients could develop to fly from the darkness to the light. The fundraiser is scheduled to be a private show with Maheka’s invitees and influencers in society willing to donate to the cause. An auction consisting of jewellery, art, clothes and lifestyle pieces is scheduled and Maheka will organise a fashion show as its conclusion. The celebrity guests who’ve attended in the past include Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Vivek Oberoi and Amruta Fadnavis. Says Maheka, who donates the proceeds every year directly to Tata Memorial Hospital (and which last year worked out to over Rs98 lakhs): “It’s very overwhelming to be able to help so many people at the hospital. To be able to get so much treatment done for the illness gives me a great sense of satisfaction.”