Meera Gandhi has spent her life moving between worlds — Philanthropist and Businesswoman, Spiritual Yogi and New Yorker— and in each role, she brings the same conviction and hard work.  Meera believes that if you wish to serve or transform lives- you must give freely and to all. “ After all, we are all part of the same divine whole. Therefore if we serve, we must serve freely and from the heart. Freely, freely we have been given and freely, freely we should give!” This is a belief that has guided her since she was a teenager volunteering alongside Mother Teresa in Bombay, This is what drove her to personally fund UpliftNY25, a free, daylong wellness event in Central Park that drew more than 5,000 people this summer!

UpliftNY25

This past June, New York’s Rumsey Playfield became her open-air classroom. Marking both International Yoga Day and the summer solstice, UpliftNY25 offered yoga, meditation, music, and spiritual talks— plus free lunch, drinks, and yoga mats— to anyone who wanted to take part. “This is the kind of day where you don’t have to think, just receive,” Gandhi said. “I told everyone that day, please Don’t worry about opening your wallets. Lunch, yoga, water, tea and even the yoga mats are FREE!  I didn’t allow my team to create even one t-shirt for sale so the energy was purely about healing and yoga and reflection! Therefore,  it turned out to be a real day of wellness and de-stressing.” The echos of this day are still being heard far and wide! 

Mother Teresa’s Home for Children

Meera Gandhi’s commitment to service began in her teens, when she spent two years volunteering every Saturday at Asha Dan, Mother Teresa’s home for children in Bombay. Many of the children were handicapped, abandoned by families unable or unwilling to care for them. Gandhi remembers the bathing, feeding, and singing — small acts of care that became lessons in humanity. Mother Teresa’s words stayed with her:” When you serve, you’ll never be sad.”

Her upbringing, with an Irish mother and Indian father, gave her what she describes as a “joyful” home life, but she also saw early on that not everyone had the same grounding. Service became a throughline in her life, from personal philanthropy to the creation of The Giving Back Foundation in 2010. The nonprofit focuses on three pillars: providing mental wellness tools and free programs to reduce stress, acting as a catalyst for positive change, and empowering youth — especially girls — through educational grants.

The Giving Back Foundation

Even before the pandemic spotlighted the mental health crisis, Gandhi saw anxiety, depression, and disconnection becoming pervasive — not just among the disadvantaged, but also in boardrooms and affluent neighborhoods. She decided something had to be done. Enter UpliftNY25. Presented by The Giving Back Foundation with the Mayor’s Office of Sports, Wellness and Recreation and the Indian Consulate, the event brought together a diverse lineup of wellness practitioners and performers, from Ambassador Binaya S. Pradhan to DJ Rekha and Daybreaker, the morning dance movement. Talks addressed love, conflict resolution, and staying positive, while yoga and meditation sessions unfolded throughout the day. Attendees were encouraged to unplug, slow down, and “roll in the grass” as Gandhi often tells her own family. The impact was immediate. Gandhi noted that other organizers began offering free wellness events in parks, breaking away from the high costs that can exclude most people. Even the city took note — Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill mandating that New York City public schools open each day with 15 minutes of breathing exercises and yoga, from kindergarten through 12th grade. For Gandhi, these outcomes are proof that generosity has momentum. “Goodness grows always,” she said. “Next year, I know many more people will walk with me.” 

The Power of Yoga & Meditation 

Gandhi is unflinching about the scale of today’s mental health crisis. She recalls the death of a close friend, Patty Raynes , who lost her middle son to drugs and never recovered from the grief. The problem, she says, isn’t confined to any class or income level — it’s an “all-time crisis” exacerbated by information overload, social media pressures, and industries profiting from people’s distress. Her prescription is simple but not easy: strip away materialism, reconnect with nature, and create spaces where people can slow down. In her own life, she tells her son, who works on Wall Street, to focus on creating win-win deals rather than chasing corner offices. At home, she sages the rooms when his friends visit, a symbolic clearing of negative energy.

 From the Ashrams of India to Park Avenue boardrooms, Gandhi has seen the full spectrum of human striving. She speaks with equal authority about the power of yoga and meditation, the perils of unchecked greed, and the joy that comes from giving without expectation. “If we need more, the universe will give it to you,” she says. “Slow down. Listen. It’s all there.”

This ethos shaped UpliftNY25 — and will shape it again next year, when Gandhi plans to return to Central Park on June 21, 2026, with the same mission and the same promise: a day where no one has to pay, worry, or perform.    Just show up, breathe, and receive! meeragandhi.com