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A monthly communiqué
May 2020 No. 5
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EDITOR'S NOTE
IAGB continued to keep its focus on engaging with community during these trying times of social distancing. While the five days a week Yoga sessions and weekly zoom / face book live / webinar sessions with work out dance classes, family fun feud quiz, financial planning, conversation with CGNY, art and cooking classes, and other children's activities continued; IAGB managed to organize and execute one of a kind event - commemoration of Memorial Day virtually. IAGB with strong support from Latha Mangipudi (State Representative, NH) brought together a panel of elected representatives from across the New England States, Doctors and Covid survivor and community leaders. Together they paid homage to the memory of fallen and discussed issues and challenges facing the veterans especially in light of the pandemic. IAGB also flagged off its first of many events that are being organized around
IAGB Cares Covid-19 Relief Fund.
The first event will be Bhaag IAGB Bhaag - a call to community to register and participate in a Virtual 5 K Walk/Run race scheduled for June 20th, 2020. The next event in the works is IAGB Antakshari with a twist. Stay tuned for more information. With no permissions being granted for large group gatherings this summer, IAGB has also started to set the ball rolling in planning a unique India Day celebration this year. We will want the whole of community to participate and make this India Day celebrations unique and fun.
IAGB Cares Relief Fund to benefit local food pantries and homeless shelters. IAGB is pledging to match all donations up to $10,000.
With the uncertainty of the situation, we are keeping our future in-person events on hold, and we will keep our members updated as and when there are changes.
In this issue, you will find:
- From the Vice President's Desk - Vaishali Gade
- Guest Column - What Can Art Do for Us? by Rohit Chandra
- From the Director's Corner - Noorain Buxamusa
- IAGB Recent Events
- IAGB Upcoming events
- In Memoriam
- IAGB Community Partnerships
- IAGB Sponsors
- Our Media Partners
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: BHAAG IAGB BHAAG ON 06/20/2020
Like always, we invite you to submit guest columns on diverse topics for inclusion in the newsletter. Your feedback and suggestions and welcome!! Please contact via
Email
if you wish to make community event announcements through this newsletter.
Please visit our
Website
to sign up for annual family/single or life membership of IAGB.
Contact Us
if you are interested in volunteering at our events.
NO TO RACISM, YES FOR JUSTICE
One more unarmed African-American's life was cut short even as the world watched. George Flyod, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor - names added to a long list of names - each of these untimely and violent deaths has traumatized the nation for the manner and for the lack of perceived justice. IAGB calls for unity, calm minds and for Justice.
IAGB CELEBRATES THE SPACE LAUNCH
IAGB joins millions of Americans in celebrating the launch by SPACEX/NASA, sending humans into space from US soil after a decade.
Please reach out to us at iagb@iagb.org if you need assistance of any sort in these difficult times.
-- Yogita Miharia & Sanjay Kudrimoti
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FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT'S DESK
When the Going Gets Tough, Tough Gets Going…
-Vaishali Gade
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Well that seems to be the mantra when I look around in our community and the initiatives IAGB teams are bringing forward. COVID-19 has brought upon us some unprecedented times and unique situations where each one of us is feeling overwhelmed and confused. But this also gave an opportunity for some to shine through.
During these tough times IAGB collaborated with various individuals and organizations, who have gone above and beyond to serve the community. On behalf of IAGB I want to take a moment and thank all those Shining Stars. Over past two and half months, IAGB brought to the community over 100 webinars and it was only possible because of the help of many selfless volunteers.
Let me first start with our Engage and Enrich Kids series- this series ran for five weeks and was delivered almost 5 days a week. Kids Yoga Session were delivered by Tanuja Thikekar (Burlington) and Sarika Bansal (Westford), Kids Bollywood Dance session were brought to us by teen enthusiast Mihika Shinde (Westford) and Sameera Manjrekar (Walpole) along with New England’s own BollyX instructor Swasti Bhragava (Middleton)- we thank you all for encouraging kids get moving after day long school sessions in front of the computer. Each week our ZOOM meeting rooms were getting transformed in to ART Galleries with kids creativity flowing- thanks to Gopika Narula (Westford) who engaged kids in multiple painting forms from crayons, to pencil to water colors. We also had one of a kind Pencil Sketching webinar by Shabari Khaire (PlateNextdoor). Thanks Gopika and Shabri, I am sure kids will treasure these art pieces for a while to come. Thanks to Paresh Motilwala (Sharon) for bringing us ‘Public Speaking Skills’ class and encouraging kids to overcome their stage fear. We were also able to bring a unique ‘Science with Zumba’ session with Samidha Sane (Chelmsford), who combined brain and body exercise on catchy science songs. Thanks Samidha Sane for making it even more interesting with some science do at home experiments. And thanks to lovely Farhana Zia (Framingham) who brought us book interactive book reading session reading two of her own books.
Just in time when stock market swings and related uncertainties got us all scrambling to re-review state of our financials affairs- Tom Licciardello helped us deliver Financial Management webinar. Thanks Tom for your guidance and pointers for our community.
With Covid-19 health, diet and immunity is on everyone’s mind Sangeeta Pradhan (Registered Dietitian) brought to us ‘Nutrition and Diet with Covid emphasis’ webinar and Pratibha Bhatnagar (BAMS) brought to us ‘Ayurveda 101 for Well-Being’. Thanks Sangeeta and Pratibha for helping the community with very useful suggestions and tips on must do diet changes.
Our Sunday’s adult ‘get moving while gyms closed’ series was offered by Swasti Bhargava- BollyX Fitness, Shikha Vashishtha- Bollywood Fitness and Sabah Kadri-Bollywood Fitness Dance. Thank you Swasti, Shikha and Sabah for all your help in making exercise routine a fun routine to Bollywood tunes.
In partnership with South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston(SABA-GB), we organized a few immigration webinars to provide updates and help all those who are facing various immigration issues and thanks SABA team for working with us. Also, we worked very closely with Consulate General of India, New York to provide a constant update on the general and travel advisories, and to bring various consulate events to the community.
Also, we partnered with National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) and Integrated Center for Yoga (NICY) to bring online yoga course(tele-yoga). The daily yoga practice is specifically designed to help the feeling of well-being during this stressful time. It started around six weeks ago and still ongoing with over 400 registrations. We are thankful to NIMHANS team for bringing this wonderful practice to our community.
IAGB has partnered with TAGB on a number of weekly COVID-19 educational and informational sessions providing periodic updates to the community. Also TAGB and IAGB are coordinating on-line kids tutoring for various subjects and for various age groups. We are thankful to all the tutors and volunteers to help us in our efforts to provide virtual learning environment to the students.
We at IAGB are truly grateful to all of you for joining forces in these tough times for the community. Our community is lucky to have selfless givers like you.
THANK YOU!!
--
Vaishali Gade
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What Can Art Do For Us?
-- Rohit Chandra
The composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein wrote that “any great art work … revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world - the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.”
Philosopher Alain de Botton noted that three of the major psychological functions of art are offering hope, re-balancing our overly negative perspectives and allowing us to forget ourselves for a few moments. Art can remind us that we were happier before and can be again, giving us hope for the future. It can also transport us to other times and places such that we forget our shared predicament. For these reasons, going to a museum to gaze at paintings and sculptures is prized; viewing digital images can have a similar effect.
Personally, above and beyond being transfixed by images of great art, I find they provoke a sense of wonder or awe at their accuracy and/or beauty. How could someone be so skilled with a paintbrush? I am laughed at when playing Pictionary because my drawing of a dog looks like a horse. I can only draw a stick figure to represent a person. However, not only do great artists sketch and paint a recognizable human figure, they can render it jaw-droppingly photographic. Like gods on earth, they can invest their creations with emotions or, like expert psychologists, suggest the character or personality of a portrait sitter.
Paintings of nature, likewise, can be rendered with such realistic detail that one feels like one is in the picture, gazing at a real grove of trees or the actual waves of the sea, or transported to and admiring a mountainous vista. The Turing-like test for Realist art is experiencing confusion about whether what you’re gazing at is a color photograph or a painting.
The color in great paintings can, additionally, stimulate our emotions, while their beauty can move us beyond words, offering a spiritual experience. I feel grateful to art and artists for offering fresh perspectives on nature (“nobody sees a flower, really-it is so small; to see takes time,” wrote Georgia O’Keeffe), re-animating long-gone historical figures, and surprising us with startlingly original reinterpretations of reality.
In the
linked to Dropbox folder
, I provide examples of paintings which mesmerize, awe, depict photographically, stimulate, and help us experience beauty. In our community, two painters of note are Gopika Narula, who doubles as an art teacher, and Poppy Charnalia, who also excels at poetry.
--
Rohit M Chandra
Rohit Chandra is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at MGH Chelsea who teaches at Harvard Medical School and is active in SETU.
Below image: Pietro Rotari - Young Woman with a Book
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FROM THE DIRECTOR'S CORNER
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Does the dark cloud of Covid-19 come with a silver lining?
--Noorain Buxamusa
My heart goes out to the families who have lost a family member or friend to Covid-19. But in the shadow of pain and discomfort that has affected us all, there grows a shadow of resilience and hope. Still, we grow richer from the experience of living through the greatest pandemic of our lifetime. For a moment, let us consider how this pandemic has helped us cope with the many challenges of being quarantine in these last few months with no change in sight yet.
At the personal level, many of us have enjoyed quality time bonding closely with our immediate families and virtually with our extended family and friends. Zoom has become a household name, serving as a testament to our resilience to come together despite the circumstances. Many of us have had an opportunity to learn new skills and rediscovered old hobbies and passions. The Covid-19 pandemic has elicited our compassion with some going beyond their means to become givers. Consider all the efforts of our families, friends, and neighbors in the many efforts to support frontline, essential workers and the many community soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
Our workplaces have provisioned us to work effectively while remote and have encouraged us to work more efficiently from home. We have become technically savvy in using the many remote access tools our companies have provisioned. Some of our workplaces are even considering the possibility of making remote and flexible working a long-term option!
On the World Stage, the WHO and governments world over have engaged biotech’s and pharma’s to come together across state and country borders in around-the-clock research and experiments in order to drive a solution for testing and vaccines. The world community has recognized the benefits of reduced carbon emissions.
At the Community Level we have experienced firsthand how organizations and people have come together to selflessly help one another towards a common cause. Within our own communities, IAGB and its local community members have contributed by making and distribution of face masks and select PPE equipment. They have driven and supported many fundraisers for local and international soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters and senior centers. IAGB’s free webinars on health and fitness has reinvigorated healthy lifestyles among many around town. IAGB partnered with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) and its Integrated Center for Yoga (NICY) from Bangalore, IN in order to conduct free online live yoga courses. The month long, five days a week, yoga course designed to help people in breathing and stress management. IAGB also gives thanks to the many families who supported IAGB’s Family Feud Fun Quiz time on Sundays - providing virtual intellectual and interactive entertainment.
Just like most dark clouds come with a silver lining, so too these days of Covid lock down has brought so much compassion and goodness to light. And as one finds light at the end of a dark tunnel, so too we will find a new social distanced normal that may be the norm for near future. Spring is here and the beautiful colors that come with it are brightening our landscape and lives. Life as we knew it once, may not be the same in future, but we will jointly find a new way to live, work and socialize.
--Noorain
Buxamusa
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IAGB COMMEMORATES MEMORIAL DAY
ALL GAVE SOME SOME GAVE ALL
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IAGB honors our fallen heroes on Memorial Day
India Association of Greater Boston commemorated the 2020 Memorial Day virtually on Monday, May 25th, 2020. It was a day to honor the ultimate sacrifices of the many fallen heroes who died while serving in the US military forces. Traditionally, elected representatives, school officials and students parade to various cemeteries with band instruments, gun salutes and speeches honoring the fallen.
This year COVID-19 and advised lock down constrained the community where parades and large gatherings were not recommended. People stayed home observing the guidelines to keep safe. IAGB took this opportunity to help and remember the fallen in a unique way. A bevy of speakers from many walks of life met over a virtual Memorial Day parade 2020. The list of speakers includes veterans, elected representatives from the New England region, healthcare professionals, community leaders, and pandemic survivors.
The theme was rightly named All Gave Some, but Some Gave All, highlighting the ultimate sacrifice given by those who served the country. The speakers spoke of intensely personal experiences and talked about how these sacrifices have given us the freedom and the way of life that we enjoy today.
The Virtual parade started with a video tribute and taps played by a Shreyas Kudrimoti. Next, Parade Grand Marshall, NH house Speaker Steve Shurtcliff flagged off the virtual event. The other dignitaries representing varied constituencies were US
Congressman Mr Chris Pappas, MA State Senator Mr Jamie Eldridge, Nashua Mayor Mr Jim Donchess, Deputy Speaker Ms Karen Ebel, State Rep Ms Latha Mangipudi, MA state reps Ms Kay Khan and Mr Tackey Chan, Ex State Reps from VT Ms Kesha Ram, Ex state rep and current congressional primary candidate of RI, Mr Bob Lancia, MA community leader Mr Nam Pham & Ex-congressman Paul Hodge. NH Congresswoman Annie Kuster sent her tribute via pre-recorded video.
Joining them were Dr. Charu Parajape,
Chief , Division of General Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Corporate CMO at Allure Group and Prof. Anil Saigal, ex-IAGB President, Covid-19 survivor, and community leader.
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IAGB FAMILY FUN FEUD QUIZ
--Sanjay Kudrimoti
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Sixteen teams, Five weeks, Three Hosts, One Super Winner!!!
Lock down time was perfect for getting the families get together and engage them in an activity that has no age or gender constraint. Each week we had four volunteer families who participated in the quiz as a contestant. To keep everyone's interest the hosts dabbled between traditional general knowledge topics in the form of true or false questions to current events, entertainment, sports and a surprise round that varied with each week. The hosts also included a rapid fire round in the finals. Few hundreds followed us live on Facebook and enthusiastically posted answers in the comment section. The Facebook live indicated many thousands of views each week.
Iagb Boston
extends thanks to all the families that participated in IAGB Family Fun Feud Quiz over the past six weeks. Thank you -
Taylor
s,
Pola
s,
Thikekar
s, Gawalis,
Sivaraman
s, Arkshalis, Guptas,
Desai
s, Kumars, Semys,
Thotangare
s,
Ghantasala
s,
Jain
s,
Chinnappa
s,
Swaraj
s & Rasanes
We also would like to thank all the families who followed us ardently on face book live, posting the answers in the comments section and cheering their favorites.
For the Champion of champion round we had Pola family, Desai family, Thotangare family and Shrivastava family as our finalists. We congratulate
Anish Desai
, Krishna Desai, Ishaan Desai and Shreya Desai as the Winners of Season 1 of IAGB Family Fun Feud Quiz Show.
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Families and friends while staying home and keeping safe in this pandemic continued making it to the online yoga Classes in significant numbers. We thank
everyone for actively participating in our month long online yoga course (tele-yoga) brought to you by the India Association of Greater Boston (IAGB) and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) and its Integrated Centre for Yoga (NICY) located in Bangalore, IN. Based on the feedback from participants we learned that many of the participants were experiencing Yoga for the first time and were very grateful for the opportunity.
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We at IAGB proudly present IAGB Cares Relief Fund to benefit local food pantries and homeless shelters. Covid19 Pandemic has affected us all but some are feeling the burn to a great degree than others.
Join us on June 20th, 2020 for Bhaag IAGB Bhaag 5k Virtual Run/Walk and feel good inside out.
May this be your inspiration to get back to your workout routine and at the same time make your donation worth double- IAGB is pledging to match all donations up to $10,000.
And there is more.. first 100 registrants get a free T-shirt.
Thanks to our sponsors
Bleumi (
Thomas Arul
who him self is an avid runner); Leader Bank (Sushil Tuli);
Shova Sharma
Executive Council Agent New York Life; and Lakshmi P.Thalanki, Famility Orthodontics aof Cambridge, Hudson and Ashland
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India's 73rd Independence Day celebrations is fast approaching. It will be celebrated on Saturday, Aug 15th 2020. Since in person large gathering is not going to be a reality this year, IAGB has started making plans by trying creative means. We hope seek opportunity in calamity. New ideas are being brainstormed. IAGB wants the community to be as engaged in this era of social distancing as it was before. Please do share with us if you have any ideas and definitely contact us if you plan to volunteer. We will need all hands on deck to make this year's celebrations an unique experience and still a grand celebration.
--IAGB Team
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IN MEMORIAM,
Dr. Dhansukhlal C. Mandalaywala
--Amol Mandalaywala
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Dr. Dhansukhlal C. Mandalaywala, commonly known as “Dr. Lal,” is an internist from Dudley, Massachusetts. He passed away on May 18, 2020 and was cremated on May 21, 2020 at Phaneuf Crematorium in Manchester, New Hampshire. He is survived by his son, Amol Mandalaywala, his daughter-in-law, Thea Ghandy Mandalaywala, and their son Kaian Mandalaywala, as well as his daughter, Anjali Kaul, her husband, Eric Kaul, and their children Arianna and Andrew Kaul. During the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Mandalaywala, aged 81, continued to practice medicine and treat patients. In spite of following all precautions, he contracted Covid-19 from seeing patients. He is a true hero of our community and will always be remembered as the physician who continued to serve the needy in spite of the risks. Due to the restrictions and social distancing practices resulting from COVID-19, his funeral was attended only by his immediate family and was live streamed for family, friends and associates who could not attend.
Dr. Mandalaywala was born and raised in Mandalay, Burma and attended the Institute of Medicine 1 in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar) and thereafter became a Professor at his alma mater. After immigrating to the US in 1973, he completed his residency at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, MA. He later served as an Assistant Professor at UMass Medical School and attending physician for the mentally challenged and physically handicapped for nearly two decades. Since 2005, he volunteered as an attending physician at India Society of Worcester and Indian Medical Association of New England’s Free Health Stop to help provide health care for the underserved and uninsured. At the Free Health Stop, he also served as a clinical instructor for UMass medical school students who volunteered at the free clinic. In addition, he provided diligent medical care for survivors of domestic violence who sought help from India Society of Worcester’s Crisis Group. Moreover, with the emergence of the opioid epidemic, Dr. Mandalaywala focused his attention to Addiction Medicine to help promote the recovery of persons with addiction.
Dr. Mandalaywala (Dr. Lal) will always be remembered for his volunteerism, and his dedication to his patients and the profession of medicine. He was a clinician who inspired other colleagues to also espouse the highest standards of care for every patient. He will be missed by his patients at the Free Health Stop for his compassionate care and interest in their well-being. His associates and colleagues will not only miss his professionalism and advocacy in promoting the welfare of others but also his smile and stories about his experiences in Burma and medical school. When asked about his ethics or principles and religion, he often replied: “I was born in a Hindu family, went to Catholic school and raised in a Buddhist country.” He exemplified the maxim of his medical school: “
upaṭhānaṃ
,
anukammā
,
dayā
” (in Pali) which translates into “service, sympathy, humanity.” It would have also led him to reject the notion that he is a hero as he believed that patients need to be seen regardless of the risk of coronavirus.
For his friends and family who knew him well, Dr. Mandalaywala will be missed for his humor, infectious smile and his love of good food ranging from
ragda patties
to the South Indian
idli
and
sambhar
or the Burmese favorites
khao swè
and
mohinga
. His family will always remember him for his generous spirit and willingness to help whenever anyone needed it.
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The TiE Young Entrepreneurs
is an extra-curricular program dedicated to fostering the next generation of leaders through the transformative experience of building a startup. While learning the skills to build and lead a company, the program also coaches young people to identify and leverage successful pathways to reach personal and professional goals.
Participants spend alternating Saturdays, September through May, learning directly from startup founders and industry experts. Student teams compete for up to $5K in seed funding while participating in a rigorous curriculum that has been proven over the past 10+ years.
Apply today
to ensure that your high school student does not miss out on this unique learning opportunity.
Limited space is available.
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ASIAN
AMERICAN
POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
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IAGB has joined hands with
AAPAC
with helping frontline workers stay protected and safe so that they can continue to perform their lifesaving work during the coronavirus pandemic. 36,000 masks have been procured and donated to frontline responders in fire, police, and community health organizations across Massachusetts
AAPAC, Inc. (“AAPAC”), a/k/a ASIAN AMERICAN POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, is a registered unaffiliated non-partisan Massachusetts nonprofit organization which is incorporated in 2019 to promote the common good and general welfare of Asian American communities.
The current campaign is to raise $100K to help first responders and front line workers. Please donate generously.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/aapac-empowerasianamericansorg
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Hotstar (Star TV India) which is now part of The Walt Disney Company. Hotstar is the biggest streaming destination in India with 300 Mn users and the leading South Asian platform in the US. We have the best of Indian Entertainment,MoviesWeb Series, regional content and Sports including the IPL and Cricket World Cup. The purpose of this email was to reach out to understand how we could work with the Indian community at your workplace. We have built our reach in the US through community connects such as Cricket fests, match screenings, comedy fest etc.
Currently Streaming
Live Cricket Match INDIA V Newzeland
Hotstar Specials- Out of Love
Showing Master Chef India
Movies- Housefull 4 and Arjun Reddy
Everything in one Platform Don’t Miss the Excitement.
Now Subscribe Using Promo Code
IAGBSTAR
for special discount.
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Newyork Life Insurance Company
At the heart of New York Life is a commitment to be there for the customers when they need -whether today or decades into the future. NY Life has delivered on that promise for nearly 175 years by investing wisely, growing a diversified mix of businesses, and remaining true to the mission as a mutual company, accountable only to their customers, not to outside investors.
People come to work at New York Life to contribute to the financial goals of millions of families and businesses each day. NY Life has a diverse, nationwide workforce that allows them to support the communities where we work. New York Life has a dedicated South Asian Unit for the past 20 years.
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At BMW of Sudbury, a Herb Chambers Company, we don't believe in providing the same old dealership experience, and we aren't interested in sticking to the status quo. We are committed to satisfying our customers' every automotive need, and we strive to create the kind of environment that they'll want to share with others. Come to this Massachusetts BMW dealer and you will find a wealth of chic and well-designed vehicles for your consideration. Browse our new 2018-2019 inventory and you'll find a large selection of
new BMW
models, including the ever-popular BMW X5 SAV®, BMW 3 Series sedan and BMW i8 coupe. We also have plenty of well-kept
used BMW
models for budget-conscious shoppers to browse, as well as trustworthy Certified Pre-Owned BMW vehicles.
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Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC) is a volunteer non-profit organization focused on providing urgent or emergency guidance and support for our fellow community members and their families as they may encounter unplanned and unexpected events such as serious sickness, hospitalization, accidents, family crisis, and death / bereavement of a loved one. Started in August 2007, ICC has been actively building awareness in the community by working with existing social, religious, professional, services, media and other organizations as well as participation at various events. ICC has over 5,500 members and has received support of over sixty (60) organizations. In order to provide needed support to its clients ICC has built a bank of over 250 volunteers and established strategic partnership with several organizations.
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Editors: Yogita Miharia & Sanjay Kudrimoti
IAGB Communications
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