eNews A monthly communiqué April 2020    No. 4

EDITOR'S NOTE These are the strangest times we all have ever witnessed. None of us ever imagined a world like this. But here we are, living the uncertainty and hoping for the best. The world is truly united against COVID-19. A war against a virus that seems to be sparing no one. As every country is following social distancing in various degrees, we all are finding new ways of doing old things. The Greater Boston Community has come together in ways never seen before to not only stand united but also give back with open hearts and pockets. IAGB has been actively engaging with people of the community in a variety of ways through webinars, online sessions and discussions. We have been able to do this because of the amazing volunteers who are donating their time and expertise for the greater good. Some of the sessions that IAGB has been offering are Yoga, Art, Dance, Ayurveda, Financial Management, Bollyx, Family Feud quiz show, Public Speaking for kids, Impact of COVID-19 on Immigration, Nutrition, Cupcake Decoration and many more. Visit https://iagb.org/ for a complete list of all our upcoming events. 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. We are dedicating this month's issue to COVID-19. In this issue, you will find: The COVID-19 ARMY of the Greater Boston Spotlight – Sewa International Director's column - IAGB COVID-19 services and events IAGB Upcoming events IAGB Community Partnerships IAGB Sponsors Our Media Partners 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. STAY HOME, STAY SAFE, STAY HEALTHY We at IAGB urge you to follow the social distancing guidelines closely, no matter how hard it is, because there is no other way to stop this virus. As we grind through the quarantine days in the most unexpected turn of events, lets all follow the rules in spirit and the letter. No socializing, and not stepping out except for necessity and emergency. Hold your family together. Take care of the elderly. Check up on your friends regularly. We will all come out of these uncertain times and will learn to appreciate all our freedoms that much more. Please reach out to us at iagb@iagb.org if you need assistance of any sort in these difficult times. -- Yogita Miharia & Sanjay Kudrimoti

THE COVID-19 ARMY OF GREATER BOSTON

Included . Inspired . Involved . Just when you think the world is busy, everyone is busy, busy with their own activities without stopping for anything and anyone, a pandemic happens and everything changes in an instant! In the last month and a half, we have seen a great shift in everything. We have seen so many generous souls come out to help strangers. To give back to the world in this time of grave need. To help other fellow human beings. And none of them did anything because they were asked to. People are giving back because of the goodness of their heart. IAGB would like to recognize the effort and work of so many amazing people that are working hard to make others lives better. We reached out to the community via various channels to connect with people involved in helping out the front liners in this pandemic, and spoke with all those amazing people to bring their stories to you. None of them were looking for any recognition but it is our way of saying thanks to them and to connect our audience with them. The list below is in no particular order. Please pardon us if we have missed any of the soldiers helping the front line workers. I sincerely request you to please email me at yogita.miharia@iagb.org, so we can feature them in our next issue. P.S. I would like to mention how inspiring and gratifying my conversations with these amazing people were as I gathered their stories for the newsletter. Very blessed that I got to do this.  -- Yogita Miharia

Sew We Care Sew We Care is a caring community of selfless volunteers who are helping make masks for healthcare and essential workers during the Covid 19 crisis. Niswarth Seva is the principle behind our initiative... Read More

The Coalition Mask Network The Coalition Mask Network is a collaborative group of individuals and teams who are working to make and distribute as many masks as possible to those with the greatest need... Read More

Operation feed the soul Operation Feed the Soul’s mission is simple: to connect restaurants and food places that are having a hard time keeping afloat these days and those on the frontlines... Read More

Sewa International's DIY Mask for healthcare professionals Sewa International's Boston chapter volunteer Shova Sharma, with the help of other Sewa volunteers was instrumental in starting the DIY face mask project... Read More

Stitch a Mask, Save a Life The COVID-19 pandemic has affected each of us and has everyone wanting to do something! Talk to anyone, and their first comment is - I wish I could help... Read More

Meals to Heal In response to the crisis we are facing our mission is to make the lives of affected families, patients, and their caregivers easier and less stressful by providing them with meals... Read More

The Shield Team I n the unprecedented times, we felt powerless against the virus and wanted to do something to help the frontline workers. This was a perfect opportunity... Read More

K95 Mask Drive We started a KN95 mask drive to support the New England community medical soldiers who are working on the frontline with COVID-19 patients and experiencing extreme shortage of PPE... Read More

3D PPE supplies Desais We are building 3D printed face shields for frontline workers. Protects the eyes and rest of the face... Read More

Meals by Bhakti Center Even though we are all in this difficult time together, some of us are fortunate to have the ability to lead comfortable lives even as we shelter in place, while many in our community are not equally blessed... Read More

3D Printed PPE One day last month I got a call from my cousin sister in NY who is working in the front lines and she told him that that they were not providing masks... Read More

Lexington team Realizing the need of the hour, I called for volunteers in local WhatsApp group and closed FB group and was amazed by the response... Read More

Food Drive for WCC “Hunger is something no one should struggle with or be judged for". So many of us are blessed that we can feed our family without any struggles...  Read More

Dharma Center We, at the Dharma Center of America, are committed to serve more than 2000 people by providing them with the basic necessities of life... Read More

Windham Mask Squad We are making stitched fabric masks. The entire town has come together to make masks primarily for the homeless and children's homes... Read More

Sewing Mask a Mission In just two weeks, we have covered healthcare facilities & supermarkets with 600 masks and are continuing to work towards this mission... Read More

PPE Drive for India While talking to a few doctor friends in India we realized that while the hospitals in the cities were being helped, the help in the rural hospitals was not sufficient... Read More

United India Association of New England United India Association of New England has set up UIANE COVID-19 Relief Fund. We are committed to help the community... Read More

Care4Janitors CARE 4 JANITORS - Food For Fabulous Friends’ is a small effort to show respect, gratitude & appreciation to the housekeeping and environmental services staff of the hospitals and nursing homes... Read More

IAGB THANKS THE COVID-19 ARMY of BOSTON

IAGB SPOTLIGHT

Our community spotlight this month is on Sewa International We spoke with Subba Raju Datla, a volunteer of Sewa International - Boston

20 day report of Sewa's Covid-19 effort

IAGB : Tell us about Sewa, its history and its mission. Raju Datla: Sewa International is a humanitarian, non-profit service organization. Founded in 2003, Sewa International is part of a larger movement that started in India in 1989 and is active in twenty countries. Sewa serves humanity irrespective of race, color, religion, gender or nationality. Its mission is to serve humanity in distress, aid local communities, run developmental projects for the underserved, and assist people in transformational change through the power of innovation by mobilizing partners, donors and volunteers. The mission is accomplished by focusing efforts towards ·     Disaster recovery ·     Family and child welfare and ·     Promoting volunteerism Charity Navigator, one of the major American evaluators of charities, and the largest and most-utilized evaluator of American charitable organizations, recently ranked Sewa International among the Top 10 “Highly Rated Charities Relying on Private Contributions”, with Sewa ranking fifth among the ten such listed charities IAGB : Tell us about Sewa Boston chapter and its EC. Raju Datla: Started in February 2013, Sewa’s Boston chapter works to implement Sewa International’s mission. With programs that are executed on a monthly, half yearly and yearly basis, Sewa Boston volunteers have immersed themselves in selfless effort for the welfare of all. Every year numerous enthusiastic volunteers use the Sewa platform to fulfill their desire to give back to the community. Corporate organizations like CVS/Caremark and Dell EMC encourage its employees to get involved in Sewa programs. Sewa Boston has a wide range of project and activities covering Health & Wellness, Education, Yoga for Sewa, Feeding the Hungry, Community Development, Refugee Empowerment and Diwali Food Drive. IAGB : What are some of the major initiatives of Sewa? Raju Datla: Sewa International has many initiatives. Some of the major ones are a.     Sponsor a child (SAC): Started in 2009, SAC was founded on a holistic philosophy that spans education, health, physical and cultural development of under privileged children. b.      Family services: This program leverages existing local community resources, while bringing complementary services to effectively serve the typical as well as culturally specific unmet sociological service needs that have risen among the fast-growing Indian immigrant community. c.      Volunteer development: Volunteer Development projects are organized at the chapter level. Sewa provides volunteer resources to community organizations that need help. Volunteers engage in various activities like cleaning of temples or city parks, cooking at soup kitchens to feed the hungry, stocking food banks, running community events and conducting food drives. IAGB : What are some of your key fundraiser events? Raju Datla: Sewa International organizes multiple fundraisers every year to raise funds. Every year during the March-April months, Sewa volunteers organize a Holi fundraiser. People from the community have fun playing with colors while donating to Sewa projects. During Navaratri, Sewa organizes a Garba fundraiser. In the fourth quarter of every year an annual fundraiser is organized to raise funds for the projects it supports across the world. One off fundraisers that are project specific are organized on a as needed basis. IAGB : Tell us about Sewa's work for COVID-19. Raju Datla: Sewa International has been active on the ground early, to help deal with the Coronavirus pandemic situation. We have established eight non-medical helplines in different areas of USA. While these helplines continue to offer support, and help to people calling from all over the country, Sewa sprang into action to address a critical need by launching the first of its kind convalescent blood plasma registry with live and social media support. The goal of this registry is to bring matching blood donors and COVID-19 patients seeking plasma together. In addition to this, Sewa volunteers have been delivering meals to first responders, donating canned food to food banks, making DIY face masks, caps, scrubs and donating them to hospitals and senior centers, raising funds through social media channels and engaging other partner organizations like IAGB to make a bigger impact on the community. We have racked up impressive numbers ·     2500+ Volunteer Hours ·     60+ Plasma Donors ·     $500,000+ Amount Raised ·     4500+ Hot Meals Served ·     30,000+ N95, KN95, Surgical Masks Donated ·     16,000+ DIY Masks Donated ·     +80,000 Donated to Food Pantries IAGB : Tell us about Sewa Boston’s future plans. Raju Datla: Sewa Boston chapter volunteers met in January and came up with a 2020 plan that outlined the various activities and fundraisers they were going to conduct throughout the year. Little did they know that their plans will be scuttled by an invisible enemy. But, they are motivated as ever. While they wait for things to settle down so that the 2020 plan can be executed, in the short term they will immerse themselves in COVID-19 relief efforts in the New England area. They are looking forward to take on new challenges and help the community recover from this global pandemic.  Visit  https://sewausa.org/ to learn more about Sewa International.  --Yogita Miharia

DIRECTOR'S COLUMN IAGB keeps the New England Indian community’s spirits high amidst lockdown and does stellar community service activities

Despite the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown, the team at (IAGB) India Association of Greater Boston has stepped up the activity levels amongst its members and the India diaspora with help of its various partners. IAGB traditionally holds a couple of large events and many smaller events in the Boston area that are very well attended, with its hallmark events in January, the Indian Republic Day and the Independence Day in August. With many of the smaller events now suspended, the team has successfully switched to many exciting online events seamlessly with the help of local talent and regional organizations. The online events have been conducted using Zoom and streamed live on Facebook. There are weekly family fun programs, and daily Yoga sessions conducted in collaboration with NIMHANS. IAGB also held Q&A sessions with the India Consul General and medical experts who advised viewers on the impact of COVID-19. Immigration and travel has become a big concern for visitors. Families also face financial issues due to COVID-19. To tackle these issues IAGB conducted webinars with domain experts. Kids need to kept occupied as all of them are at home and parents face challenges on how to keep them busy. IAGB conducts online classes on art, dance, yoga, cupcake decoration and many other activities for children. Most of the events have been conducted free of cost and the spirit of the volunteers lending their time and effort has been commendable. Events have had attendance in hundreds in many cases and the registration process is easy and available on www.iagb.org . IAGB and its volunteers have also done some stellar service for various organizations. -         Joined hands with Sewa International to raise funds for various pantries in New England. -         Secured 3000 masks and distributing to Indian stores, groceries, needy/senior families, pantries. -         Delivered food packets to various food banks and pantries. -         Established a HELPLINE for any emergency issues faced by students, adults, and seniors such as medical help, financial help, accommodation and more. A summary of activities for kids and adults is presented below: -         Yoga for Stress Management in liaison with NIMHANS-NICY professionals, a 4-week program. -         IAGB Engage and Enrich Kids webinars to engage the kids during week days. -         IAGB Family Fun Feud every Sunday evening. -         Ayurveda, Fitness and Nutrition webinars. Many other activities are in store. Please visit www.iagb.org for more details and registration.  --Nagendra Rao

IAGB upcoming Events

No in-person events scheduled as of now. Many online events happening at IAGB. Please check https://iagb.org/ for a complete listing with dates and times.

IAGB COMMUNITY PARTNERs

TyE BOSTON

Calling all youth entrepreneurs, STEM advocates, coders and makers! Applications are now open for the 2020-2021 TiE Young Entrepreneurs program . 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. Want to learn more? Check out www.tye-boston.org or contact our TYE Program Director, Katie Quigley Mellor, at katie@boston.tie.org . Twitter Calling all #youthentrepreneurs, #STEM advocates, #coders and #makers! @TYE_Boston is looking for YOU to join their 2020-2021 cohort. Applications are now open! Limited slots available. Learn more at: www.tye-boston.org Do you know a high school-aged student with the #creativity, #passion and #resilience to build their own #startup? @TYE_Boston would love for them to join their 2020-2021 Young Entrepreneurs cohort! Learn more at www.tye-boston.org   @TYE_Boston applications are now open! High school students interested in #STEM, #entrepreneurship, or #business can apply for this unique opportunity to create a real #startup & compete for $5k in #seedfunding! www.tye-boston.org Instagram Are you a high school student? Do you want to put your #business plan to the test? Here’s YOUR opportunity to shine. @tye.boston is looking for YOU to join their 2020-2021 cohort. Limited slots. Apply Now! www.tye-boston.org Do you know of a high school #student who dreams of changing the world? Encourage them to apply to our @tye.boston program where they will learn how to take those big ideas & turn them into action! www.tye-boston.org #dreamers #makers #STEM   #socialentrepreneurship 

ASIAN AMERICAN POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE

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

IAGB CORPORATE SPONSORS

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.

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.

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.

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 www.iagb.org

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