Sewa Atlanta Raises Over $500,000 at Year-end Gala

Atlanta, GA (December 28, 2023): Sewa International's Atlanta Chapter raised over $500,000 in its annual gala dinner on December 16. Over 250 donors and volunteers attended the event at the Midtown Hotel 12 in Atlanta.

Nita Sardana, Chairman of Innova Foundation, Paul Lopez, Chairman of TiE Atlanta Board, and Samir Bhatia, CEO of Smartcare, began the gala by lighting a lamp, a symbolic act at most Hindu events. The gala

featured a keynote speech by Ravi Venkatesan, CEO of Cantaloupe, Inc. Students from Saraswati Music Academy -- Gowri, Shreeya, and Sravani Kari -- offered prayer to Lord Ganesha following the Hindu tradition.

Sewa presented awards to individuals and organizations. Samskrita Bharati Atlanta and Ved Vidyalaya received the Sewa Sanskritik Award for Art and Culture. The Adult Seva Care and the Heartfulness Institute received the Sewa Abhigyan (Recognition) Award. Sewa presented the Young Entrepreneur Award to Animesh Koratana, and the Karma Yogi Award for selfless service to BhikhuBhai Patel. Dr. Devesh Ranjan, Dr. Sanjeev Parikh, Dr. Amita Parikh, Krishnakumar Narayanan, La Chiquita Tortilleria, Celia Lopez Robles, and Arvind Chhiba received the Sewa Abhimulyan(Appreciation) awards for their remarkable contributions to the community.

The keynote speaker, Raj Sardana, received the Sewa Entrepreneur of the Year and shared a compelling life story of passion, persistence, and grit, inspiring the audience to pursue their dreams regardless of age. Subhash Patel, CEO of the Natson Hotel Group, endorsed Sewa International's work in the community in his speech. Sewa's Vice President for Fund Development and the outgoing chapter president, Srikanth Gundavarapu, introduced Madhav Durbha as the incoming president of the Atlanta Chapter.

Highlighting the year's achievements, Vivek Srivastav, Atlanta Chapter Coordinator, said the Atlanta Sewa AmeriCorps Program received the prestigious "Georgia AmeriCorps Team of the Year 2023" award in its inaugural year. Testimonials from beneficiaries of the Sewa AmeriCorps ASPIRE tutoring program underscored the positive impact on underserved communities, with notable improvements in student grades and self-esteem.  Providing an overview of Sewa, Srivastav emphasized how Sewa's vision of serving all living beings and

nature is rooted in the Hindu principle of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family. He said over 100 high school students had enrolled in the LEAD internship program in 2023, and 33 received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) for dedicating more than 100 hours of service. He also noted that the Family Services initiative assisted 30 families, and food drives supported over 100 families with two weeks' worth of groceries. 

A performance by Saraswati Music Academy students and the 10-year-old tabla prodigy Varneya Sastry captivated the audience. Raj Radhakrishnan, Vice President of the Chapter, and Vidushi Gupta, LEAD Program Assistant Coordinator, emceed the event. Madhav Durbha delivered the vote of thanks.