September 2019 – Newsletter
We, at EnE, had a bustling September! Starting with the bliss box birthday gift drive, clothing drive with Empowering World Change (EWC), the PTSA Dandiya event at Evergreen High School, the month was simply packed with events and activities… As a team we gave 547 hours to the community.
Along the way, we also lent a helping hand to these events:
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Hosted a meet and greet for Madhavi Latha, founder of Asha Jyothi, an organization serving disabled children
- Donated 200 backpacks and school supplies to Santa Clara School District Title 1 schools.
- Donated a water fountain and sponsored a professional gardener for the meditation garden at JW House.
A shout out to Spoorthi whose Gold Award final report was reviewed and accepted by the Girl Scouts of Northern California. Congratulations Spoorthi from your EnE family!!
A few important reminders before we dive into our this month’s activities:
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Continue to enter your volunteering hours in the following google form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14aCCBe74pU2ZQP2gdxXMGD3m0-8tKklzazClDQaB2rA/edit
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To learn more about hours required to earn PVSA awards in each age group, go to: https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility
Now for our September 2019 activities!
by: Tanisha Tol
Now for a sneak peek into our September 2019 activities :
Community Events: September Highlights
- Meet & Greet with AshaJyothi Founder, Madhavai Latha:This was a great opportunity to learn about the work that this organization does to serve disabled children.
- 200 Backpacks with School Supplies Donation to Santa Clara School District Title 1 Schools: 200+ backpacks and 200 + school supplies were donated. Also present at this occasion were Mr. Raj Chahal, Santa Clara Council Member, and Mr. Mahesh Nihalini, EnE Advisor. A truly humbling experience as we listened to the challenges some of our migrant families faced in getting their kids educated!
- JW House Meditation Garden: A shout out to our volunteers who did their lion’s share in planting this garden! EnE also donated a fountain and sponsored a professional gardener. This garden will be unveiled on Oct. 19. and will serve to provide peace and introspection to those families in the face of a medical crisis.
- Bliss Box Birthday Giving Project: About 40 Bliss Boxes filled with birthday supplies were collected in Evergreen. These bliss boxes are given to low-income families to help celebrate kids’ birthdays.
- Clothing Drive: 120+ bags of clothes, blankets, shoes, and toys were collected for Empowering World Change (EWC) 15th annual clothing drive.
Community Activities
- EVHS PTSA Dandiya Ticket Sales and Event Volunteering: This include ticket sales, setup, decoration, reception, crowd and line handling, entry, and chips and water sales.
- Fitness Dance Workshop: Our volunteers, Sritha and Vibha from EVHS, led hip-hop dance fitness classes at Aborn Evergreen Branch Library. Attendees totally loved the cool moves!
- Cook and serve at JW House: Cooked and served a wholesome dinner for families facing medical crisis.
- Community Services at CT: Helped organize books and guide parents at a community service center.
- Nursery Work: Helped with planting at a local nursery.
- South Bay Clean Creeks: Helped with cleaning the Los Gatos Creek.
- Coastal Cleanup Day: Helped with coastal cleanup initiative at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont.
- Book Sale help at Alum Rock Library:Helped organize and run the book sale.
Serving at Shelters
- Sunday Friends Annual STEM Fair: Hosted and ran two tables of science activities at a STEM event for low-income kids. Thank you IBM for your generous contributions!
- TX-Serving Meals to Needy: Our motivated volunteers at Dallas, TX sorted the food pantry and made food bags for needy. Thank you Saravana Janardhan for your dedication! Our Bay Area Chapter volunteers did the same at a local shelter.
- CityTeam Shelter-KITCHEN:Organized cutlery and set up for dinner!
- Restore furniture at Shelter:Helped repair furniture at a shelter.
- Volunteer with Sunday Friends: Helped with cooking and worked on educational activities with children from low-income families.
- Meal Sponsorships to AshaJyothi, Shelter for Special Needs Kids: Thanks to our September sponsors – Nihaar Charagulla, Shivi Fotedar, Vasu Madhav, Nidhi Sharma, and Swati Tol!
If you are interested in sponsoring a meal at AshaJyothi to feed ~70 abandoned special needs kids with autism, cerebral palsy, speech & hearing impairment, polio, down syndrome, please
visit: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948afae2aaaf49-20199. Available sponsorship options range from $200 for full day meals, $80 for lunch or dinner to $45 for just breakfast.
Donate at https://empowerexcel.org/donate/ or mail the check or pay by cash.
Our Special Friends and Beloved Seniors
- “Friends Together-Surya” and “Friends Together-Infuse”: Spent quality time with special needs friends bonding and doing various activities.
- Ganapati Celebration: Celebrated Ganesh festival with Sudhakar Uncle and Mahesh Uncle at Priya Living.
- Laundry Helpers: Did an amazing job at Priya Living Retirement Community. The seniors are very grateful for their service.
- Music for Seniors (led by Tanisha Tol): Conducted a successful instrumental and vocal recital at Westmont retirement.
- Project Knitbuds (led by Mrudula Chodavarapu):Knitted beanies and scarves for the homeless and for chemotherapy patients. A special shout out to Granny Hema, visiting from India. She crocheted 26 caps and counting! Also kudos to Uma Aunty, Devayani Aunty, Dulu Aunty, and Jolly Aunty from Priya Living, kids Sohini, Neha, and 5-yr old Darlene, and our very enthusiastic 90+ young Ms. Carol who attends every session at Westmont! Our goal is to reach 100 by year end!
- Tech Sessions: Helped our seniors with technology issues related to smart phones, apps, laptops, and tablets.
