May 2020 – Newsletter
May is all about celebrating and honoring people who have shaped our future and our nation. We celebrated International Worker’s Day, Mother’s Day and we closed the month by remembering and honoring those brave people who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Let us take a moment to thank our essential and front line folks who have worked tirelessly for our comfort and safety!
Sadly, this month we witnessed a dark moment of history when George Floyd, a 46-year old black man died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. The protests that followed were tainted with vandalism, looting, and rioting. But even in the face of these disturbing times, our volunteers continued unabated with their dedicated efforts to serve our community.
This month our volunteers worked hard to help vulnerable families combat the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The volunteer activities centered around Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and Household essentials drive. Because of the generous donations of our supporters, we were able to donate 800+ face shields, and $10 K worth of N95 and KN95 masks.
Our East bay volunteers helped us serve 600+ vulnerable families with household essentials kits such as dental kits, hygiene kits, care packages, snack packs etc.
Our volunteers also conducted various online classes including Bollywood dancing, Chess, Drawing, Piano, Read-Along, Spanish, and a podcast to share experiences of working with autistic kids.
While the social distancing protocols related to COVID-19 are eased out in phases, let us continue to keep a safe distance, wear our masks and take other necessary measures to control the spread of coronavirus. Stay tuned on EnE’s WhatsApp group and we will let you know when the in-person activities will resume!
Now for a few announcements and reminders:
- Volunteer Appreciation Event: Stay tuned! We will update you as soon as we finalize this event.
- Volunteer Hours Recording: Continue to record your volunteer hours at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14aCCBe74pU2ZQP2gdxXMGD3m0-8tKklzazClDQaB2rA/edit OR, you can record your volunteer hours in a google sheet and share it with us at: empowerandexcel.np@gmail.com
- Presidential Volunteer Servicer Award (PVSA): To learn more about hours required to earn PVSA awards in each age group, go to: https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility
- Shopping on Amazon: Use this link to shop on Amazon.com: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/47-3656395 and Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to EnE.
- Stay tuned at EnE’s website: https://empowerexcel.org
Some useful resources available during Coronavirus (COVID-19):
- COVID-19 Screening and Testing: Get tested for COVID-19 by completing the online screener at www.projectbaseline.com and see if testing is available for you through this program.
Now Let’s Take a Glimpse into Our May 2020 Activities:
by: Tanisha Tol
Now for a Snapshot into our May 2020 Activities:
EnE Volunteer Corner
- We want our volunteers to know that YOU ARE AMAZING!: You may not realize it but you’ve made huge positive contributions to our community and our society! You may think that your good deed was simple or small, but it has undeniably brought joy in the lives of the people. This is clearly evident from the testimonials we have received from the various recipients. As an example, a doctor in Mountain View, CA who received masks from us became very emotional when expressing her gratitude towards our volunteers. Anoushka who has been teaching drawing to specially-abled kids, receives sweet thank you notes from her students.
- Our proactive volunteer Ishan takes the lead on animal welfare issues: Ishan observed during walks with his family that feeding bread to ducks and geese is perceived as fun and harmless. But many do not realize the negative effects it has on wildlife and the environment. To create awareness around it, he made a poster and started posting them in the community. We are very proud to see his thoughtful initiative and proactive spirit! Ishan is an example of how we lead and not just follow.
- A sweet gesture by our passionate volunteers: Our volunteers, Santosh and Suraj donated the money that they earned by doing chores around the home for buying household essential products for those in need. They even wrote sweet notes to Ayesha aunty!
- Get to Know our volunteers: This month, learn what inspires Arun Kungiri and Siri Tantry to volunteer and what are their interests.
Baby Formula and Household Essentials Kits Drive
- Household essentials kits drive: EnE volunteers were very busy this month making various household essentials kits such as hygiene kits, dental kits, snack packs, care packages etc. for vulnerable families. 354 families benefited from this drive. Additionally, our volunteers made dental and hygiene kits for 50 pre-registered families from low income communities. We would like to thank our volunteers and donors for supporting and contributing to this drive wholeheartedly: Aanchal, Aarav, Abhinav B, Abhinav P, Alka, Arjun, Avi, Kai, Nihaar, Pranav, Preethi, Puneet, Reva, Ridhan, Shreya, Surya, Swara, Valli Palebu, Varun and all others who were involved in this drive.
- EnE East Bay Volunteers Household Essentials Kits Drive: Our east bay volunteers worked very hard to collect and put together dental kits, hygiene kits, razor kits and snack packs for vulnerable families impacted during these difficult times. They donated 200+ packages to Outreach and Sunrise Village Homeless Shelter dropped off bulk donations for Cleanstart Organization that provides shower and food for homeless. Amazing efforts and contributions by Aneeja, Anisha, Archana, Bindu, Ishaan, Kavya, Lijy, Neha, Ria, Rohan, Ruchee, Sasha, Vaishali and Yashas.
- Baby Formula Drive: We are still holding our baby formula drive! Thank you to everyone who is supporting this great cause! This month, volunteer Ishan collected donations from Dr. K K Bhatia MD FAAP pediatrician in Gilroy. Thanks to Dr. Peela for donating another round of baby formula.
PPE (Face Shields, Masks) Donations:
- Face Shields Donation: Our volunteer Neha made 800+ masks to donate to various healthcare workers. Redwood City Medical Center was one of the beneficiaries of her amazing drive. EnE is very proud of her initiative!
- N95 and KN95 Masks Donation: EnE donated masks worth $10k to various healthcare and medical centers, senior living homes, and nursing care facilities. This was possible only because of the support of our generous donors and our dedicated volunteers. One anonymous donor contributed $5k and helped place the order. Volunteer Avinash Sri launched a gofundme and contributed towards this project. Volunteer Arav Uragonkar taught chess during spring break as a fundraiser for PPE for frontline workers. Our volunteers also helped drop off the masks at various centers. Brookdale Senior Living, Brownell Residential Care, Carlton Senior Living, Hayward Hills Healthcare Center, Milpitas Care Center, Mt. Pleasant Nursing Center, Redwood Medical Center, and Woodlands Healthcare are some of the recipients of these masks. Thank you donors and kudos to all our volunteers who helped make this drive a success!
Online Initiatives of our Dedicated Volunteers:
- Baby Blanket Drive: Volunteer Sasha has made some beautiful baby blankets for those in need. Awesome creations, Sasha!
- Bollywood Dance Sessions for Special Needs Kids: Srita conducts dance sessions for special needs kids who enjoy her sessions a lot. Keep up the great work, Srita!
- Chess Lessons: Arav Uragonkar conducted chess lessons to raise funds for PPE. Great initiative, Arav!
- Drawing Lessons for Special Needs Kids: Our artist volunteer Anoushka teaches drawing to special needs kids. They enjoy her sessions very much and also send sweet thank you cards to her. Amazing job, Anoshka!
- Piano Lessons: Tanisha Tol conducts online piano lessons for kids in our community who would like to explore it as a hobby or take it up as a serious activity in a fun and stress free way. Great job, Tanisha!
- Podcast on Experiences of Working with Autistic Children: Volunteers Preethi and Siri share their experiences of working with kids with neurological disorders at: https://anchor.fm/narratewithneurate. Awesome initiative, Preethi and Siri!
- Read Along Sessions for Special Needs: Volunteer Praneeth has been doing an amazing job of conducting these sessions for special needs kids. Kudos to you, Praneeth!
- Spanish Classes: Our volunteer Kashvi conducts beginner level Spanish classes online. Great job, Kashvi!
- GoFundMe: Avinsha initiated GoFundme to raise funds towards PPE’s and contributed. $968.30
Sponsorship Opportunities at Shelters
- Meal Sponsorships to ASHAJYOTHI, Shelter for Special Needs Kids: Sponsorship opportunities available to feed ~70 abandoned special needs children (Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, Speech & Hearing Impaired, Polio, Down Syndrome etc.). We are extremely happy to inform you that our anonymous generous donor is doing a “Meal to Meal” matching gift up to 150 meals You are doubling up your contribution in helping to feed special needs children with nutritious food. Please block your dates and help us to make your contribution more impactful. Cost: $200 for full day meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), $80 for just Lunch or Dinner, $45 for breakfast. Signup at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948afae2aaaf49-2020
- Meal Sponsorship to SNEHA RIDES, Children Home for Kids affected by HIV: Sponsorship opportunities available to feed ~85 abandoned HIV positive children and orphans. Cost: $200 for full day meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), $80 for just Lunch or Dinner, $45 for breakfast. Sign up at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948afae2aaaf49-20201
- Payment Info: For sponsoring meals at AshaJyothi and SNEHA Rides, you can make payments online at https://empowerexcel.org/donate/ or by mailing the check, payable to ‘Empower and Excel’ at: Empower and Excel, P.O. Box 21555, San Jose, CA, 95151 U. S. A or even by cash. Please note that online transaction fees are charged to E&E, so please include those fees as well. Please do company matching wherever possible. (Tax-id: 47-3656395)
- A BIG Thank You to: Rachana Cheruvu, Ramani Cheruvu, Santoshi Tirumala, Kohli Family and Hasteer Family for sponsoring meals at ASHAJYOTHI during April 2020.
- A BIG Thank You to: Juluri family, Anurdah Bommaji, and Kumar Goel Family for sponsoring meals at SNEHA RidesI during April 2020.
