May 2021 Newsletter
“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” – Margaret Cousins
MAY month was a busy and happening month. The Sun was warming, the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming, and the garden started growing.
Non-Profit of the year: Senator Dave Cortese selected E&E as a Non-profit of the year for Senate District 15. E&E is truly honored and to be placed in such distinguished ranks as those of the past honorees. We want to thank every single volunteer, supporter, and donor for making this possible. It is a reflection of our teamwork to make our community better by putting our youth in the front line.
May 9th Mother’s Day – Mother’s smile brightens each day and makes it better than the last. Happy Mother’s Day to all wonderful moms out there from our E&E.
May 31st Memorial Day – a poignant reminder of the tenacity of life. It’s tradition to raise the flag on this day. Let us remember those who sacrificed their lives for the peace and security of our county.
Good luck and congratulations to all high school graduates! You have achieved a great milestone today. E&E wishing you many more successes in the future.
India faces the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world during the second wave of infections in the country.
Volunteer of the Month : SriVibha Yellamraju
Vibha has been working with special needs children for a while now. “She is patient, she puts in a lot of effort to understand the level the child is at and tries her best to make reading comprehension easier for the child. We really appreciate her patience and kindness.” Kind words from our partnered organization.
Important Monthly Reminders:
Instructions on How to Check your Event Sign-up on DonorView:
- Log on to E&E volunteer DonorView
- Click on the “Events” button
- Click on the “print ticket” button
Please Remember the following
- Please sign in to your DonorView account before you sign up for an event. (The advantage of signing in to your account first is that the attendant fields will be auto-filled for you, making your signup process a lot more efficient. Also, it will avoid the creation of multiple accounts.)
- Make sure to check your email for sign-up confirmation and event ticket.
- In the event that an update is required we will post it on the group chat and send Donorview update email.
- The event sign-up page also has the latest info. Please check there first if you have any questions.
- Please Note: Deleting a sign-up requires admin intervention so please only sign up when you are certain of your availability.
- We announce new events on the WhatsApp group first as events become available. If you have recently joined E&E, it’s best to sign into your Donorview account to see ongoing events. Click on the “event” icon. In the upper- right hand corner you will see a pull-down menu for ongoing events. Here is a short info document on Donorview:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XnpAMjnXXaVjcqG27_WW2tnnFMX8dJoSvXK139z0j_0/edit
* Please Enter Your Volunteer Hours as soon as you are done with your activity
Presidential Volunteer Service 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:
- Please use the following link to shop on Amazon.com: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/47-3656395. When you shop using this link, Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to EnE.
Now for a Quick Recap of Our May 2021 Activities
As the second wave of COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across India thousands of families have lost their kin to the deadly virus. With our donor’s support, we were able to sponsor COVID triage and isolation centers in 15 locations between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Vijayawada, Vinukonda, Tadepalligudem, Hyderabad, Khammam, Narsaraopeta, Srikakulam, Palakollu, Gollala Mamidada, Tenali, Ongole, Vizianagaram, Matsyapuri, Kandukuru and Narsampet. For more pictures please check out https://empowerexcel.org/india/
Thanks to all donors and youth. fundraisers for reacting quickly and making this possible. Very proud to see our youth volunteers Aishwarya Manga, Saahas Kohli, Nihaar Charagulla, Anisha Pallikonda, Arun Kunigiri, Abhinav Palivela, and Anoushka Kolluru. for stepping up and launching GoFundMe initiatives to support this project.
We want to give a big shoutout to our India’s head Mr. Kalyan for being at ground level and managing everything solely. Together we can fight #COVID-19!!!
Handmade Baby Blankies for the community. Dropped off Baby Blankets in Gilroy with Patti Penna who works for Santa Clara County. Blankets will be distributed to low income families and migrant families at Carry the Vision a non profit organization in Gilroy. Thank you to our volunteers Neil, Anuraag, Shuvam, Aditi, Mihira, Saahiti, Riya, Aishwarya, Shreeya, Naisha, Sairevanth, Shrihan, Reeva, Ridhan, Rishab, Ruhan, Avi and Aishwari for the lovely blankets that you all made with love.
- EnE volunteers made hot meals and sandwiches for the unhoused population in East Bay, South Bay, and Santa Cruz
- JW House, a center that supports families facing medical difficulties
Volunteers conducted shoe drive for low-income communities.
Dollup Project: We sorted, organized, and donated 100’s beautiful dresses for girls and women in low-income communities.
Little bakers baked 100’s of goodies for the community
Volunteer distributed lunch packages and clothing to the unhoused population.
Young tutors had fun teaching their little tutees different subjects, chess, and art.
Our volunteers conducted Mothers day and STEAM activities for children from low-income community. We had raffle and fun incentives for children who participated.
EnE’s Global Volunteer Initiatives: Supporting ASHA JYOTHI
- EnE volunteers and their families have been wholeheartedly supporting AshaJyothi, a shelter for abandoned special needs kids in India through their generous donations and meal sponsorships.
- A BIG Thank You to all the families who sponsored meals during May month: Seth family, Masson family, Madhav family and anonymous donors.
- Please sign-up here if you are interested in sponsoring meals for ~70 special needs kids and their staff of 15 people. We are very happy to share that our anonymous donor is matching two meals for every meal sponsored in the year 2021. Cost: $200 for full-day meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), $80 for just Lunch or Dinner, $40 for breakfast: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948afae2aaaf49-2021
- Payment Info: Use one of the methods below to make a payment (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)
- Pay online at: https://empowerexcel.org/donate/
- Zelle transfer to: empowerandexcel.np@gmail.com
- Mail the check, payable to ‘Empower and Excel’ to: Empower and Excel, P.O. Box 21555, San Jose, CA, 95151 U.S.A
- By Cash
