Post-event Press Release: Contact:
November 5, 2009 Bhupen Mehta
bhupenmehta@yahoo.com
INDIANS FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION (ICA) HONORED S.R.HIREMATH, DR.NILIMA SABHARWAL AND A COLLEGE YOUTH PROGRAM (INSPIRE)
AT ANNUAL GALA AND DINNER ON NOVEMBER 1 IN MILPITAS (CA)
Palo Alto, CA – Indians for Collective Action (ICA) held its Annual Gala and Dinner on Sunday, November 1, 2009 evening at the India Community Center in Milpitas. Several ICA partners who are local Bay Area non-profit organizations such as Association for India’s Development (AID), Asha for Education, Foundation for Excellence (FFE), Home of Hope, InSPIRE and SEWA attended. Several people who have supported ICA’s mission over last 40 years were in the audience. ICA has just started new program for the youth to connect with ICA’s partners in India and several non-profit organizations to do hands on service work during summer vacation. These young college graduates performed a very entertaining skit to share their experiences in India. They were very candid about how their lives have changed. Many young students and their parents were very pleased with this interactive program. ICA raised about $100,000 donations for various projects in India.
The Gala honored two exceptional individuals and an innovative youth program for their dedication and commitment to social transformation in underserved communities. ICA honored Mr. S. R. Hiremath, for his three decades of service to India. He is the founder and head of Samaj Parivartan Samuday (SPS) in Dharwar, Karnataka and India Development Service (IDS) in the US and India. Mr. Hiremath is a leading advocate for the empowerment of the rural poor, self rule, and community control over natural resources. Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, a Bay Area native was recognized for her role in creating Home of Hope, a funding organization that supports over 2000 orphaned, destitute and disadvantaged children in India. Dr. Sabharwal’s organization recently adopted a project in Berkeley California. Also honored was the India Summer Program Inspiring Reflective Exploration (InSPIRE) which works with South Asian youth, educating and engaging them in social service in India through creative projects.
ICA was founded in 1968 with the mission to support sustainable development in India by partnering with dedicated activists and non-governmental organizations. Since its inception, the organization has supported over 300 innovative, community-based projects in 23 Indian states in the areas of health, education, microfinance and holistic rural development. In addition, ICA has facilitated the incubation and growth of like-minded organizations in the Bay Area such as Asha for Education and the Foundation for Excellence. In 2007, ICA created the Sarah Kailath Women’s Leadership Award to build a community of future women leaders from Indian NGOs in fields related to issues supported by ICA, including human rights, women’s rights, health, rural empowerment, poverty alleviation, livelihood, environment and others.
“We welcome you to our fifth decade of service,” stated Bhupen Mehta, President of ICA. “By partnering with grass roots organizations and activists on the ground in India, we have worked hard to make a difference in the lives of many underserved populations. We will continue to serve the needs of our local donor community to support the deserving projects and people in any part of India.”
For more information, please contact Bhupen Mehta at bhupenmehta@yahoo.com or Abhay Bhushan at akbhushan@aol.com . For more information visit www.icaonline.org
###
