Overwhelming community support given for a noble cause of Uttarakhand Disaster

Chicago IL: On Sunday July 21, 2013 Mr. Jagmohan Jayara and Mr. Ravi Rawat natives of Uttarakhand hosted a very successful fundraiser at the India House Banquet, 1521 W Schaumburg Rd, Schaumburg, IL Both welcomed over 400 Guest to the Uttarakhand disaster relief fundraising event and with help of key volunteers like Mrs. Vandana Dalal, Mr. & Mrs. Sudha & Dr. Hans Upadhyay, Mr. Pritesh Gandhi, Mr. Paresh Patel, Mr. Jassi Parmar, Mr. Nilesh Patel, Mrs. Shree Mohanty, Mr. Amit Patel, Mrs. Shirley Hathaway, Mr. Raman Patel, Mr. Bob Shah, Mr. Ashok Shah, Mr. Suryakant Patel raised nearly $ 61000.00. The event raised money for the contribution of rebuilding Char Dham Uttarakhand, where the devastation and destruction is beyond belief and comprehension.

As the hall slowly filled with families and friends, the prominent Desi junction Radio Host Mr. Jassi Parmar and Mrs. Sudha Upadhyay a native of Uttarakhand took charge of the stage as Emcee. The program begin with a “Ganesh Stuti” by Sree Mohanty a professional singer followed by Indian national anthem by her & United States national anthem by Dr. Hans Upadhyay a native of Uttarakhand. A moment of silence was observed.

The main organizers Ravi Rawat, Jagmohan Jayara and Vandana Dalal were called upon to the stage by the MC to welcome the guests. Mr. Ravi Rawat shared his feelings and experience while he was in Uttarakhand during his childhood and the respect he got from the people all over the world for being native of Devbhumi Uttarakhand, he also urged the community to be United in times of national emergency and attesting the theme of our Indian national anthem; “Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravin, Utkal, Bang” as people from all states of India were present at the event. He prayed and hoped that the normal life will be restored soon in the Uttarakhand region of holly Ganges. Mr. Jagmohan Jayara thanked the community and said that Devbhumi Uttarakhand belongs to all of us. He updated the crowd on questions and queries of individuals on the use of funds; he assured that every penny will be used to benefit the affected individuals at grass root level. He showed his optimism to rebuilt Char Dham Uttarakhand. Vandana Dalal executive director of MAAC (Midwest Asian American center) a not for profit organization 501(C)(3) introduced Ravi Rawat the president of MAAC and Jagmohan Jayara the Director of MAAC by highlighting how their organization is supporting this great cause.

Mrs. Rita Shah sung a beautiful prayer appropriate for the occasson“A malik tere bande hum, Aise ho humare karm” Mrs. Shree Mohanty continued the program by singing, “Vaishnav Jan to tene kahia, Jo peer parai Jane re” her singing mesmerized the audience.

A heart touching video presentation featuring Char Dham Uttarakhand, the devastation and destruction in the Uttarakhand and the rescue operations by Indian Army compiled by Nilesh Patel was followed by a keynote speech from philanthropist and a native of Uttarakhand Mr. Jodh Singh Rawat who gave glimpses of mythological Uttarakhand and a modern Uttarakhand. Mr. JS Rawat spoke about how Panch pandvas went in the Kedarnath on the way to Vaikunth and only Dharma raj Yudhister and a dog were survived till end. He also threw light on how the Char Dham Gangotri, Yamnotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath were established by Adi Shankarachayra. He further added that Uttarakhand was founded on November 9, 2000 as the 27 state of Republic of India, having its capital in Dehradun. The population of Uttarakhand is 10,116,752. Out of total area of 53,484 square kilometers 93% is mountain. Garhwali and Kumauni are the two main regional languages and Hindi is the most widely spoken language, Mussoori, Nainital, Almora, Pouri, Tehri, Srinagar, Rishikesh and Haridwar are popular towns of Uttarakhand.

As soon as Emcees Jassi Parmar and Sudha Upadhyay announced the fundraiser Mr. Sunil Shah founder of new FIA took charge, he highlighted the tragic event of last month the Himalayan Tsunami and India’s worst Natural disaster of such an immense magnitude killing thousands of people. He said we all watched day after day helpless, sad and frustrated at our place, today we have opportunity to contribute to a mighty cause let’s pledge together, yes we are ready to extend our arm with heart full of compassion and kindness. His emotional appeal straight from the heart literally moved the entire audience and inspired them to donate generously. The checks were flowing and names were being announced of the noble donors, Mr. Om Dhingra pleged to adopt 2 orphan kids till there college education.
At this point Mrs. Shree Mohanty was joined by Mr. Ajai Kumar who sang duo with her, both were fabulous and there song selection was outstanding the crowd was seen enjoying all the favorite Bollywood numbers of theirs.

Speeches at the event were also given by Mrs. Anuradha Negi (vice consul, Indian Consulate Chicago) native of Uttarakhand and Mr. Sanjiv Pandey a Chicago based entrepreneur who spent his child hood in Joshimath (Uttarakhand). Both shared their feelings and experiences of Devbhumi Uttarakhand and showed their gratitude to all the supporters and attendees.

Mr. Jassi Parmar and Mr. Sunil Shah complimented and praised entire Chicago Indian community for being generous, which has always in unison stood for any cause and events for our country India and emphasized that there is a emergency and urgent call from our motherland and we need to respond. The checks kept flowing while names were being announced of the noble donors Mr. Suryakant Patel president Gujarat Samaj, Mr. Pritesh Gandhi, Mrs. Sudha Upadhyay, Mrs. Vandana Dalal, Mr. Jagmohan Jayara and Mr. Ravi Rawat were noticed collecting and counting donations.
And when the total amount was announced by Mr. Shah of $53,000 left everyone pleasantly amazed and satisfied that our target was reached. Later Mr. Ravi Rawat added that there were more donations on line by PayPal and prior the event, which is nearly $61000.00

Dr. Hans Upadhyay in his vote of thanks said, “Our fundraising dinner was an overwhelming success and we thank all those who attended for their support , this great cause wouldn’t have been successful without the dedication of countless of people who contributed their time and knowledge for their much-loved Devbhumi Uttarakhand are: MAAC, Uttaranchal Midwest Association of Chicago, Manav Sadhna, Brahma Samaj of Greater Chicago, Gujarat Samaj of Chicago, Bavis Gam Patidar Samaj, Hariom Temple, IAMA, Sindhi Samaj of Metropolitan Chicago, Laad Samaj of Greater Chicago, Surti Samaj of Chicago land, Share A Smile, KPSNA, Punjab Sports Club, Six Gam Patedar Samaj, Parham USA, United Punjabis of America, Yog Sadhna Ashram, Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago, IAYO, Desi Junction, Chan Pardesi Radio, Hi India, School of Indian Music, NIAPPI, Asian Media USA, Bollywood Awaaz ,PAO, UP Association, Indian Catholic Association of Chicago, FIA ( Hina Trivedi), NFIA ( Rita Sing), Med star Labs, India House and Waterford Banquet.

While the dinner was announced Mrs. Shree Mohanty and Mr. Ajai Kumar continued entertaining the crowd by the favorite Bollywood numbers. During the program Mr. Suresh Bodiwala (Asian Media USA), Mr. Hemant Brahmbhatt (Hi India), Mr. Ramesh Soperwala (India Post) and Mrs. Vandana Jhingan (TV Asia) were seen covering the event. In an interview FIA President Hina Trivedi congratulated the organizers Jagmohan and Ravi for the success of the event, Mr. Vijay Patel a local activist said in an interview that all the community should make a team effort to rebuilt Devbhumi Uttarakhand, NFIA president Mrs. Rita Singh extended her full support for the cause, MAAC public relation Director Mr. Kalpesh Joshi thanked the community for coming forward in big and large number. The event was attended by the prominent Community Leaders like Mr. Naren Patel, Dr Bharat Barai, Mr. Mafat Patel, Mr. Babu Patel, Kanti S Patel, Dr Ravi Trivedi, Mr. Vikkram Trivedi, Mr. JP Patel, Mr. Dinesh Gandhi, Dr. Mahesh Parikh, Mr. Ashok Shah, Mr. AN Salwan, Mr. Vipin Vadhera, Mr. Pramod Kumar, Mrs. Santosh Kumar, Mr. Kamlesh Shah, Mr. Suryakant Patel, Mr. Raj Patel, Mr. Mike Kalaria, Mr. Raj Goyal, Ms. Hina Trivedi, Ms. Rita Singh, Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Ms. Sunaina Reddy, Ms. Vandana Walia, Mrs. Nilam Bhardwaj and many other community leaders.

Please donate generously!
Log on to: www.uttarakhandrelief.org (PayPal: visa/MC/ Amex/Discover)
Write checks to: MAAC (memo: Uttarakhand relief fund)
Mailing Address: MAAC, C/O India House, 1521 West Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg IL -60194.