NetSAP DC CiC Launch – Best Kept Secret!

NetSAP DC unveiled its best kept secret this past Thursday March 15, 2012 with the launch of the Charity is Colorblind Campaign.  The buzz started weeks before with teasers that were released through the newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter about their biggest, boldest and best initiative yet.

 NetSAP DC engaged the attendees of the event through an inspiring video that introduced them to the Charity is Colorblind campaign and NetIP’s nationwide cause – education.  

NetSAP DC also revealed their big goal of raising $100K for their 2012 beneficiaries:  Teach For America and the Nanubhai Education Foundation.  Making both a local and  international impact, the money that is raised will go towards sponsoring 2 D.C. Public Schools and teacher development activities in rural India.

  After the big reveal, attendees had a chance to test their knowledge of education policy and inequities by answering questions to earn tickets to participate in a raffle that took place at the end of the event.  Some of the startling figures and facts attendees were made aware of included that in our Nation’s capital, 8th graders read on levels equivalent to the national average for 4th graders.

 In rural India, students without functional knowledge of English are at an extreme disadvantage when competing for jobs.  The education gap, locally and internationally, is a gross injustice and a cause that is worth fighting for to ensure that ALL children have the tools that they need to have a successful life.

 Our launch event was held at Café Asia with about 85 community members in attendance.  We had the pleasure of welcoming Joelle Formato, a DC Teach for America corps member, who spoke about her invigorating work as a teacher along with Raj Shah, the founder of the Nanubhai Education Foundation.

  The release of the campaign caused much excitement among the attendees and the Washington DC community is looking forward to making a difference and giving back!

 To donate to this cause – NetSAP DC’s FirstGiving Page

 To find out more about the beneficiaries, see these videos:

•  Teach for America (DC Region)
•  Nanubhai Education Foundation

Vote for Raj Shah

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The CLASSY Awards is just one way StayClassy supports the philanthropic community. It is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide.
 
This year, Nanubhai Education Foundation Raj Shah is among the 25 finalists, chosen out of hundreds, for Volunteer of the Year.

The Volunteer of the Year award is awarded to the individual whose submission best embodies the ideal qualities of a volunteer: passion, perseverance, and heart. The Volunteer of the Year will be an individual that continuously gives his or her time and energy to further a noble cause and benefit others.

Proceeds from the award winnings go entirely to the winning charity to fund its projects.

A reserve F-16 Pilot in the US Air Force, Raj is also is the Vice President of Federal Systems, a defense-focused investment firm. Now in its 6th year, Nanubhai impacts 8,000 students in rural India and has sent over 25 American teachers to India. In the USAF, Raj served two tours of duty in Iraq flying 38 combat missions. Raj has also worked as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Previously Raj worked at McKinsey & Co. serving both private and public sector clients. Raj has had a life-long passion for adventure – he has led a 4,000-mile flying safari through Africa, completed a marathon, and motorcycled through the Himalaya. Raj holds an AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Soros Fellow.

Please help Raj and the Nanubhai Education Foundation win this award by casting your ballot here

Meet Raj Shah at the NetIP conference, buy your tickets NOW!

The Genesis of IISD: a Cultural Heritage Story brought to you by Western Union

Western Union is a proud sponsor of NetIP’s stories of Cultural Heritage, Drops. Ripples. Waves.

Shomik Chaudhuri is a UN Representative for the Institute of  International Social Development, a NetIP North America Alliance Partner.

I was born into privilege with my father heading the largest printing ink company in India and with my siblings, got schooling from La Martinere School, Kolkata, regarded as one of the best schools in India.

Yet, our parents made us conscious of the deprivation all around and service to humanity was made a priority during our leisure. So, along with our studies and training in various skills, arts, and sports, we also got to serve people who needed help.

My sister Rajyashree and I developed a passion for rendering service and got ourselves volunteering in a local NGO that had some affiliation with the United Nations. My mother, having done her thesis in United Nations related subjects for her Masters, inspired us to work with the United Nations. We transformed the local NGO into a national NGO with 23 branches within 6 years.

After a national conference organized by us with Jadavpur University on ‘Social Development and NGO Management’ in January 1995, came my biggest break when I was chosen to represent the United Nations System in India to the ‘World Summit for Social Development’ in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995. I was the youngest person in UN history to represent the UN at a world summit.

My experience from the trip was an insight into the vastness of opportunities that existed in networking at the international level that could be used to better serve the underprivileged.

To fulfill our dreams back home, Rajyashree and I formed Institute of International Social Development (IISD) under Section 25 of The Indian Companies Act, 1956, as an international NGO that could work to bring about transformation in people’s lives in real terms through sincere, honest, professional grade work and service.

The NGO was formed in October 1996 and in January 1997 we organized the First International Conference on Values for a Better World which had speakers like Dr. Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Nobel Laureates, among others.

To us values form the foundation of life and are essential for any work including developmental work to be fulfilling and sustainable. Our report from the conference is deemed as a valuable document at the United Nations on values even today.

We started on Project Sushiksha (Functional literacy) in the slums of Kolkata, slowly expanding into Project Suswasthya (Healthcare) and Project Shramdaan (employment generation). We also opened our branch in New York, U.S.A. in 1997.

Our projects, programs, workshops and other programs gave us the platform to seek Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations and we received this most prestigious Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations in October 2000. We are in the exclusive panel to recommend to the UN on various relevant issues based on which the world body would formulate their legislations.

From 2000, we also consciously framed every project to support the newly formulated Millennium Development Goals by the UN. That opened a whole new class of projects. Check www.iisd-ngo.org

Interested in Nonprofits? Meet Vikram D.Bakhru – Founder Int’l Medical Relief for Children

Do you have a passion for Nonprofits and making the world a better place? Come and meet Dr. Vikram D. Bakhru, who currently serves as a Director at New York Presbyterian Hospital/The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell in New York City.

Vik founded the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC) in 2002, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing health care access to children in underserved areas of the developing world. FIMRC now boasts a team of over 3,000 full-time staff and volunteers who work hard to further develop FIMRC’s self-sustainable revenue model and the world’s first non-monetary model of micro-health insurance.

Prior to medical school, Vik earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from The George Washington University as part of the Seven-Year Integrated Medical Program. Upon graduation from medical school, Vik pursued a surgical residency in Philadelphia and subsequently earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Health Care Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Learn more about him, and other brilliant speakers at the conference.

NetIP welcomes SAALT to the family

South Asian Americans Leading Together is a national, non partisan, non-profit organization that elevates the voices and perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations to build a more just and inclusive society in the United States. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s message, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” each year SAALT hosts a  “Be the change” day.

Be the Change offers community members, young professionals and students the opportunity to cultivate a culture of volunteerism in their lives. This year NetIP North America proudly supports SAALT and Be The Change.

An America for All of Us

Did you know that the week after September 11^th,2001, 645 reports of bias incidents and crimes targeting South Asians and Middle Eastern were reported? Or that between September 2001 and February 2002, approximately 1,200 individuals were detained by the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service, many of whom underwent secret trials and did not have access to legal counsel? Or that under the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program, rolled out in 2002, over 13,000 people were placed in deportation proceedings due to immigration violations but no national security threats were identified?

That a survey found that in 2007, 75% of Sikh male schoolchildren in New York had been teased or harassed on the basis of their religious identity? That the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reported a significant spike in workplace discrimination complaints against those perceived to be Muslim, Sikh or South Asian following September 11^th? These facts underscore how seriously communities have been hit by post-9/11 backlash.

An America for All of Us aims to bring people from all communities together to address this backlash and work to build a truly inclusive and fair country.

An America for All of Us is an initiative of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) in partnership with members of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations and ally organizations. The campaign marks the 10-year anniversary of September 11 through documentation, policy initiatives, and community mobilization.

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of September 11, our country will engage in a process of reflection and recommitment to fundamental American values. An America for All of Us seeks to contribute to this process by ensuring that the experiences of South Asians, Arab Americans, Muslims and Sikhs are part of our observations and understanding.

An America for All of Us is an initiative of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) in partnership with members of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations and ally organizations. The campaign marks the 10-year anniversary of September 11 through documentation, policy initiatives, and community mobilization. Join and support the campaign today.

About SAALT

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit organization that elevates the voices and perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations to build a more just and inclusive society in the United States. SAALT is the coordinating entity of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO), a network of 42 organizations that serve, organize, and advocate on behalf of the South Asian community across the country.

SAALT recently held the third, national South Asian Summit 2011, gathering over 250 professionals, students, non-profit and corporate staff members, government representatives and community members, among others. The Summit provided a forum to gather South Asians from all walks of life, and collectively strategize for solutions to issues faced by our communities. SAALT also encourages leadership development through its annual day of community service – Be the Change.

On the day, thousands of individuals from across the country participate in community service activities aimed to strengthen leadership. This year, Be the Change will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011. This year, SAALT has launched a campaign to mark the 10-year anniversary of September 11^th – An America for All of Us.

The campaign aims to document and include the perspective of South Asians in the national dialogue about the anniversary; and to demand accountability from our representatives and urge them to strongly condemn racism and xenophobia. To learn more about SAALT’s work, visit www.saalt.org.

Meet Nikhil Arora at the NetIP Conference

Nikhil Arora is the co-founder of  Back to the Roots (BTTR)

Phi Beta Kappa scholar, Nikhil is a May 2009 summa cum laude graduate of the University of California , Berkeley , from the Haas School of Business and Department of Political Science. Prior to founding Back to the Roots in 2009, Nikhil spent time in college involved in business development and operations advisory positions. He also spent nearly six months in 2007 studying and working at the University of Ghana, Legon to setup a campus-wide recycling program for the 30,000-person campus.

Read more about Nikhil and our other Community Service speakers at the official NetIP Annual conference site.