CRY New York Walk/Run 2011 – The walk will last a day, but the imprints will last forever

On Saturday September 17, 2011, NetIP Alliance Partner CRY – NY (Childrens Rights and You will host its annual Walk in support of children’s rights.  Hundreds of people will join in Riverside Park at 9am to raise awareness for the cause. 

If life is a race, some children start last. Millions of children are deprived of their basic human rights to food, water, shelter, healthcare and education. “Come, be part of this unique opportunity to create a lasting change”.

See how the change reaction works : http://youtu.be/qomPyMYWNQk

1. Team up!!!: With your friends, community, colleagues, neighbors, family

2. Raise Funds online: You may create an online page for yourself or your team & share

 *Onsite registration and packet pickup from 8:30am * 5K Competitive Run starts at 9:30am * 3K and 5K Fun Walk starts at 10.00am * USTAF Certified 5k course *

All participants receive attractive T-Shirts, memorabilia, snacks, refreshing drinks

Venue:RiversidePark,West 116th Street andRiverside Drive,New York ,NY10025

Contact: Malvika @914-302-7042 or Rakesh @ 201-220-4490

Email:  newyork@cryamerica.org

Website:  Cry Action Centers

This year, Be the Change Day will be on Saturday October 1, 2011, and the theme is: Rise Up In Service

Be the Change is a national day of service, coordinated by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), which is held on campuses and in cities across the country. The event is based on Mahatma Gandhi’s inspirational quote, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” and provides opportunities for South Asians to give back to their communities.  Click here http://www.saalt.org/pages/Be-the-Change.html for more information!

WHAT: Be the Change (BTC) is a national day of service organized by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) to commemorate the spirit of leadership through service. With this, we hope to inspire South Asian communities and their allies to strengthen their commitment to public service! Last year nearly 4,000 people volunteered from across the country!

 WHERE: In nearly 80 locations across the country! View a complete list of cities and campuses holding Be the Change, here:  http://www.saalt.org/pages/Be-the-Change.html. Don’t see your city? Contact us to make it happen!

 WHEN: On October 1st (unless otherwise noted).

 HOW CAN I HELP?:  You can participate in whatever volunteer activity you like – anything from youth empowerment to environmental justice! Register for BTC and local coordinators will contact you with the activities they have planned.

WHO MAKES IT HAPPEN:  Many volunteers just like you including South Asian community members, activists, professionals, students, and allies!

 HOW YOU CAN REGISTER: Please register to volunteer in your local city or campus here:  http://www.saalt.org/pages/Register-to-Volunteer.html

 WHO SHOULD I CONTACT FOR MORE INFO?: Please contact the National BTC Coordinator at btc@saalt.org or call SAALT at (301) 270-1855.

 CAN I STILL ORGANIZE THIS FOR MY LOCAL COMMUNITY?: Yes! Please contact the National BTC Coordinator at btc@saalt.org . SAALT will provide you many resources to implement a meaningful service project for you and your community!

 LEARN MORE HERE:  http://www.saalt.org/pages/Be-the-Change.html

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

NetIP welcomes Hospital For Hope

NetIP North America is excited to announce its second year in alliance partnership with Hospitalfor Hope an organization whose aim is to fund a hospital in the rural and underserved Indiastate of Jharkhand where the population is 100,000. The hospital will run primarily on patient fees and be community planned and operated by HFH partner Jagriti Vihara- a stable NGO thathas been in existence for over 30 years.

Recently HFH hosted a fundraising event in Seattle with their partner Construction for Changewhere the HFH flew in the Executive Director of HFH from India to the US for the first time.Fundraising continued in Palo Alto bwith HFH partner One World Children’s Fund.

At the end of summer 2011, HFH will begin construction on the hospital. When asked how shefelt about continuing the partnership with NetIP NA, and taking the hospital initiative to the nextlevel (from fundraising to construction), HFH Communications Chair Melanie Kannokada had this to say: “Hospital for Hope is sincerely thankful for all the marketing and networking support it hasreceived through the NetIP NA alliance. We are happy to announce that we have achieved our fundraising goals and will begin the next phase of our work: constructing a hospital inJharkhand, India to serve over 100,000 villagers.”

NetIP NA and HFH share the bond of community service and its apparent why HFH volunteershave been so dedicated to raising funds for this hospital despite the recently depressingfundraising climate. Perhaps their passion was fueled because Jharkhand is nearly a threehour drive from Ranchi the nearest city and adverse weather (monsoons), and financialconditions (it takes 1 day’s salary to travel to Ranchi) prevent or deter villagers of Jharkhandfrom receiving proper medical attention. In fact malaria was eradicated from the region in the1980s but has made a resurgence in the area. Other conditions such as tuberculosis, dysentery,and typhoid are still prevalent. Corruption and mismanagement have left this rural region with asevere lack of critical infrastructure and public works unfunded.

NetIP NA celebrates its partner’s recent success and will continue to support this admirable cause. To find out how you can help, please visit their website at www.hospitalforhope.org

NetIP North America’s Alliance Partners can be found here.

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.

CiC introduces: Hope Abides

Charity is Colorblind. CiC is NetIP North America’s initiative to raise funds for worthy causes world wide. Our first-ever charitable fundraising campaign across North America supports causes ranging from education to hunger to cancer. We also are proud to recognize organizations that do a lot of good out there. Support our efforts on Facebook Causes.

From the desk of Brent Adams, Founder/President, www.hopeabides.org

Hope Abides is a U.S. based 501(c)3 organization founded in 2010 whose mission is to provide help and hope to orphaned and destitute children in the Indian sub-continent. Not only is our ultimate goal to help these children with their immediate needs, but to work towards providing them the ability to grow into independent and productive adults.

We believe that an education is the best tool a child can have in order to escape poverty; however, in order to get an education a child first needs the necessities of life such as shelter and food. The mission of Hope Abides is to work with existing orphanages and organizations in India to make sure that basic needs are provided and children have the opportunity to go to school.

Hope Abides also understand that poverty, hunger and illiteracy are not limited by gender or religion; accordingly, we help children regardless of their gender or religious background and seek help from all regardless of nationality or faith. We are proud to say that our leadership team is comprised of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians.

Program description:
We have developed a three phase strategy to reach our goal of lifting these children out of poverty:

1. In our first phase, we will partner with existing well-run orphanages in India to help with the funding of priority necessities. This phase is happening in 2011 and 2012. The first region we are focusing on is Andhra Pradesh.
2. In our second phase we will take our lessons learned from the previous phase and help struggling orphanages with funding, operations and other issues. This phase will start in 2013.
3. The third and ultimate phase of this program will be to expand the operations of our partner orphanages or plant new orphanages so that we can increase the total number of orphans being helped. Hope Grows will likely begin in 2015 or 2016.

Why are we unique?
The approach of Hope Abides is unique because one of our main goals is to work towards a mentoring relationship between well-run and struggling orphanages. This will allow us to maximize each dollar spent since each orphanage with whom we partner will be expected to pay-it-forward to subsequent orphanages. We are scalable so that with $10,000 we can reach dozens; with $100,000 we can reach hundreds and so on.

Project budget:
Our phase one work, which takes place during 2011 – 2012, is currently budgeted at $40,000. We hope to achieve this goal through a combination of donations, grants and fundraising dinners. Ideally, we will also obtain some corporate sponsors. We strive to keep overhead costs as close to zero as possible; consequently, all administrative costs (with the exception of fees for fund transfers) are paid via product donations or out of the personal funds of Board members.

Summary:

I hope I have struck a balance between too little detail vs. too much detail about our organization and mission. If you would like more information about us, please feel free to call or email me. One of the reasons I joined NetIP was to spread the word about our goals and to garner support for our work, I appreciate the chance to tell you about us.

As you might know, the vast majority of all grants in the U.S. are used for domestic purposes, so raising funds and support for this type of work is challenging. That being said, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward. I know many opportunities will be available within India in the years ahead and I am excited about the possibility of allowing these children a chance at some of those opportunities.

Thanks again for learning about Hope Abides and I look forward to hearing from you.

Brent Adams