by Sejal Bhrambatt, National Liaison, Network of Indian Professionals Houston

NetIP Houston hosted and participated in its first annual For the Love of Food cook-off on Sunday February 21, 2010. After being approached by member Shephali Patel about this event to get the community involved in learning about healthy cooking and raising money for local charities, NetIP Houston eagerly got involved. Whole Foods Market and Madras Pavilion (MP) gladly donated their facilities and chefs to teach two cooking classes. The Whole Foods class focused on western dishes such as an asparagus pesto lasagna whereas Chef Sunil with Madras Pavilion focused on the Indian side of things like chhole, chicken and saag paneer.

The cook-off was open to those who participated in the cooking classes and also those who just wished to get involved and showcase their cooking skills. Madras Pavilion owner Mahesh Shah was such a great host and allowed us to have the cook-off at the restaurant. The weather was gorgeous and Jay also with MP helped us every step of the way. Pranav, NetIP Houston VP, set up his turntables and got the crowd going with the Bollywood tunes. MP also graciously served delicious appetizers and beverages to all of us. Our eight contestants had one hour to whip up a dish using paneer as its main ingredient. The dishes ranged from personal creations to fusion entries. There was friendly banter back and forth but definitely with a competitive edge! Our own president, Farida, was one of the contestants and represented NetIP Houston fabulously.

At then end of the hour, the contestants presented their dishes to the two judges. Mr. Shah with MP and Rebecca with the Houston Food Bank judged all the dishes on taste and presentation and Tyna with NetIP Houston presented prizes to the first, second and third place winners. The prizes were generously donated by local businesses. Upon presentation of the prizes, everyone had an opportunity to sample the tasty dishes.

All the money raised through the cooking classes and the cook-off went to charity. Over $600 was raised and the money was split between the Houston Food Bank and a charity reputably linked the Haiti Earthquake relief efforts. We had a great turn-out and are looking forward to next year’s event!

Reprinted with Permission from Purti Ruchi Bali, President of the Network of South Asian Professionals DC

Originally posted on January 25, 2010 at http://netsapdc.wordpress.com/

January Third Thursday, January 21, 2010

We (NetSAP DC) held our first Third Thursday of the year at Hudson in Dupont Circle and had a great turnout. By my humble estimate, I think we had about 50 attendees (its hard to gauge as people come in and out of the happy hour). We had free appetizers and great bar specials. To add a professional element to the Third Thursday, we asked all attendees to wear name tags and attach star or smiley face stickers to indicate their professional industry (for example, my purple star meant that I’m a consultant). Most people were good sports and we got a lot of compliments for the simple and effective idea.

Hudson did get crowded as do most of our Third Thursday locations and this only reinforced the fact that Third Thursdays are our most popular event. Our Special Event Director is working hard to secure larger and new venues for this monthly event. We also took cash donations at the door to fundraise for Haiti relief efforts. The cash donations along with 50% of the door cover charge will be donated to NetIP’s National Charity Partner, the Grameen Foundation. In total, NetSAP DC donated $222.00 to the Grameen Foundation! Thank you for your donations! If you didn’t get a chance to attend this month’s Third Thursday, don’t worry there are 9 more to go this year!

Editor’s Note: Proceeds from this event where donated to The Grameen Foundation’s Haiti Relief Fund. Te Network of Indian Professionals North America has pledged to support the initiatives of the The Grameen Foundation in 2010.

Edited by Latha Nehru, VP of External Affairs, NetIP NA, www.NetIP.org

By Rupa Ramaswamy, Community Chair, Network of Indian Professionals Pittsburgh

An earthquake, never felt before

A Tuesday afternoon, 12th January 2010, with people all over the world still living in their memories about their New Year events and celebrations, an earthquake hit our planet, in the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This natural calamity was worst of its kind in 200 years with 7.0 magnitude followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Aaaahhhhhh!!!! This is how I responded when I first heard about this. The consequences of this earthquake were unimaginable to me. I quickly started browsing through different sites to get more information about this devastation. It was really sad to read about the aftermath of this incident. The photos made me feel even worse. Soon I learnt that the entire city, the capital of this tiny little country is totally destroyed leaving behind the survivors who are both physically and mentally wounded!!!!

Time to Act

The weekend following the earthquake, a Sunday afternoon, I was flipping through channels and listening to Haiti news. Suddenly I felt a need to do something to help these victims. So I immediately sent out an email to Network of Indian Professionals Pittsburgh board members asking for their opinion. Within few hours our team actively responded to the email and we decided to talk about this in the meeting, which was luckily scheduled the same evening. During the meeting, most of the members came up with great ideas. We all knew we had to act fast and decided to organize a fundraiser event at a local club ‘Firehouse Lounge’ and collect minimal cover charge from all the customers who visited that place. When we approached the club owner, he agreed to this but only on one condition, that being collection of cover charge only till midnight. The team definitely was concerned with this condition, as we didn’t know how much money we could raise. We did not have any $$$$ amount in our mind, but we wanted something substantial. Finally we decided to organize the Haiti Fund raiser event on following Friday evening at Firehouse Lounge.

(L to R) NetIP Pittsburgh Board Members: Pradeep Modi - Social & Co-Cultural Chair, Preetham Gowda - Co-President, Ketaki Desai - Co-President, Rupa Ramaswamy - Community Chair

The Event Day

Friday, 29th January 2010, members of NetIP Pittsburgh, met in the evening and headed together to the club. Two of our team members had also made posters for this event, which were displayed at the entrance of the club. It was 9:30pm and we were all set and ready to start the event. We were definitely concerned in the beginning as we had only few people entering the lounge between 9:30 and 10pm. As the clock ticked, we had more and more coming in and our cashbox started filling up. Within no time, we had a long queue at the entrance. This lounge happens to be a very popular place and they did expect a good number to show up especially on a Friday night. Also fortunately, that evening the lounge had special DJ who volunteered to help us by repeatedly announcing about our fundraiser. A few customers at the lounge were really thrilled by this event and generously gave more than the cover charge. Since we had a deal with the owner to collect the charge only till midnight, everyone in the team was looking at his or her watch, as the minute hand seemed to tick faster than usual. Even before we realized, it was midnight and we were asked to stop the collection.

Everyone in the team was curious about the outcome of the event and patiently waited to hear the final amount. Within no time, one of our team members came out with the total. Yes, NetIP Pittsburgh had raised $1000 in two hours!!!!! It was an Ah Ha! moment to the entire team.

Thanks to Firehouse Lounge and all the wonderful people who helped NetIP Pittsburgh in its efforts to help Haiti victims.

Editor’s Note: Proceeds from this event where donated to the Grameen Foundations’s Haiti Relief Fund. NetIP North America has pledged to support the initiatives of the The Grameen Foundation in 2010.

Edited by Latha Nehru, VP of External Affairs, NetIP NA

www.NetIP.org

By Sumina Bhatti, Sponsorship / Fund-raising Director; NetIP Austin

Though it’s less than a year old, the Network of Indian Professionals Austin Chapter is making a splash.  The Chapter’s board of 13 committed leaders is quickly taking the group to a higher level of success in 2010.  With President Sonia Kotecha at the helm for a second year and a board retention rate of 100%, the NetIP Austin crew is dedicated to helping each other and our community.

On Friday January 22^nd, NetIP Austin partnered with Submerged Martini Lounge for a Fundraiser benefiting Haiti.  One dollar of every drink purchased that night was donated to Doctors Without Borders.  The event was a great success for both Submerged and NetIP with a 70% increase in attendance from events a year ago and we saw many new faces. NetIP Austin used the power of social networking through mediums like Facebook, and this brought out many first-time folks with several committing to becoming paid members.

NetIP Austin holds regular events, including a monthly Dinner Circle for that allows professionals to network in a relaxed environment; monthly happy hours; and Quarterly Politics and Pizza events to discuss current political issues.  Our new leadership team has formed a regular community service initiative that is going strong with one event per month. Past events have included everything from Tree Planting, Book Sorting, and Canned Food sorting at the local food bank.

The NetIP Austin chapter is committed to creating a culture that encourages service opportunities and engagement within our community.  The chapter plans to include many more events that give back to the community and that provide valuable social, professionals, and cultural activities.

Edited by Latha Nehru, VP of External Affairs, NetIP NA

Dear NetIP Family,

For more than a week now you have all seen the devastating images from Haiti and read heartbreaking accounts of surviors from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck one week ago today. While there has not been an official estimate of the tragic loss of life that has occurred, the figures appear to be in the tens of thousands.

According to the CIA World Factbook, roughly 80% of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line, which further underscores the urgency of this crisis.

Our non-profit partner the Grameen Foundation has setup a fund to collect donations to support not only immediate disaster relief and much-needed humanitarian aid for Haiti, but also long term relief through micro-finance loans that will create jobs and help rebuild the city of Port-au-Prince. NetIP North America has pledged to assist in these fundraising efforts and we urge you to donate today. If every single one of our members donates just $15, we can raise over $150,000!

If you have already donated to this important cause, then Thank You! However, Haiti’s path to recovery can be further accelerated with your additional support and generosity. When the news cameras are gone and Haiti is no longer the cause of the moment, The Grameen Foundation will still be there providing long term sustainable development through micro-credit and micro-finance loans.
An important mission of the Network of Indian Professionals is to bring the South Asian community together in a common movement to support those in need during such catastrophic times. Again, please CLICK HERE to donate now .

To read about the work Grameen is doing in Haiti please visit their Blog

Thank you for making a difference,

The 2010 NetIP North America Team

www.NetIP.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_of_Indian_Professionals