December 29, 2010 Dear Friends 2010…. What an exciting year for HASC! ….As we close on the first decade of the 21st century, our first year of operation, we stand on the threshold of bringing the collective efforts of Seva in America to greater prominence…. And we need your support to sustain the progress as highlighted in our year-end summary. At inauguration, President Obama said, “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.". And with that Hindu Americans became part of the publicly recognized mosaic, secular and as well s faith based America, ready to strengthen our country. In 2010 we demonstrated our readiness to begin the journey. The appointment in April 2009 to President’s Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership Advisory Council gave us an appreciation of the faith based organizations’ role in serving the community and highlighted our gaps. The Council gave recommendations on six specific issues: Economic Recovery and Domestic Poverty; Environment and Climate Change; Fatherhood and Healthy Families; Global Poverty and Development; Inter-religious Cooperation; and Reform of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. This understanding and the Seva infrastructure gap within the Hindu American community lead to the formation of Hindu American Seva Charities to bring Seva to prominence and connect with the U.S. agencies. Enthusiastic cooperation from many Hindu American and secular leaders, organizations, temples, and the talent of our Board, Advisors and volunteers to respond to the President’s Call to Serve, enabled us to expand the sphere of Seva , collect data, analyze our needs, and develop the recommendations for inclusion of America’s Religious and Cultural diversity which were presented on March 9th to the President and senior administration officials and shortly thereafter to many secular and Dharmic spiritual leaders. Points of Light and Corporation for Community and National Service (CNCS) recognized our efforts and provided three AmeriCorps Vista members to support our work, a first for the Hindu American community. Though working with minimal resources, their guidance enabled us to develop strategies to implement the recommendations we made to the President. The attached report highlights our key achievements for 2010. In the New Year, in collaboration with several Hindu American and interfaith organizations we hope to develop Seva Center prototypes to serve the many communities and assist the economically disadvantaged. Our signature Seva program UtsavSeva (FestivalSeva) has the support of many secular and spiritual leaders. This program augments the First Lady’s Let’s Move Faith and Communities initiative. Partnering with CNCS we hope to showcase our community’s engagement in these important national initiatives. We request you to kindly document your participation in service programs and continue sharing it with us. We have just
begun the journey and are very grateful for the support we have received from
the community. Please take a look at the attached list of our achievements
during 2010. As we develop more partnerships to implement these important
initiatives, we’ll also need more support from you to build on the momentum as
we move forward. There is much to be
done. As the year winds down, we request you to send your tax deductible
donations to HASC, 53 Trocha Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039 or online
through paypal. On behalf of the entire Hindu American Seva Charities team we thank you and wish you a very Happy New Year. We look forward to advancing Seva programs all across America with your kind and generous support. Thank you, Anju Bhargava |