2014 Updates

Dear Saibandhus,

Shirdi Sai Parivaar (SSP) wishes all our Saibandhus a very happy and blissful New Year. With Baba’s blessings and your continued support, in 2014, we participated in several charitable and community services and also initiated a few projects.

The year 2014 also marks the 10th anniversary since SSP was incorporated (Oct 29^th 2004). To celebrate this momentous occasion, we have planned year-long charitable and community based activities (feeding the hungry: sandwich seva, homeless shelter cooking, blanket/toy drives, health clinics, blood drives etc.).  Details of these programs are currently being worked out and we will keep you posted regarding the same.  Below is an update of all our activities in 2014.

• Charity & Community Activities
  • Encourage and support higher education: Helped underprivileged students for their higher educations by providing scholarships
  • Five scholarship ($1000 each) were provided to high school graduates from the Milpitas Union school district for their college education.
  • $1500 was provided to Saburi Charity, a San Jose based NPO, which provides support for underprivileged students in Tamil Nadu, India.

• Provide assistance to local and international non-profit organizations:

• $2500 to The Earth Saviours Foundation, a New Delhi based NGO. The Earth Saviours Foundation provides selfless service to abandoned senior citizens, deprived, mentally disabled and homeless individuals in New Delhi.
• $3000 to Asha Jyothi for Vishakapatnam Hud Hud Cyclone relief.
• $4200 to Kashmiri Organization of America, a New York based NPO,for disaster relief in Jammu & Kashmir.  This also includes 10% of the funds from the SSP 2014 fundraising activity.
• Partner with local charitable organizations
  • Blanket drive: SSP delivered 165 blankets to local NPO’s like Sacred Heart Church and Project We Hope
  • Toy & school back packs drive: SSP delivered 235 toys & school back packs/supplies to Family Giving Tree
  • As part of the 10th anniversary celebrations, SSP also contributed $500 each for toy and blanket drive
• Community services
  • Bone marrow drive in partnership with Asian American Donor Program
  • Blood drive in partnership with Stanford Blood Center
  • Free flu shot clinic in partnership with Walgreen Pharmacy
  • Free health and educational Seminars
  • Delivered sandwiches to local homeless shelters and participated in on-site cooking at a homeless shelter in the Bay Area
  • Provided several language, music, dance, educational and yoga classes for the community
• SSP Fundraising

On November 1st, SSP conducted a fundraiser to raise funds for various facility upgrades such as remodeling of the kitchen and HVAC units. 10% of the net proceeds from the fundraising event were distributed to Kashmiri Organization of America involved in providing assistance to the families affected by the flood in Jammu & Kashmir. With BABA’s blessings and support from our Saibandhus, SSP raised net $31,809 (received $37,193, direct expenses $5,383.9).

• Kitchen Upgrade Status

As shared earlier, SSP is in the process of upgrading the existing kitchen so that we can prepare prasadam in the premises during Thursdays and event days for our devotees. This would also help SSP to expand the community services by preparing hot food and delivering it to the local homeless shelters. So far we have identified the architect for the project. We are currently reviewing the designs that will be appropriate for our facility. We will keep you updated as we reach the key milestones along this process and hope to get this completed in 2015.

• Loan Payment Status

By Baba’s grace, over the past four years, we have been able to reduce the loan amount quite substantially from about $4 Million USD to ~$2.6 Million.  In 2014, we paid $500K towards the loan.

All this and the Shirdi Sai Center would not have been possible without the constant support and cooperation of our devotees and volunteers. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to you and your family for your constant support over years.

Devotees interested in more information regarding SSP activities, classes or community services that are offered are requested to send an email to [email protected] or call us on 408-909-1221 or visit our website www.shirdisaiparivaar.org and follow us on Facebook.

                    Bow to Shri Sai – Peace Be to All

Sairam,

Shirdi Sai Parivaar

E-Mail       : [email protected]

Address   : 1221 California Circle, Milpitas, CA 95035

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/shirdisaiparivaar.milpitas