By Ragoo Raghunathan

If you have been recently laid-off, furloughed or are just making a career transition, I would highly recommend creating a LinkedIn profile if you don’t already have one. It is pretty easy. Once you make a profile, start making those connections and expand your network.

A friend of mine asked me, “Why do I need a LinkedIn profile? I am sending them my CV, why can’t they just see my CV and hire me for what I am?”

The answer is simple. Before they read your CV, the employer wants to see your profile and see who you are connected to, do you have common connections, what are your affiliations, how do you present yourself professionally, endorsements and skills etc. Most of the time, who you know becomes more important than what you know. It doesn’t matter if you are not directly connected to someone at the organization where you hope to get a job. You just need an indirect connection to someone who is. If you have connections that can get you closer to a recruiter or a hiring manager, use them.

On LinkedIn you can pretty much build your professional brand and let the profile do the talking for you. It is imperative to include all the key words that may appear in a job description that you are trying to match with, in your profile.

Most employers nowadays are advertising their job openings on LinkedIn since they already are on it and that’s where all the candidates are. Most of these jobs allow you to apply directly by clicking on a button, where it sends the employer a link to your profile. And just imagine if your profile is incomplete, you are at a disadvantage off the bat. Especially if you are seriously looking for a job now, unless you have the most sought-after skills, you may see yourself applying to tens if not hundreds of positions before you secure one. It makes it way easier to apply if you have an updated profile on LinkedIn.

Once you are ready with an updated profile, there is an option to export your profile in a pdf format, or even build a resume. If you click on the ‘More…’ button in your profile page you have these options. That comes in handy.

If you are a 1^st connection of mine, I have made my connections on LinkedIn visible to you via my profile (www.linkedin.com/in/ragoo). I encourage everyone to do the same, however big or small your following. It costs nothing and can positively change the life of another beyond measure, especially during these COVID times.

When you are thriving in the world you don’t stop to look down. You stop to help others get up!

It’s all about networking online and especially on LinkedIn. Good luck.

by Yashvardhan Chauhan

Have you completed the 2020 Census yet? If not, you still have plenty of time as the U.S. Census Bureau has extended the deadline to complete the 2020 Census from the end of July to October 31st in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's now easier than ever to complete, since for the first time you can choose to respond online, by phone, or by mail. The more people who complete the census using these methods, the less people will have to go door to door, which is especially important during these times of social distancing. Additionally, the survey only consists of 12 questions and should take no more than 10 minutes in total to complete. Not only that, but unlike in previous years there will no longer be a question about citizenship status on the 2020 census, which means that there really is no reason not to fill it out. The census counts everyone citizens and non-citizens alike.

Although some may still view the census as an unnecessary hassle, it is of far greater importance than many individuals realize as it provides critical data that helps determine where billions of dollars in federal funding go. Perhaps just as importantly, the census also determines the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, which mirrors the number of delegates each state has in the Electoral College (which is the group that decides who becomes the president and vice president of the United States). As such, the census is critical in ensuring that each and every state is represented fairly at the national level.

In Loving Memory

Dr. Dhansukslal Mandalaywayla (Dr. Lal)

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you that our beloved father Dr. Dhansukhlal C. Mandalaywala passed away on Monday, May 18, 2020.

We will greatly miss his generosity, love for his family, especially for his grandchildren and his sense of service to the community. He served humanity by helping those who needed help the most and who would tend to be helped the least such as the mentally challenged, those suffering from opioid addiction and the uninsured.

He is survived by his son Amol and daughter Anjali and their families.

The funeral was held in Manchester, NH at the Cremation Society of New Hampshire. Due to the pandemic, it was streamed live.

The 12/13th day memorial ceremony for our dear friend and ISW Volunteer Dr Lal will be held on May 30th. The 'barmoo' 'termoo' will be held on Sat, May 30th, at 10 am EST. The pooja will be held at home while the pandit will conduct the ceremony/prayers via Zoom. If you wish to attend, please join via Zoom using the following link: https://echo.zoom.us/j/7818883200

Meeting ID: 781 888 3200

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made in honor of Dr. Mandalaywala, who was known as “Dr. Lal,” to continue his long-standing support of community:

India Society of Worcester’s Free Health Stop at this link Or

Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC) (http://www.ouricc.org ) Or

The donation can be sent to the India Society of Worcester, PO Box 136, Shrewsbury, MA 01545. Please indicate in the memo field “For the FHS in memory of Dr. Lal.”

It is with heavy heart and sadness that we share this news with you that Dr. Dhansukslal Mandalaywayla (Dr. Lal) passed away on May 18, 2020 at 4:45 AM at the UMass Medical Center due to complications of COVID-19 Infection.

Carolyn and I had known Dr. Lal for last 15 years when he started volunteering at the Free Health Stop at the India Center. He had been the backbone of our free health care services at the India Center. He was very caring, loving and a dedicated person to his family, his patients, and the profession of medicine. He had always gone above and beyond providing health care to his patients. He was a great teacher and a mentor to our medical students. Besides being a great physician, he was a loving father, grandfather, and a dear friend. He would be dearly missed. May God rest his soul in comfort and peace and give strength to his children, grandchildren, and all of us to cope with his loss. Memorial Services for Dr Lal will be announced later.

Carolyn and Sahdev Passey

To help community members at home under the state mandated Covid crisis related social distancing, several community members are offering a range of virtual activities to keep you and your family engaged. The activities range from online music and dance classes to wellness, yoga and fitness sessions. For a full list of offerings visit the ISW Website. To add your offering to the listing, please fill out a submission form here We also encourage our members who might need counseling or support during these times to reach out to the Crisis Committee at crisisteam@iswonline.org 

Offering	Name	Organization	Phone	Website or Email
Bharatnatyam	Kalaimangai Anbalagan	Amudhasri Dance School	508-353-8636	Amudhasri.com
Hindustani Music	Neelima Chaturvedi		508-523-7745	Neelima@townisp.com
Bollywood and Kathak classes	Darshana Jani		508-451-3190	djani99@gmail.com
Indian Folk dance - For current students only	Jasmine Shah		603-930-3783
Wellness Group Sessions for folks in Quarantine	Bhavna Srivastava		774-242-2112	Bhavanasrivastava@bhwellnessgroup.com
Art, Yoga and Exercise classes for kids	Anu Debroy		408-306-1881
Yoga for Adults	Alka Yadav-Mehta		774-288-9770
Bollywood Fitness	Sunita Kalyani		508-826-2848
Kids Art Work' for Digital Wall of Kindness for First Responders	Malini Mohankumar			malithenerd@gmail.com
Free Online Bollywood classes	Ekta Jain	Ekta Dance Academy	508-488-7775
Indian Classical and Devotional Music	Bhuvana Ganesh		508-409-9298
Vedic Math Summer Classes	Sunita Razdan	Vedic Math School	508-241-4903	vedicmath108@gmail.com
Free online chair yoga class for senior citizens, Monday at 10 am	Latha Radhakrishnan	Divine Heart Center		https://www.divineheartcenter.com/products/senior-citizen-chair-yoga-online-classes
Positivity and Relaxation Training (PART) Program	Vikram Dave	Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, MGH	508-904-2506	vdave73@gmail.com
Online Indian dance studio providing professional elite level and beginner dance classes, fitness coaching, and dance certificate programs	Sonali	Kaliyuga Dance Studios	617-383-9395	kaliyugastudios@gmail.com
Vedic Math Made Easy - learn techniques or sutras to solve math problems in a fast and easy way.	Kirti Kadam	Matcus Technologies	Whatsapp 7715012788	info@matcus.in www.matcus.in

The ISW community was well represented in the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair which was held virtually this year. Arnav Mishra, son of Neha and Amit Mishra, a sophomore at Shrewsbury High School and a member of the IYG group bagged a First Place Award. Arnav’s award winning project was titled “Helping the Deaf and Blind, One Step At A Time” and used multiple types of sensors to provide sensory feedback of the surroundings to visually handicapped.  Other winners included Gaurav Savant, son of Shrikant and Sapna Savant, who studies at Worcester Academy, and Amrita Thirumalai, daughter of Ajai and Sridevi Thirumalai and a student at the Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science.