Deadline for PVSA award extended to Feb 28, 2022

Thank you for your volunteer hours.

We hope to track the hours to recognize the amazing volunteers who contribute to India Society of Worcester

Try and fill it at the end of each quarter in 2021

Additionally, if you want, you can allow ISW to share your info to be considered for the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA). The PVSA recognizes incredible individuals who are committed to a high level of volunteer and service with a PVSA medal and a letter from the White House. More info at:

https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility#volunteers

To be eligible for President’s Volunteer Service Award, one has to be a  US Citizen or permanent resident.

If volunteers have volunteered for other organizations that do not have this PVSA program, we can combine it , depending on verification, as long as there is no duplication.

Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group

Age Group                        Bronze                 Silver                                          Gold         

Kids (5–10 years old)     26–49 hours      50–74 hours                              75+ hours 

Teens (11–15)                 50–74 hours       75–99 hours                           100+ hours 

Young Adults (16–25) 100–174 hours 175–249 hours                        250+ hours

Adults (26+)                    100–249 hours 250–499 hours                      500+ hours 

ISW re-launches multiple LGBTQ support 

---Vivian Saravanan, Shiamin Melville

Lambda is a peer-led safe space for LGBTQ+ youth of South Asian origin to connect with peers for informal discussion, support, and connection with the larger community. While the group is tailored to the South Asian LGBTQ+ experience, all are welcome!

Meetings occur every Wednesday from 8:00 - 9:00 PM via Zoom and feature activities and topics chosen by group participants. 

We recognize the individual talents and creativity of our youth and hope to provide a safe space for them to not only have fun but to feel welcome taking initiative in planning group activities. This is also a great leadership opportunity for older South Asian LBGTQ+ youth and adults.

To join our weekly meetings, or talk more about becoming a peer leader, please email lambda@iswonline.org.

ISW Family of LGBTQ+ Support Network

 The ISW Family of LGBTQ+ Support Network is a support group for family members of LGBTQ+ people meeting periodically. The aim of the support group is to provide an open forum for the discussion of touching issues raised by the intersection of Indian culture and LGBTQ+ people. An adult facilitator will be present to lead discussion and provide referrals to pertinent resources. 

For more information, send email to friends_of_lambda@iswonline.org

ISW Advisory board

School Counselor Shubh Agrawal, MEd, Harvard Teaching Fellow

Ami Popat-Jain, PhD

Pediatrician Dr. Sahdev Passey, MD,

Numerous resources through CenterLink and OUT MetroWest.

Enrollment is open, starting February 1, 2022

18 sessions, schedule determined by Tutor and parent.

Prepare your child for the second semester academic year.  Math, English, Spanish, French, Speech & Debate, Chess  and many more.  Tutor and Tutee will meet via zoom once a week for 18 sessions. One-on-One, no group classes.

Cost - $90 (18 sessions at $5 per session ) - ISW member

A separate registration is required for each subject

Funds collected are to be allocated to ISW Building Expansion.

Use ISW membership email id to login.  ISW Membership can be completed/renewed here.

We would also love to hear back from you, so please fill out the survey

ISW STRONG

--Ragini Seth

India Society of Worcester is back on the TD Garden floor after a 3 year hiatus. Not one but two performances

On Wednesday February 2nd Boston Celtics play against Charlotte Hornets: Darshana Jani’s group performs the pregame show.

On Thursday March 3rd Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies: Jasmine Shah’s group and Ekta Jain’s group perform the pregame show.

Three of our best choreographers are putting ISW back on the TD Garden map. We will have over 500 of our community members going to the games to watch their kids perform on the floor that the Celtics play. It is indeed a proud moment for all of us to keep the tradition going that was started in 2011. When we asked if we could schedule a pre game performance, Marc Rogers, our Group Celtics coordinator, did say we were his favorite group. He was amazed that we were coming in for two days. Yeah we are ISW STRONG. For more information please contact the choreographers directly.

Feb 2nd, 2022 Wednesday

Darshana Jani @508451-3190

March 3rd, 2022 Thursday

Jasmine @ 603-930-3783 and Ekta Jain @ 508 488-7775

Affinity Networking: a ISW-Women Empowering Women (WEW) event

By Snehalata Kadam and the WEW team

On January 8 th 2022, we organized an online event called ”The Art of Self-portrayal: defining your presence”.

The event was an interactive, inspirational conversation attended by members of the community. The participants were from diverse professional backgrounds, for instance: an oncologist, leading a drug discovery company, a mental health professional and an entrepreneur. They provided an unique perspective on the theme by sharing their journey with us. The take-home message of the event was that being confident and prepared enables you to succeed in any professional setup. All participants interacted and left with a smile on their face.

WEW team members Kalyani Kanuri and Neha Kaushal did a great job engaging the attendees and carrying the conversations forward.

The WEW initiative is part of ISW’s 2025 strategic plan focusing on ELEVATING, EDUCATING and EMPOWERING women.

For ideas and suggestions, contact Snehal at

isw-wew@iswonline.org 

The 15th Annual India Society of Worcester Christmas celebrations were held at the newly expanded India center on December 11, 2021 following the CDC guidelines.  Families dressed in Christmas colors in Indian attire, from women in their colorful Saris, to men in their suits and cultural garb, kicked off the 2021 Christmas season together!.. Christmas lights with the sounds of joyous Christmas carols sung rang through the hall bought Christmas Spirit.  After 2020’s Drive-thru Children’s Christmas Gifts pick up,  in the midst of the Pandemic , many families wished to attend the in-person 2021 event  but the registration has to be closed early to limit the audience to maintain Social distancing in the auditorium.. 

This year’s Christmas Story was shared by Mr. Justin Joseph, Professor of communications at Boston University bringing the significance of birth of Jesus Christ to bring Peace and Hope in times like this . Mr. Puneet Kohli , President of ISW along with Family cut the first Christmas cake following ISW Christmas  tradition  with greetings to the community, Dr, Jagan Srinivasan , VP ISW, presented the 2025 ISW  Vision  and Mr Rajoo Ananth,  Chair , ISW Crisis  committee , shed some light on community care for hurting families in the pandemic   Also ISW  presented a donation to the T&G Santa Fund  to reach out to community around us to share the love.      The appearance of Santa Claus, bought Cheer and Joy to the children as they received Christmas presents and took pictures with Santa.  The families was also given to-go boxes with Indian food to enjoy at home with their families.  

ISW Christmas 2021 - Event photos
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1U2YJs62ExBZGCagOqw3FzfwEvpkurUxT?usp=sharing


ISW Christmas 2021 - Photos with Santa
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19OrLeYLb0uewDrNM-K1Pnsm-wOJOQ2UU?usp=sharing

On Thursday, October 14th, 2021, the third session of WEW (Women Empowering Women) took place at ISW. Snehal and Neha did a great job presenting the panelists, women who are well established in their respective fields and have demonstrated leadership in their career path. The audience was enthralled by their accomplishments and their guidance and tips for successful career growth.

Reeta Rao, the Head of the Biology Biotechnology Department at WPI is an extremely accomplished and confident woman in the field of education and research. She prepares and mentors young scientists and researchers. She gave insight into how she has excelled in the field of biotechnology and is a role model for women who aspire to be in the teaching and research fields.

It was heartwarming to hear about Nausheen Maulana’s journey from MathWorks, where she began modestly in the quality assurance team, and later became CTO and start up Advisor. She led complex teams faced many challenges and was successful in turning them around. She has a passion for learning and integrating new technologies.

Apeksha Tripathi, a gentle and soft-spoken woman, has done amazing things in the field of medicine. Apeksha not only runs a pediatric and women's health primary care facility, she also teaches at University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has been awarded for teaching as well.

Priya Samant works in the fields of Social Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation, Non-Profit Management, Women and Youth Empowerment, Strategy Consulting, and Government and Politics. She is actively involved in her community and stays connected to her Indian roots and can be seen eloquently draping a saree be it a high political meeting or being a panelist, or even a presenter at various forums.

Neha Beniwal spoke about how she faced reluctance from her parents while she wanted to come to the USA for further studies. Neha always focused on what she wanted to achieve. She set a path for herself in the male dominated field of cyber security. She believes in the three E’s (Educate, Engage, and Enable) and the 3 I’s (Inclusion, Influence, and Impact) as she feels this is what makes a person achieve their goals.

This seminar was a humble and insightful experience. Hearing the panelists making big impacts in their field and continuing to influence and make a difference to women was inspiring. Audience has inquisitive questions to the panelist which made the session very successful.

WEW will hold its next session in December 2021.

Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in Shrewsbury Got Talent 2021. 

If you missed seeing the Facebook Live event, you can still watch it on the ISW Facebook page. Links provided below - 

Part 1 - https://www.facebook.com/iswonline/videos/935782133948981

Part 2 - https://www.facebook.com/iswonline/videos/264162755563306

Winners were announced during the event. Here are the winners again - 

Tiny Tots - 8 years and below
1st prize - Alex Wilson 

2nd prize-  Sahasra Singari
3rd prize - Pihu Mangarhe

Young Icons - 9-12 years old
1st Prize - Rihana Sophia Dash

2rd Prize - Prisha Kumar
3rd Prize - Anthony Fuzaylov

Terrific Teens - 13-18 years old
1st - Adele Fuzaylov 

2nd prize-  Advait Bhowmik
3rd prize - Ethan Nguyen

Awesome Artists - 19 years and above
1st prize - Sneha Swaminathan 
2rd prize - Grishma Shah Gandhi
3rd prize-  Nitika Kundra

Congratulations to all the winners. 

And others, please don't lose heart. It was a VERY close competition. Be proud of yourself and keep rocking! 

Amita Rao, Cultural Chair, India Society of Worcester 

We had a very successful open house on Sep 19th for new parents. All the teachers joined and introduced themselves. (Watch the video)

On September 26, we had our first day of school.  It  was held in person in our beautiful building.  After the remote learning it was great to hear the halls and classrooms filled with the chatter of the kids, and the hustle and bustle of learning. Currently we have received 108 registration.  At the first day of school, everyone was careful to wear masks and follow the protocol. ISW provided hand sanitizers in every space.

By Sarita Deshpande

On Sunday September 12th ISW's very own Shrewsbury Ganeshotsav Mandal (SGM) team celebrated Ganesh Festival with lots of enthusiasm and vigor, for the tenth year in a row. Ganesh festival is mainly celebrated in Maharashtra, where its public festival form was first introduced by the leading freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak in his hometown of Pune. With the spread of Marathi speakers across India, the Ganesh festival is now celebrated outside Maharashtra too. People celebrate and follow the tradition fondly in various parts of the world.

This year's festival at ISW had many significant highlights. First and foremost, it was held in the newly renovated India Center. Second highlight was the hand-made three and half feet Ganesh idol. It was made out of eco-friendly clay, by local artist Shrikant Savant. Shrikant along with his wife Sapna and daughter Urvi spent umpteen days in July and August to create this beautiful idol. The devotees who came marvelled at the grace and beauty of the idol with much appreciation.

The pooja, aarti in the morning was performed by Guruji Shrikant Joshi which was telecast live on the ISW Facebook page and followed by a cultural program. The event was held in a hybrid mode to limit the in-person attendance, in accordance with covid guidelines.

The theme of the event was folk art (लोककला) of Maharashtra. In conjunction with the theme, the local artists had made a beautiful backdrop of various folk arts of Maharashtra in picture form.  One more highlight from the cultural program entertainment by Music 18 group from India. It also included an interview of popular Marathi and Hindi celebrity couple and Hindi actors, Ashok Saraf and Nivedita Joshi Saraf.

The third highlight of the event was the Dhol-Tasha. The team played the instruments (specially ordered from India) in a procession with many others dancing and rejoicing to the rhythm. The air was filled with energy and a lot of enthusiasm just like the festival back in India. From the older generation to young kids everyone enjoyed the music and participated in the celebration fever wholeheartedly. The afternoon entertainment program was broadcast live where local artists performed various dances and songs to highlight ten different local folk arts.

All in all, it was a very colorful celebration with pooja, prasad, entertainment program, decorations and food, and the added grandeur of the newly renovated India Center. Everyone who attended the program enjoyed it thoroughly. The fruitful completion left all very satisfied, especially the volunteers who had planned the event for  months.

The Shrewsbury Ganeshotsav Mandal Team consists of Ashok Kale, Atul Deshpande, Durgesh Warty, Govind Dindore, Manjiri Patil, Priya Vaidya, Sakshi Gurao, Sarita Deshpande, Shrikant Savant, Vishakha Khamankar, and Yatin Manjrekar.

You can view the video of the cultural program and the pooja on the ISW Facebook page.