“Service to humanity is service to divine” Page 1

Contact: Raju Datla Email: info@SewaUsa.org Web: http://www.sewausa.org

Phone: (708) USA-Sewa

Nrityameva Jayatey – Sewa Annual Fundraiser - 2016

Sewa International Service to Humanity is Service to God

Boston, November 13th, 2016

Sewa International brings community together along with 17 dance schools of New England for its annual fundraiser

Sewa International’s Boston chapter conducted its annual fundraiser at the Littleton High School by way

of a maiden dance competition on November 13, 2016. With over 700 attendees, 17 participating dance

schools and 40 competitive entries, the 2016 fundraiser was a grand success. A total of $33,500 raised

will be used in 2017 for Sewa International’s community service projects.

This dance for Sewa program was organized to promote volunteerism and create an awakening among the

masses of people to serve those in need. When the event was initially envisioned, there was a search for a

name that truly reflected the ideology of Sewa International. Since this was a dance competition and all

the participants were competing with the real goal of raising funds for the needy, Sewa volunteers felt that

the real winner was the art of dance. So we decided to name it “Nrityameva Jayatey” said Shiva

Ramakrishnan, a volunteer of Sewa International. The event received overwhelming support from the

community. The message of Sewa International’s all-year programs and good-cause has started to

resonate with the community to the extent that many attendees and participants cancelled other

commitments to commit to Sewa’s cause and attended the event.

The program began with a melodious rendition of the invocation mantra. Sewa's youth volunteers Mehul

Shrivastava and Devansh Apte welcomed the chief guest Shri Anil Shah, the audience, participating dance

schools and the Judges. Shri Anil Shah, Founder and CEO of MRCC Software, spoke about the

importance of community service and thanked Sewa volunteers for their efforts to serve the

underprivileged. He encouraged the audience to contribute more of their time and resources for

community service. The dance competition which was organized based on dancer’s age group and dance

forms (Classical, Folk and Bollywood) was then kicked off with the 6-9 year’s age group going first.

Group exhibit performances by Kolam Dance Academy and Nidhi Tabla group, dance performances by

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Devanjali Senthil Garg, Sreeja Puthumana, and Varshini Arumugham invited roaring applause from the

audience. Shri Girish Mehta, founder of ICC and member of the national advisory board of Sewa

International, distributed prizes to winners of the 6-9 year’s age group. Dancers in the 10-13 year’s age

group then mesmerized the audience with their performances. . The emcee for this part of the program

was Ms. Shalini Kashayap. Shri Hemal Rathode, founder of Amrit Sabha – an adult day care center in

Northborough and advisor in the Sewa Boston team, while distributing the prizes to the winners of this

group talked about how children in that age can make a difference in the community by their activism.

Shri Preetesh Shrivastava and Ms. Yogita Miharia, emcees during the final segment of the program,

enthralled the audience with their wit, humor and a strong message to get involved with Sewa. On the

significance of volunteerism, Shri Preetesh explained how Sewa volunteers symbolize divine’s hands

through which the divinity takes care of the needy. The competitions ended with high octane dance

performances by the participants in the adult age group. This was followed by a prize distribution

ceremony for above 13 years category which was presided by Dr. Java Joshi, founder of the Academy of

Creative Arts. While awarding prizes to the winners, Dr. Joshi encouraged them to actively participate in

the community service projects.

Sewa volunteer Dr. Sarva Kurella and Yoga Shikshika of Sewa Mrs. Samita Apte gave a presentation on

various projects of Sewa such as Feeding the Hungry, Refugee Empowerment, Sponsor A Child, Arogya

Mitra, Family services, and Namami Gange. Along with the dance competition, Sewa also hosted

Rangoli and Henna competitions and several people participated in them.

If women’s empowerment had another name, Nrityameva Jayatey would fit the bill rightfully! The panel

of 13 judges and 6 advisers included 18 women. The program ended with a vote of thanks by Sewa

volunteer Dr. Pramod Pandey who expressed gratitude to every attendee and participant in Nrityameva

Jayatey for supporting Sewa’s cause, for without them, Sewa could not have achieved its goal for this

fundraiser. Dr. Pandey also mentioned that Sewa Boston will fondly look forward to greeting each one of

them in future events and invited them to become active members of the Sewa Boston team.

Pictures of the event are available at:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNh1FvfEHMB10bYi0TiuiyvoVyktNv3e9bsn7fybAaqcWtR4BNEEMmaN57JzF_BUg?key=UlcxZnlzZXItSnZ6aW5UQ2tRSFFfZXNwRUJxUDlR

Sewa International is a 501(c)(3) Hindu faith-based nonprofit charity organization. Sewa International in the USA has 38

chapters in 22 states. Sewa is a word in Sanskrit language and translates to service above self - essentially Selfless Efforts for

Welfare of All. Sewa International in the USA (started in 2003) is inspired by the international Sewa movement that began in

India in 1989. Internationally, the Sewa movement is active in 21 countries.

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Dr. Pramod Pandey of Sewa International Shri Girish Mehta, national advisor of Sewa explaining activities of Sewa to TV Asia International giving prize to the winners

Mehur Shrivastava and Aastha Gupta, Youth Shri Hemal Rathod, advisor of Sewa Boston giving volunteers of Sewa hosting the event prize to the winners

Dr. Java Joshi, chief guest for concluding Henna and Rangoli competitions ceremony, giving prize to the winners