Srinivas Ambati got introduced to the world of service about 12 years ago and has been part of the American India Foundation (aif.org) since then and feels humbled and grateful to do his part to serve the needy, back home in India. Srini has been dedicatedly working with AIF leadership team to raise money during their annual Galas. AIF is dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India.

He is also very actively involved with the New England Kannada Koota (NEKK) and was instrumental in starting the “Seva Mandaara”, the philanthropic wing which he established, to give back to the local community through various projects like Soup kitchen, Cradles to Crayons, Food pantry, Community Harvest, etc. to name a few. He believes in working quietly and making an impact by encouraging and involving the community through Seva Mandaara and has been identifying unique causes to raise funds to benefit some projects back in India through creative ways of fund-raising initiatives. Following are some of the beneficiaries that Seva Mandaara donated funds to, in the past few years:

 

·         Uttarkhand Flood victims during which thousands of people were affected by the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’.

·         â€œBeLaku” in Bangalore, which houses the orphans, destitute and poor children.

·         â€œMargadarshi” in Bangalore who help and support the most vulnerable groups of disabled people towards their physical, social, psychological and economic wellbeing.

·         â€œSamarthanam” - Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled is a nonprofit engaged in empowering persons with disabilities and distress in socio-economic-cultural fronts through its various initiatives on Education, Livelihood, Environment, Health & Nutrition, Sports, Culture and Rehabilitation.

·         â€œEkal Vidyalaya” – Ekal is a non-profit organization on a mission to bring basic education to every child across rural India. NEKK adopted a school for lifetime support in Belgaum, Karnataka.

·         â€œAkshaya Patra” The World's Largest NGO-Run Mid-Day Meal Program serving Wholesome school lunch to Over 1.6 Million Children in 13,839 Schools Across 12 States in India.

·         Karnataka Forest Watchers are the front-line staff of the department, responsible for managing the forests, environment and wild life related issues of a forest range who needed very basic things like boots, clothing/jackets, medication, water cans, and support for their children's education, etc.

·         Rotary International to setup libraries in more than 100 public schools & colleges throughout Karnataka

 

He finds joy in giving and believes that no matter how small, helping the needy makes a difference and the trickle effect of involving the community goes a long way.

 

Suneha has been involved with TiE Boston for nearly 10 years, since early 2008. Over the years, Suneha has supported office administration, bookkeeping, events execution, and programmatic operations for TiE Boston. She has been an essential part of the team, quietly hopping in to help where needed and ensure things run smoothly - whether that be troubleshooting surprise AV challenges, manning walk-in registration for StartupCON (the largest conference for startups in New England), or managing all communications for the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Program. 

Suneha has been essential to the success of the award-winning TYE program, which seeks to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs through workshops led by seasoned entrepreneurs, helping high school participants to develop business acumen, creative problem solving, and team-building skills, and has graduated over 350 students since its inception.

Krishna Kalghatgi has been serving as an ICC volunteer since October 2008. He has contributed to ICC activities and its mission. As a volunteer he has served ICC clients and their families in emergency support and continued to serve aged and sick. He attends ICC booth in public events.  He is committed to expand his capabilities to serve our community in the best way in line with ICC charter.

 

He is also involved in “Free Meals to homeless” program as a member of Sathya Sai Center in Northborough, MA.  He provides mentorship to help rebuild lives of individuals with criminal background and living in homeless shelters or half way homes.

 

Krishna is a scientist, innovator and entrepreneur in Biotechnology. He co-founded two companies including NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Schering Plough and finally merged in to Merck.  His expertise included development of ‘Analytical and Process Technologies’ for drug discovery.

 

Krishna is married to Leena. Both are retired and participate in voluntary activities for community help. His Daughter Jutika and son Nikhil are professionals in areas of law and finance.

Bipin Parekh has served Gurjar for more than 25 years, his uninterrupted years in the committee stands like a beacon in the world of community service. Bipin is incredibly dedicated and loyal to any cause that he serves - in fact he did not miss one Gurjar event for more than 25 years. In addition, he was always present for every Navratri, Diwali, Youth Program, Grandparents club meeting, and Sport Tournaments. He and his wife Meera had put their lives on the back burner to serve this organization. Not only did he never missed a large-scale event, he never missed the monthly meetings either, where all of the hard work and planning went in to make each event a big success.  He was the president for 7 times during his engagement with Gurjar, a task very few would volunteer for, but he was always proud to serve his community.

 

For Gurjar’s 20th anniversary he implemented the ‘Gurjar Scholarship Fund’. This is a program he developed to grant scholarships to college bound students of Gurjar life members. This trend still continues after 20 years with Gurjar commemorating its 40th anniversary this year.

 

In addition, Bipin Parekh has been contributing to Gunjan since March of 1983. Over this period of time, he has built a fan base that is international, streaming online each Saturday morning to hear songs played solely for the listening pleasure of his audience. Bipin Parekh is a man of few words known but well respected by all. He has lived in Chelmsford with his wife Meera for over 35 years. A chemical engineer by profession, he has a great passion for Indian culture and music, and a truly Unsung Hero for the Gujarati community.