The Indian American community from Sharon got together and coordinated a luncheon fundraiser for John Kerry on Sunday July 10. The luncheon was organized by Radhika Basheer, Puneet Bhasin, Umesh Bhasin, Amitabh and Reema Chandra, Divya Prakash, Anshu Prasad, Sunita Sanan, Raj and Nalini Sharma and Veena Teli and held at the residence of Amitabh and Reema Chandra. There were about 40 people in attendance. The keynote speaker was State Senator Marc Pacheco from the Bristol District and member of the Ways and Means Committee.

“There are about 100 Indian American families in the Sharon area and we see this as the most significant political event of our life so far,” said Amitabh. Even though the Indian Americans are one of the wealthiest communities, we are not as vested in the political process as we should be nor do we have the political clout that we should have. Amitabh strongly feels that this administration has been very exclusive and believes in ‘My Way or High Way’, in curtailing our civil liberty, promoting ‘Leave No Child Behind’ education campaign with no funding to back it, and poor record on the environment and wanted to bring the issues of concern to the Indian American community to the forefront.

Senator Pacheco thanked the people present for taking the time to participate in the event and for their passion for the future of this country and talked about his interaction with John Kerry over the years and his record. Kerry has had a chance to travel and see the world, see diplomacy work and is currently totally frustrated about America’s image in the world. As part of the US Senate, he worked with President Clinton to create jobs and balance budgets. As part of his campaign he has setup and Ethnic Outreach Committee at the top level. He has a well-defined plan, which includes:

Economic policy and agenda for the future
Vision for science and technology for the country
Energy independence

Kerry’s goal: “Strong at home and respected in the world.”

A significant number of Indians also attend the Pre-Party event on Monday July 12th evening at which John Kerry and his wife spoke. There were a number of Indian American school children at the event including Mariah McElwee and Sahana Rao from Brookline who raised $320 for the campaign.

Not to be left behind, the Young Indian-American Professionals (mainly in their 20s) hosted a fund-raiser at Mantra Restaurant on July 14th, which was attended by nearly 150 people. Speakers at the event included Nishith Acharya, Vinit Nijiwan, Samir Desai and Alan Solomont from Kerry’s office.

If you are interested, there are 8 ways to get involved in the campaign:

1. Volunteer in the Boston office
2. Talk to voters in battleground states
3. Throw a house party
4. Join the outreach efforts in your community
5. Join Media Corps
6. Take part in a Kerry meet up
7. Create an information network
8. Copy this message and give it to 10 of your friends.

For more information call 617.367.1551.

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