Girish Mehta, Founder and Executive Director of Indian Circle for Caring  or ICC is retired from his professional life but is so busy  in the circle that he has assiduously built  that on the day of this interview he was  helping out a family plan a cremation, one of the many services that ICC provides to the Indian American community. If you as a reader have seen a brochure booklet called ‘Five Wishes’ it is a product of the ICC, another resource offered by the group to plan and be prepared in case of a crisis.

In a recent leadership council meeting that ICC holds every year, for the past 4 years, as many as 18 organizations  in the area turned up to show their support  as well as share their own efforts. “It has been so successful, says Girish Mehta, “that people have requested me to hold this twice a year”. The meeting ended with many outcomes – one of them was to help each other in outreach, and share events organized by each.One of the highlights of the day was also a special presentation on CITE (Community Initiative for TB Education) by Kate Rose Bobseine of DPH.  She shared with the group details of this collaborative effort by Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dept. of Public Health, Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE) and Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC).

Girish Mehta came into this country in 1968 as a student. He graduated with a masters at Tufts and later an MBA at BU , started his own business, and retired as Vice President of a company. Prompted by his children to get involved in the community and keep himself busy, he decided to shift his focus and emphasis to community activities. So he gathered a few likeminded individuals and brainstormed with them to understand what the need was and if there were any services left unaddressed. His reply to me was surprising,“ There were 75 local community organizations  offering  various services in 2007 but there was no organization addressing needs of families in case of a crisis, accident or death.  In my mind, I felt that collectively we have enough resources to take this on so we defined 7 specific ways of volunteering based on their skills, interests and talent to address these concerns.”

The concern was genuine and much needed. In May 27, 2010, Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC) founder and Executive Director Girish A. Mehta was a guest of the White House for a celebration of the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). By 2011, ICC had expanded its base where it  currently enjoys membership of over 3,000+ and have built a bank of over 150 volunteers.  They have also received support from over forty (40) organizations. . Most importantly, they have already helped over 120+ clients and their families in time of their need.  In addition to direct volunteering efforts, they have taken a number of initiatives for the benefits of the Indian American Community and you can access this valuable information on ICC website. http://www.ouricc.org/. The website also has a phone number that is monitored 24x7 where the response time is typically a couple of hours.

We end the interview with a sad but heartwarming story on ICC’s help and support. ‘One Sunday morning, Girish tells me that he received a call from a lady who left a short message on the phone to call her back. When he did get in touch with her, she told him on how her father passed away recently to cancer but during his stay at the hospital he gave his daughter the ICC card and told her that in case of any crisis later she should get in touch with them.  Hence the call,where she wanted to thank ICC for this great resource.

For more information on ICC services please visit their website http://www.ouricc.org/

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