Lakshmi Iyer
India Post News Service
FREMONT, CA: Festival of Globe (FOG), the organization that is under the umbrella of the Federation of Indo-Americans of Northern California (FIA), held its annual Toy and Blanket Drive at the Fremont Hindu Temple on Sunday17 December.
Many elected officials and prominent people from the local juvenile justice system graced the occasion along with FOG and temple volunteers.There were representatives from five counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin, and Santa Clara. Many charities such as Martha’s Soup Kitchen in San Jose also benefit from this initiative.
The event is made possible year after year, thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteers headed by Manali Brahmbhatt, and the guidance of Kamal Nair, who started it years ago.
Inaugurating the occasion, Dr. Romesh Japra, Founder and Convener of FOG, spoke about how many years ago, they had started helping local shelters and the initiative grew into a toy and blanket drive, including educational materials.
He stressed the importance of developing oneself as an individual first, before being able to empower one’s family, and ultimately giving back to society.“When you give, it’s not just your name that gets known out there but also your family name that gets known out there. So, it’s not just our community that is our Indian community or Hindu community that gets the credit or gets known out there, also society at large which nurtures us, fosters us, supports us, gives us education, feeds us, we have this – not only a duty but it becomes an honor for us to support them, help them and, give back.”
He mentioned the tradition of giving the FOG community follows during other occasions as well, and cited the free Health Fair that is part of the FOG India Day and other fairs, where doctors and other health professionals volunteer to provide free checkups and consultations.
Drawing attention to the critical issue of mental health, he cited it as the root cause of everything – homelessness, drugs, or crime, and which the assembled honorable judges and probation officers could relate to very much.
He also stressed the importance of collaboration among different groups, “By getting together, socializing, creating these bonds, creating these bridges with other communities is as important as giving these toys or blankets. So that also is part of the whole thing, becomes part of the giving.”
Dr. Japra invoked the core Hindu concept of dharma and the inner happiness that comes from fulfilling it, saying that dharma was more than just duty, something that could not be translated.
He called upon one of the temple priests, Chandrashekhar ji, to make an invocation for the gathering.
Teresa Cox, Fremont Council member, who incidentally also represents Irvington district where the temple is located, commended FOG and the community for the fine work they were doing under the leadership of Dr. Japra for so many years. “All of you here have been giving and giving”, she said.“It’s about one toy at a time making a difference in a child’s life. And that’s what is meant here with all the love and all the blankets. And all this is what makes a difference in our community.”
She expressed her joy at being present there and being joined by her colleagues from the other cities, who were“…fighting the same things together as a unified community because we want to make a big difference for all people.”
Murali Srinivasan, Sunnyvale Councilmember spoke, “Imagine a child receiving this… how happy that child will be! And as Dr. Japra said, this is the part of Hinduism. As I see, we always believe in ‘Nara seva is Narayana seva’ (service to man is service to God). Seva (service) is part of dharma. Dharma is one of the four goals a human being should have.”
Kathy Watanabe, Santa Clara Councilmember, mentioned the Firemen’s 5K-walk/run race fundraiser they had done earlier that morning in her city of Santa Clara, joined by a FOG member, Satish Chandra Vale. She pointed to the need in the communities across borders.
Expressing gratitude for her own blessings, she said that it was important to have the opportunity to give back to charities in need, to be able to bring a smile to a child’s face or to the parent who could not afford to have Christmas for their child.
“They are important memories for every child to have, every parent to be able to experience.”
She thanked everyone for making the holidays special for everyone across the Bay Area.
Sandhya Patel, a meteorologist with ABC Channel 7 News, was one of the attendees. Ms. Patel, whose parents immigrated to the US in 1969-70,got emotional as she recalled a family trip to India and its impact, “I was nine, with my siblings, my parents and I saw kids begging on the streets, kids not having food, not having anything! My heart broke and I said, ‘Wow, there is a lot of injustice in the world!’”
She credited her parents for teaching her and her siblings to give. In closing, Ms. Patel acknowledged the privilege that she and her children enjoyed and commended everyone for their generosity, saying that it showed that each and every one of them could make a difference.
She introduced Kamal Nair, Commissioner Emeritus of Alameda County, who started the event.
Ms. Nair, who considers Dr. Japra to be a younger brother, credited his children for inspiring her. In 2004, she saw a Christmas tree with a wish list for children at an event, one of many she used to attend as the Commissioner. The Japra children, Deepa and Jay, put together the money that they had saved to buy gifts for the underprivileged. They and their mother, Mrs. Sunita Japra, bought toys from ‘Toys R Us’ and wrapped them. That was the beginning of her annual toy and blanket drive journey for juvenile detainees and other less fortunate children.
She added, “He (Dr. Japra) has gone to probation and delivered the goodie bags that I give to children every year on Christmas Eve.”
She acknowledged all the assembled dignitaries – honorable judges, probation and police officers for their daily work.“It is not easy. We are dealing with a lot of mental health (issues) and these are the people, night and day, who help them (troubled adolescents and youth).We are so, so blessed to have all these people taking care of our children.”
Mayor Lily Mei of Fremont addressed the gathering, “Aside from the virus of Covid, the virus I fear more is the virus of hate.” She recognized the Hindu temple for its outreach.“When we show others love and kindness, and the blessings you have and are willing to share with others, I think that’s how we build a more hopeful future”, she said.
Ms. Mei acknowledged her fellow Councilmembers for their teamwork across all the Bay Area counties and made a reference to the environment and reducing waste. “I just came back from COP 28. We talk about the environment and building a better and greener future. We have so many blessings and so often, we have things that go to waste and that’s why it is so important to share them with others who are in need of that at the moment.
In conclusion, Ms. Mei thanked everyone and emphasized the importance of unity to provide love, comfort, peace, and hope, in a time of divisiveness and hate.
Hon Lien, Milpitas Councilmember, said, “What a wonderful way to share the sympathy, the love, the peace, and the understanding that there are the neediest out there that one little toy will bring a smile to their faces!” She said that while the recipient would be happy receiving the gift, “the happiness really comes from the person who gives that gift.”
Fremont Council member Raj Salwan expressed special thanks to Commissioner Nair or “Aunty Nair”, as he calls her. “What I love about her is that she is like a cheerleader, always encouraging, always sending positive messages.”He expressed gratitude for her and Dr. Japra’s leadership, “We stand on your shoulders, Dr. Japra’s, many of our leaders here, and we are so lucky to have great leaders like yourselves.”
His colleague, Councilmember and novice Mayor of Fremont, Yang Shao, gave special thanks to the community, “Without all of you, the community members, we cannot achieve so much. So, I would like to have a heartfelt congratulations to all of you for your participation, for your continuous love, selflessness, and contribution.”
Manali Brahmbhatt, the Chair of FOG Toy Drive, expressed her happiness at the response, saying that this year, it was the highest number of toys and blankets collected.
She acknowledged all the major donors: Dr. Veena Puri, Dr. Bhandari, FISA (Fremont Indian Senior Association), Mr. Chugh, Mr, Rakesh Kapoor, Scholar Academy, San Jose – Mrs. Anima Desai and Mr. Himanshu Desai,Early Learning Preschool – Mrs. Charuben Vaidya, Keen Learners Montessori School in Fremont – Mrs. Madhu Gupta and Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Young Champions of Fremont – Mrs. Ratna, Kaiser Permanente Group, the Stanford Group, the Zizo Group of Los Angeles, PayPal, Google, Cisco Systems, Oakland Clinic Pharmacy, Mr. Ghanshyambhai and Mrs. Hansaben Patel, Mr. Suresh and Mrs. Urvashi Patel – Residence Inn, Palo Alto, Bharat Bazar – Mrs. Veena Birla and Mr. Hirabhai Birla, Nilgiri Cash and Carry from Mission – Mr. Jayant and Mr. Kamlesh Patel, Mrs.Jayshree Patel – IWE, Silver Creek Group.
She said there were many others, but she had to keep it short due to the time crunch.
Ms. Brahmbhatt gave a shout out to her dedicated volunteers who had been helping her for the previous two months, “They have been working day and night, even in the cold and rainy weather. Without them, I cannot do all this work.”
The event was followed by PritiBhoj at the temple.
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