Community Seva Inc. is a registered 501 (c) (3) organization, founded and incorporated on June 6, 2013 in California. The nonprofit organization is working tirelessly to help address some of the biggest challenges faced by the homeless population in the Silicon Valley.
Their mission is to feed the hungry and serve the unhoused. Run by 3000 plus dedicated, like minded volunteers, who donate their free time to offer skills, knowledge, and abilities and work as a team to provide assistance and support to the homeless. They provide healthy meals, hygiene kits, solar chargers, sleeping bags, winter essentials and brand new shoes to the unhoused community.
The Bay Area’s homeless population today is larger, less sheltered, and growing faster than ever before. Between 2017 and 2020, the Bay Area’s homeless population grew by 6,878 individuals to a total of 35,118 accounting for more than a quarter of the growth in the total U.S.
homeless population. Community seva has helped over 300,000 meals. They prepare and distribute hot, fresh meals to local shelters, encampments, RV Parks, parking lots.
Community seva 10th gala night happened at India Community center, Milpitas on Oct 7. This event brought together over 450 people to mix, mingle, and dance the night away as they celebrated the organization’s growth and set the foundation for future initiatives. The event was attended by elected officials from Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose.
Nathan Ganeshan, Founder of Community Seva thanked all the supporters for their generous contributions and countless volunteers for their service all through these ten years. “It was heartwarming for me,” Ganeshan said. “People were getting food with dignity.”
He said it was sure the simple act of feeling clean and refreshed would not only renew their spirits but grant them dignity. His team has been serving the unhoused population in San Jose, Oakland and other parts of the Bay area.
He noted that over 250 homeless people die on the streets of San Jose every winter. They are barefoot, or their shoes are torn. They have no socks. If we don’t protect feet, there is a good chance that people will die of hypothermia,” said Ganeshan. Community Seva bought 1,000 pairs of shoes at a cost of around $27 a pair in various sizes.
“No homeless person wants to remain homeless. They want to find jobs,” said Ganeshan. The organization also runs a mobile van to provide showers and laundry services to people without homes. .
Your donations are 100% tax deductible and every penny is used to serve the homeless and feed the hungry, said Nathan. You can donate via the website or PayPal directly to donate@communityseva.org.
Supporters can “sponsor” a meal: many do so on special family occasions. In an area as wealthy as ours, we have the capacity for permanent solutions for the unhoused population and urged the election officials present at the event.
Robert Egger was the keynote speaker at the fundraiser. DC Central Kitchen, a program he founded, using recycled food collected around Washington, D.C., trains unemployed adults to develop culinary job skills while supplying meals to local service agencies.
DC Central Kitchen turns leftover food into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk individuals while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to adults overcoming homelessness, addiction, and incarceration. His organization has helped with 350 million meals.
The fundraising goal for the evening was $500,000 that will be used towards building central kitchen equipment such as cooking range and ovens, mobile shower/laundry unit, brand new shoes and solar chargers. Tree of life award was bestowed to Gail Osmer and Shaunn Cartwright for their selfless service to the unhoused.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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