Gandhi Inspires "Be the Change" Volunteer Day in USA

Suril Sanghvi volunteers for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy in Boston as part of "Be the Change" day, which celebrates the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. (photo: Amrita Chabria, INDIAnewENGLAND.com)

The following article is from INDIAnewEngland.com,

Widely-revered Indian spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

More than 100 Boston-area residents took that advice to heart on Oct. 4, 2008, celebrating Ghandi’s birthday by venturing off on a series of public service missions.

Dubbed “Be the Change” and organized by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), the event committed volunteers to perform a day of public service activities at various locations across the region. Boston was considered a flagship city for the event, though volunteer and community service events were coordinated in more than 50 cities and college campuses across the country.

“It felt great,” said Dhara Khanna, 28, a Boston attorney, who helped organize the event. “It was just so inspiring to see so many people come out and do so many good things. It was a great team-building exercise.”

Vinod Nambudiri, 25, a medical student at Harvard University, helped plan the event this year after participating in it several times in the past. “I think it went phenomenally,” he said. “Compared to last year, there were more people involved, more volunteer sites, great weather and an awesome kick-off location.”

For the first time, SAALT partnered with the South Asian Bar Association of New England in presenting the event. Nambudiri said the partnership reaped rewards by increasing participation from about 70 in 2007 to more than 100 this year, and also allowed kickoff activities to be held at the office of downtown law firm McCarter & English.

“We are a growing organization, and we were really looking to become more involved in public service and connect with the local community,” said Dhara of the bar association’s involvement. “Be the Change, which is already so well established, seemed like a great opportunity.”

Participants volunteered by working for organizations like Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and the Massachusetts Audubon Society and worked at locations like the Harvest Food Pantry in Cambridge, the Franklin Park Zoo, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and the Greenway Conservancy.

Navjeet Bal, the commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and Rishi Reddy, a Brookline-based author, presented brief motivational remarks to participants at a morning breakfast to kick off the event. A book drive and a cell phone drive also were held at the event kickoff breakfast to raise funds for Saheli, a nonprofit organization that supports battered South Asian women.

Nambuduri said he had spoken with coordinators at several of the volunteer sites, all of whom were “very appreciative and impressed” by the volunteers’ work and dedication.

“We reached out to one organization that we had volunteered at last year [the Massachusetts Audubon Society], and they were thrilled when I called them again this year,” Nambuduri said. “And I think that is a great affirmation of the work that the volunteers do.”

“I think it definitely serves as a catalyst to become more involved in public service, to volunteer as much as you can,” he added.

Nambuduri said many volunteers turned out because they were motivated by the life of Gandhi. “A lot of people were impacted by the legacy of Gandhi, and today, they put his words into action,” he said.

Dhara said that the South Asian Bar Association would continue to be involved in upcoming “Be the Change” events, calling the day “a great success.”

source:  INDIAnewEngland.com

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