Over 2500 Volunteers Mark Gandhi's Birthday through Service Activities
SAALT's Be the Change National Day of Service Inspires Civic Engagement through Community Service          
                              
btc 2009 boston group shotWashington DC- Over 2,500 participants around the country marked the first Saturday of October by giving back to their communities through Be the Change, SAALT's National Day of Service. On October 3, community members including students, retirees, and professionals contributed their time and energy to service activities in Atlanta, Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC, as well as over 50 other cities and campuses.
 
"SAALT's Be the Change National Day of Service takes place annually near Mahatma Gandhi's birthday to commemorate his message of community service and action," explained Aaditi Dubale, SAALT's National Be the Change Coordinator. "This year, volunteers participated in a variety of activities including restoring a water-damaged food pantry in Rhode Island; constructing homes in Detroit and Alabama; assisting with the Boston Pancreatic Research Walk; and registering individuals to join the Be the Match Bone Marrow Registry nationwide."

 BTC 2009 Logo
Participants echoed Mahatma Gandhi's messages of compassion and service when they spoke about the day's impact. "By being involved in the community, we not only give our lives perspective but we create a better world for all members of our community to live in," noted Swathi Bonda, a volunteer in Washington DC. "I really value that we, as South Asians, come together every year in support of this mission."

The theme of this year's event, Giving in Action, also resonated with participants. Tom Abraham from Rutgers University - New Brunswick, one of the many campuses that held Be the Change events, remarked that the day was "an eye opening experience for me.  I can't believe about 20 of us in an hour did enough work to feed 1,800 families."

Participating in Be the Change also helped volunteers become more aware of issues in communities that are often invisible. Shikha Prasad, a volunteer through Ohio State University, shared that "going to ASHA Ray of Hope helped me realize that domestic violence still exists in our community."
 
Be the Change partners and sponsors affirmed the values of the event. "Coming together to help our neighbors and communities develop their potential clearly BTC 2009 boston clothesreflects the meaning of Mahatma Gandhi's famous 'Be the Change' quote that we celebrated today," said Sodexo's Vice President of Food & Nutrition Product Development and Pan Asian Network Group (PANG) Chairperson Nitu Gupta.  "If we don't take a leadership role in enhancing the lives of others...who will?  As I reflect on the uplifting impact of this day of service-it just makes sense. I am so proud of PANG and Sodexo's partnership with SAALT and look forward to continuing this team effort to make it a better tomorrow"
 
Kick-off events featured inspiring speakers including Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement at the White House (Washington DC); Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org (San Francisco); Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (New York); and Manisha Bhatt, Family Law Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services (Boston).
 
BTC 2009 san jose cookingThrough Be the Change, SAALT offers the opportunity for community members to take action by serving as a resource for individuals and organizations that seek to serve in their communities each October. Starting with its inception at the University of Michigan in 1997, Be the Change has grown to become a national event sponsored by SAALT that draws a diverse range of community members who fulfill Mahatma Gandhi's widely-recognized message: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
 
####

Be the Change 2009 Participating Cities/Campuses:

Cities:
Atlanta
Austin
Boston
Chicago
East Brunswick, NJ
Ft. Lauderdale
Jacksonville, FL
Hartford, CT
Murray, KY
New York City
North Brunswick, NJ
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Springfield, MA
Washington, DC

Campuses:
American University Law School
Baruch College
Baylor University
Boston University
Brookdale Community College
Brown University
Columbia University
Drexel University
East Tennessee State University
Emory University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida International University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Hofstra University
Indiana University
Long Island University
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
Midwestern University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York Law School
New York University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Ohio State University
Pace University
Pennsylvania State University
Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Rutgers University - Newark
Santa Clara University
Seton Hall University
South Dakota State University
St Johns University
SUNY Binghamton University
SUNY Stony Brook University
Temple University
Texas A&M
Texas Tech University
The College of New Jersey
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Arizona
University of California - Hastings College of Law
University of Central Florida
University of Connecticut
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Houston
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky - Lexington
University of Maryland - College Park
University of Miami
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
University of Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
University of South Florida
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Wayne State University
Williams College
 
National Partners and Sponsors:
Sodexo
Chevron
Beta Chi Theta
Delta Epsilon Psi
Delta Phi Omega
Delta Sigma Iota
Iota Nu Delta
North American South Asian Bar Association
Kappa Phi Gamma
Sigma Beta Rho
Sigma Sigma Rho
South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters