May 2015 CORDUSA News

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Wish you all a Blessed Gurudev Jayanti!

The encouragement and support that we receive continue to inspire us. The biggest proof is that GreatNonprofits; the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations, has again named http://greatnonprofits.org/org/cord-usa-1
us a Top-Rated 2014 Nonprofit for the 3rd consecutive year! It is that time again.  Please help us keep our streak alive by getting a 2015 @GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Award. You can help by writing a review of your experience with us at

Our CORD USA-CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra) West partnership team has been very busy this year.  We have setup an online store where you can purchase various items with all the proceeds going to support CORD USA.  Buy beautiful all-purpose greeting cards and support our cause! All the proceeds from greeting card sales will go to CORD USA! Please see: http://www.chykwest.com/shop/

Here is a note from a satisfied customer, “There is nothing better than receiving a card in the mail. A CORDUSA greeting card is even better because you’re sending a beautiful story, even if you write nothing at all! Because of this, I didn’t think twice about purchasing my CORDUSA greeting cards- It’s a win-win for everyone.  Moreover, actually purchasing the cards was the smoothest process, thanks to the CHYK West Online Shop. It was so simple! The cards are beautiful, unique, and each illustrates a story”. ~Reena P.

CORD USA is excited about their upcoming Summer Service visits for High School students to participate in a service visit to India. This summer, they will be going to CORD Siruvani in Tamil Nadu and CORD Sidhbari in Himachal Pradesh.  We will share their adventures in our next blog.

February 20 was World Day of Social Justice (WDSJ). GlobeMed had two events at Boston College in connection with this. The first was on Wednesday, February 18th. The event was titled “Conversations on Social Justice,” which featured a panel of students sharing their experiences working in areas of social injustice and how their experiences in those areas have shaped their lives. The second event took place on Friday, February 20. On this day, GlobeMed had a table in the lobby of one of the main dining halls at Boston College. They shared facts about themselves, CORD, social justice, the Millennium Development Goals from the UN, sanitation, and India.

Wonderful work by our partners!  On March 24th, GlobeMed BC arranged an Indian Dinner night to raise funds for their upcoming trip.  GROW Internship trips are an essential aspect of our partnership because it ensures the implementation of GlobeMed-CORDUSA projects. GlobeMed interns get an opportunity to explore community development and learn from an established grassroots organization;  this allows us to collaborate face to face, which keeps our partnership strong.

The fundraiser “Penny Wars” for the Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment Program run by CORD USA kicked off on February 28th. It has so far been a success. We will go over the details in our next blog.

Seven volunteers from the University of California, San Diego went to work for a fortnight at CORD Siruvani. The team was led and organized by Parthu Kalva, the CORD USA lead at UCSD.  They, along with the local CORD team worked on 5 specific areas – Environment, Women’s Health, Tobacco & Substance Abuse Awareness, English Education, and Open Drainage. The team visited around 8 schools several times to bring the programs to the children and to the various villages there.

 

April 3-5, 2015 – Niagara Falls, Ontario,  Acharya Vivek Gupta lead “Spotlight for Siruvani”, a fundraiser camp to raise funds for CORD Siruvani.  He has been leading awareness and fundraising programs for CORD Siruvani for the last 4 years.

In 2012 The Chinmaya Inspiration I Yatris raised $15,000

In 2014 The Chinmaya Inspiration II Yatris raised $20,000

In 2015 The Chinmaya Inspiration III Yatris raised $25,000, all for CORD Siruvani for their new facility.  Thank you, Vivekji and his team!

Will bake for CORD!  Sanjana, a middle schooler, who owns “Frosted World” and bakes cakes
tirelessly to earn funds for CORD, raised $2,670 for the year, which is about 175% of her target of $1500, and she still has a few months left! She is displaying her 3-tier peacock cake here… We are very proud of you Sanjana!

CORD USA-Portland volunteers were hard at work on April 11th at the Oregon Food Bank. They worked there in 2 shifts. A total of 75 volunteers bagged 6104 pounds of frozen Squash. That is 5086 meals!!  Thanks for your interest in volunteering at OFB!  Volunteers improve people’s lives, bringing joy and hope to countless families and individuals who experience hunger. At OFB, volunteers from all walks of life come together to have fun and help build a better community. It’s inspiring!

CORD USA Minneapolis is having their Annual CORD Walk at Chinmaya Mission Chaska on May 10.  They are providing free lunch and T-shirts after the walk to celebrate Gurudev’s Birth centenary year. The walk is from 11:30 A.M – 1 P.M on a regular Balavihar day. If you are in that area, please participate and support it!

Chinmayaranyam is an experience by itself.  Inspired by Swami Chinmayananda, the volunteers and staff work in a very impoverished area feeding, educating and providing services that support very disadvantaged sections of society for the last 3 decades.  You can support this cause in many ways.  Please reach out to me if you would like to learn more about these programs.

Let me give you a number of sponsorship options for the program at Chinmayaranyam, in Andhra Praddesh.

1 – Satya Kama Mandir – A residence facility for poor children who are provided food, shelter and clothing; along with free education. (Maintenance in the hostel)

• Poor children home maintenance fund – about $ 250 supports a week.
• Support one child completely for 10 years -$5500.

2 – Free Schooling at Hari Har Vidyalaya.

• Free education fund – $200.
• Support one child’s entire education for 10 years-$3000

3 – Annadanam at Ashram (lunch) – $100 for a day. This is for children as well as adults; particularly elderly people from the surrounding area. For many of the older people they often go there to eat their only meal of the day.