Hindu Charity—HC4A— Launches in the Houston Metro
HC4A directors with Fort Bend County Court Judge Juli Mathew (second from left) and Fort Bend County Judge KP George (third from right).
HOUSTON: The HC4A (Hindu Charities for America, a non-religious 501c charity) “Serve Where You Live” Houston area kick-off event was held at the end of April 2019 at the Sugar Creek Montessori School in Stafford (southwest Houston) and it was a grand success!
Apart from Austin-based founder Mr. Harish Kotecha and stalwart member Mr. Dinesh Vakharia, Honorable Judges K.P. George and Juli Matthew shared their experiences working with underprivileged students and communities in Fort Bend County. In addition, Neeta Sane, Houston Community College Board Trustee shared her knowledge on the HCC system and how HC4A may effectively work in the area of workforce/vocational scholarship support.
Their insights, along with the guidance provided by several key attendees/donors proved extremely valuable for the work of HC4A whose goal is to bridge income disparity through education by a) providing vocational scholarships to economically underprivileged students and b) raise funds for school supplies/school backpacks for the large number of children from underprivileged backgrounds. As Harish Kotecha, the Founder of HC4A put it, “education is important to us and is a passion for us all, and we will continue to support students in our local communities.” Since its launch in Austin back in 2010, Harish Kotecha has now successfully expanded HC4A activities to the Houston and Los Angeles areas.
This charity is “for America.” It is a unique concept; Indians in the United States have long been sending justifiable aid to India, whether it be through donations for specific projects or remittances. HC4A does not seek to replace or supplant such efforts. Rather, the HC4A seeks to increase awareness of Hindu Americans as a charitable group, thereby promoting steps towards tolerance and acceptance across society. By benefiting local American communities and encouraging concerted efforts by all members of the community through charitable action, HC4A has struck a unique chord in Indo-American society. As a result, over the past few weeks, two more Foundation Board members have joined HC4A-Houston, namely, Mrs. Lalita Trehan, the founder of Sugar Creek Montessori School and Mrs. Ruchika Singh Dias of Bollywood Shake.
The HC4A-Houston team is proud to announce that they have raised over $10,000 towards vocational scholarships since the launch event, as well as additional funding for the back-to-school backpacks program. HC4A will be meeting with organizers for both activities on July 1s, and shall be finalizing the logistics. A video highlighting HC4A’s activities is available online at https://youtu.be/hvBbRpASwDA and further information is available on their website at www.hinducharitiesforamerica.org You can also reach out to Sashi Konidena, HC4A Houston coordinator at sashi@hc4a.org if you have any further questions about donations for workforce scholarships or back-to-school backpacks program, or need any further information about the charity.