IITAGH Covid-19 Donation Goes to Sewa International

By Surupa Shaw

Houston: The world is reeling from the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe dislocation of lifestyles, social isolation, job losses, social distancing and work from home have become the norm. We are all striving to adapt to the new reality. Those of us that can need to find ways to help people most affected by the pandemic. The IIT Alumni of Greater Houston has joined the fight with their initiative; “Unite to Fight COVID-19”.

One of the pillars of IITAGH is to ‘give back to the community’. IITAGH raised funds and contributed towards the efforts for mitigating the effects of the pandemic on our local community. IITAGH matched the total amount raised to a cumulative cap of $5,000. It truly reflected in the solidarity of the IITAGH community to serve in the areas of greatest needs, while giving back to the local community. Previously, the IITAGH community had raised relief funds for the last major disaster to hit Houston, Hurricane Harvey.

IITAGH selected Sewa International, Houston, and channeled their raised funds through them to help the folks affected by COVID. SIH has been working on the front-lines by aiding the potentially affected population in the Greater Houston area. Sewa provides personal protection equipment to medical professionals and first responders, food and comfort for families affected by the virus and a host of other COVID related initiatives.

IITAGH had carefully vetted Sewa out and determined that it met the criteria that the IITAGH board felt most strongly about. Sewa had the volunteers, scale and infrastructure to be truly effective. IITAGH has requested the Sewa management team to specifically target the funds to mainstream Houstonians.

On Wednesday, July 29, IITAGH Board President Abhijit Gadgil along with Members Huzefa Shakir, Surupa Shaw, Akansha Garg and Gagan Srivasatava met the SIH President Gitesh Desai and Board Members Arun Kankani and Achalesh Kumar to present the check at the SIH office, located inside West Oaks Mall. Gadgil presented the check of $10,124 to Desai who said that SIH was very appreciative of the trust placed in them and would use the funds to continue procuring goods and services for their COVID relief efforts.

IITAGH is extremely thankful to the community which generously contributed towards the fundraising efforts and made its “Unite to Fight COVID-19” initiative a huge success. To read more about the IITAGH Initiative, visit: https://iitagh.org/index.php/fight-against-covid-19_2020/