Club 24 Philanthropy Directs Donations from the Hearts of its Members

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By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: “You never want to take publicity seriously as it will go away in a New York minute”, declared Rusty Hardin on the steps of the backyard brick patio to an adoring group of people who had gathered around the kidney-shaped pool and sat at the tables in the lawn beyond. “But I know what I want to be remembered for most, and that’s to have “He tried to make a difference” on my tombstone”, he wrapped up with the folksy charm of the successful Texas lawyer that he is.

Hardin was the chief guest at the Philanthropy Night of Club 24 Plus, a social and recreational club that was founded eight years ago and is slowly redefining the way that many high-powered Indo Americans choose to give their money to charities. Organized under the 501 (c) (7) section of the IRS rules, Club 24 Plus allows its members – and about 130 were there last Saturday night, May 10 – to direct their contributions directly to the charity that they favor.

And one of the nicer aspects of the Club’s activities has been, in the past three years, quite simply by coincidence, that it has held both of its annual check presentation and Diwali events in the sumptuous backyard gardens of its members. This year, the honor of the garden party for about 130 people went to Drs. Aparna and Ashish Kamat in their lovely West University home.

Ashish spared no words when he introduced his neighbors, Rusty and his wife Tissy, for their generous spirit of philanthropy. “It’s not because he is one of the most influential lawyers in the state or that he has a list of high-profile clients”, remarked Ashish, “but he is an ardent Rockets fan”! As the chuckles subsided he added that “the Hardins had given of their time and heart to support many charities in the Houston area like St. Judes and the Linda Lorelle Scholarship”.

Hardin is a former Harris County District Attorney who went into private practice and has earned fame when he represented the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen during the Enron scandal. He went on to defend and win favorable verdicts for many athletes like Rudy Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy and Roger Clements as well as Victoria Osteen, wife of TV evangelist Joel Osteen and the estate of millionaire J. Howard Marshall.

But inspite of his renown, Hardin, was very approachable as he mingled in his trademark cream suit (his wife Tissy was dressed in a matching cream outfit) with the mostly Indo American guests and traded stories. At the mike, Hardin told the rapt audience that he loved and endorsed what Club 24 was doing. He related how he started as a DA making $13,000 a year in 1975 and worked for the government till he was 49 “so I had no extra money” but he gave of his time and worked with victims groups like battered women and the parents of murdered children.

“Once in private practice and the kids were gone, we began to give to kids charities”, he said, citing the Rice School founded by John Duncan for children with Downs Syndrome and the Yellowstone Academy. He recommended that people pledge to give for three, four and five years together so that the funds could become cumulative and have greater impact.

The other high-profile guest that night was Harris County Sherriff Adrian Garcia, who often attends Indo American functions and is a bonafide friend of the community. He remembered the years that he and Hardin worked together at the County and how he was now head of the largest jail in Texas, the third largest in the US. On the eve of Mother’s Day, he remembered how his mother would make cornbread and he and his siblings would eat it with honey. “We were dirt poor”, he confided, “and that sure kept us stuffed”!

The highlight of the evening was the distribution of the checks to the nine charities that were honored. “Philanthropy is the love for humanity”, said Club 24 President Asha Dhume when she opened the evening with quotes from Confucius. “We Indo Americans came here as immigrants and succeeded beyond our wildest dreams”, she added, and quoted Andrew Carnegie that it was harder to give money away intelligently than to earn it. This year, Dhume reported, Club 24 has raised $123,780.

Dr. Vivek Kavadi, a Past President of the Club and its first Chair in 2008 talked about the impetus to contribute and lead that resulted in the Club’s formation and then listed its three major goals- to channel efforts to strengthen local charities; to build social relationships and mentor the young, like founding the YLDP program and to make a mark in Houston and beyond. Madhavi Kavadi kicked off the evening by welcoming the entire group.

The evening drew to a close with a raffle held by the young kids in the audience and was won by Kiran Verma. After closing remarks by Dr. Asra Oberoi, tokens of appreciation were presented to the hosts for a splendid night. Darshak Thakkar of Krishna Sounds provided the sound system and dinner was catered by Dawat Catering, whose owners Mahesh and Alpa Shah were also donors at the event.