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Sewa Diwali donates over 500K pounds of food in 2023

Sewa Diwali extended to 234 Cities and towns in 2023 in its sixth consecutive year

Sewa Diwali Kansas City / Image - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA

Sewa Diwali, an annual philanthropic food drive organized by Dharmic communities across the United States, donated over 502,000 pounds of food this year. The donation benefited over 245 organizations from 34 states, including food pantries, homeless shelters, worship houses, and schools.

Volunteers from the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS), Sikh Gurudwaras, Hindu and Jain temples, school districts, Interfaith communities, Indian American cultural and linguistic associations, and thousands of families joined together in the charitable efforts.

Additionally, dharmic organizations such as VT Seva, Chinmaya Mission, Arya Samaj, Samskrita Bharati USA, and Sewa International collected food among their supporters for the cause.

Thanking Sewa Diwali for their contribution, Lisa Kelly, the executive director of Middlesex College Foundation in NJ, said, "Your gift recognized the whole student community and helps to ensure basic needs will not be an obstacle in their journey. Because of your generosity, more students are able to EXPLORE, GROW AND THRIVE."

US Congressmen Kevin Kiley and Ro Khanna of California also honored the endeavour with a Special Congressional Recognition, which recognized the program’s “commitment and passion for giving back to the community during the joyous and bright festival of Diwali”.

John B. Muns, the mayor of Plano TX extended his appreciation to “HSS, Sewa International, and all other organizations for their leadership and the combined efforts in the Sewa Diwali initiative”.

Commenting on the significance of the endeavour, Sewa Diwali’s national coordinator Ganesh Ramakrishnan, "SewaDiwali has nurtured the idea of helping others selflessly and consistently. This idea has positively impacted several hundreds of communities/neighborhoods across the US that are food insecure in 2023."

Sudheer Koppu from VT Seva, a national partner of Sewa Diwali expressed thanks to all the organizations that came together in this year’s drive and commented, “Let’s do this more and create a ripple effect of positiveness and service!”

Since its inception in 2018, the Sewa Diwali project has donated over 2 Million pounds of food nationwide. The drive starts annually from October to mark the celebrations of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, and runs through the end of November.

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