CHICAGO: A front ranking secular service organization in Chicagoland, the Indo-American Center (IAC) serving the community for the past 23 years, has slated its annual fund-raising gala on Sunday, September 29 at 6 pm, at the Marriott Hotel in Oak Brook.
The keynote speaker for the event is Dr Vishakha Desai, Special Advisor for Global Affairs to the President of Columbia University and Professor of Professional Practice at the School of International and Public Affairs.
What started with a handful of visionaries to help out just a few needy people is currently providing nine programs to the community. Its regular services include Youth After-School, Help for K- Grade 8, English as Second Language (ESL) classes, free hot lunch for Senior Citizens, health awareness and workforce development workshops, assistance with immigration and government benefits documentation, and Computer Literacy program. Additionally, several youth activities are held during summer.
The IAC is run by a Board of Directors who are volunteers and committed to the mission of IAC. “This is what attracted me to the Center as we extend our services to the needy. We do not ask where they are from or what faith they observe,” says Board President Dr Basanti Sen Banerji. The Interim Executive Director, James Lemonides, directs the programs and is responsible for day-to-day operations of the IAC.
The Board represents 18 dedicated directors who are from various professions. Current office bearers are: Basanti Sen Banerji (President), Dr Ralph Nicholas (Vice President), Nitin Bajaj (Secretary), Ravi Shankar (Treasurer), Dr Bapu Arekapudi, Rajeev Bahri, Sujata Banerjee, Dr Netta D’Souza, Ranjit Ganguly, Dr Madhuvanti Ghose, Kamal Hans, Ashref Hashim, Dr Deepak Kapoor, Ram Kelkar, Mafat Patel, Radha Patel, Sher Rajput, and Shobhana Sanghvi.
S Ramesh
