SABA North America Foundation Announces 2021 Grantees

We’re proud to announce our 2021 Grantees, four wonderful organizations making an impact in the South Asian community across North America. This year, our grants touch the Southeast, Midwest, Northeast and West and include grants to less-served South Asian communities.

Indo-American Center, Chicago, Illinois (Accenture Skills to Succeed Grant Recipient) - The Indo-American Center (IAC) provides otherwise underserved and overlooked groups of South Asian immigrants with legal assistance and social services that facilitate their adjustment to U.S. society and nurtures their sense of community.  The grant will help IAC continue the important efforts of its Workforce Development Program. 

Kiran, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina - As the only domestic violence and crisis counseling services agency exclusively serving South Asian victims of domestic and sexual violence in North Carolina, Kiran works to end the cycle of abuse and empower South Asian victims of domestic violence through culturally specific services and comprehensive economic, social and community resources.  

Laal NYC, Bronx, New York Bangladeshis are one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the Bronx but they remain among the most underserved, under-represented, and under-resourced groups.  Laal strives to provide resources for immigrant Bangladeshi womxn in the Bronx so that they can live healthy, engaged, joyful lives. 

South Asian Network, Artesia, California (Hitesh S. Barot Access to Justice Award) - South Asian Network is a community-based organization advancing the health, well-being and civil rights of low-income South Asian immigrants in Southern California. SAN’s clients regularly face legal challenges ranging from housing and eviction to immigration and gender-based violence but they are unable to access oversubscribed free legal aid programs or afford private counsel. 

Celebrating the South Asian Legal Community - Foundation at SABA 2021

SABA North America is the Voice of South Asian Legal Professionals in North America. SABA’s mission is to strengthen the rapidly growing South Asian legal community with a recognized and trusted forum for professional growth and development, and to promote equal rights and access to justice for the South Asian community. As a close affiliate of SABA, SABA North America Foundation strongly supports the profession-building mission and activities of SABA North America.

As always, Foundation’s annual benefit will be a part of the 2021 Virtual Conference. And we have another special, intimate VIP event, too.

Learn more about and register for SABA North America’s 2021 Virtual Conference. 

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On Wednesday, June 23, we will celebrate our 2021 grantees. A fireside chat led by Kalpana Srinivasan of Susman Godfrey LLP with Foundations 2021 Hero Award honoree and keynote speaker Nisha Ganatra, an Golden Globe-winning director. Adding to the night, Maulik Pancholy, actor, author, and activist, will offer words of solidarity with SABA Foundation.

Join us for a fun and engaging night of celebration.

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Please join us for an exclusive virtual VIP fundraiser event to support the SABA Foundation’s mission. Our keynote speaker and attorney Suneel Gupta will discuss his recent book Backable: The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance on You. The event will also be a fun evening of mixing and mingling to unwind after the Conference week.

Tickets are priced at $150 and will include a signed copy of Suneel’s book for registrants. Event capacity is limited so make sure to sign up soon!

SABA Foundation Hosts a Memorable Night of Light to Support COVID-19 Relief in India

Foundation proudly announces that our Night of Light in support of Indian COVID-19 Relief has raised OVER $110,000!!!!  Thank you to Reshma Saujani for her thoughtful remarks, to Asli Baat for sharing their beautiful music with us and to Zarna Garg for her uplifting humor. We hope that the light created by these generous artists and speakers will bring hope to all who attended and our brothers and sisters in India during these dark times.

Our Night of Light performers donated their time to us pro bono. Let’s show them some love by following them on social media (Instagram- @uscaslibaat, @zarnagarg and @reshmasaujani; Zarna kindly provided additional links below- check it out!)

 A huge thanks to our CORPORATE SPONSORS. Please find some words of encouragement and support from our Diamond level sponsor, Minami Tamaki LLP & MTYKL Foundation below. Thank you to our CO-HOSTS! And thank you to everybody who has donated, bought tickets, shared through social media and helped raise awareness to the COVID crisis in India.  We are grateful for our community, especially during these times.

 Thank you to SABA North America, SABA Chapters, the Charity Selection Committee and the Night of Light Event Planning Team. 

 As previously described, funds raised will be donated pro rata to the following three charities:

• UNICEF and its Indian Humanitarian Rush Aid relief efforts focused on rushing critical lifesaving supplies and services to protect families and communities in India impacted by Covid-19 as the first charity in our fundraising efforts.

• Association for India’s Development is a grassroots organization that promotes sustainable development. Its work currently involves donating PPE (including surgical masks and face shields) and oxygen supplies to hospitals. They are operating all across India and are posting almost daily about the extensive updates on the ground. As with Khalsa Aid, AID works with marginalized communities throughout India, is secular (works towards promoting “sustainable, equitable and just development”) and the bios of their founders are quite impressive (and even inspired the Bollywood hit Swades).

• Khalsa Aid is a Sikh humanitarian organization providing support for medical programs in vulnerable communities, including procuring hundreds of oxygen concentrators. Even though Khalsa Aid has a religious affiliation, they embrace “the whole human race as one “ (Guru Gobind Singh Ji) by not discriminating in whom they help. They have been particularly recognized for providing aid to all those in need, particularly those from marginalized communities.

Lastly, there’s still time to donate! All individual donations that Foundation receives until May 31 will be used to support the three organizations described above. Donate here: https://www.sabalegalfdn.org/indian-covid-relief.

Message from Minami Tamaki and MTYKL Foundation

Thank you for participating in “A Night of Light to Benefit India’s Covid-19 Relief Efforts.” The Minami Tamaki LLP law firm (minamitamaki.com) and the Minami Tamaki Yamauchi Kwok & Lee Foundation (mtykl.org) were proud to support the event with a $20,000 donation. We congratulate and thank SABA Foundation, SABA North America, and the dozens of local SABA chapters for organizing the fundraiser. All of us at Minami Tamaki and the MTYKL Foundation mourn the devastating tragedy of coronavirus infections and deaths. Many of our employees and clients have been personally impacted with family members or friends who have passed away or been hospitalized by the virus. Our hearts go out to the South Asian community, and we hope your fundraiser generated more awareness and support for India as it battles the virus. We welcome any feedback you have for us at http://bit.ly/mt-mtykl-india.

 Follow Zarna Garg here:

TikTok: @zarnagarg
Instagram: @zarnagarg
Twitter: @zarnagarg
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/zarnagarg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zarnagargofficial

A Night of Light to Benefit India's Covid-19 Relief Efforts

As part of our continued efforts to support those impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in India, the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) Foundation, SABA North America and 20+ SABA Chapters are hosting a night of light featuring TikTok comedian Zarna Garg, Asli Baat, the University of Southern California's South Asian Fusion A Cappella group, and Reshma Saujani, South Asian activist and founder of Girls Who Code. Tickets are available below.

Even if you can’t attend, consider donating here.

Please join us on Thursday, May 27th at 8:00 pm EST to raise funds to support Covid-19 Relief Efforts in India.

Our Statement on the Attacks in Indianapolis

Yesterday we awoke to the sad news that eight people were killed and several others injured at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. Our hearts grieve for the victims, their families, friends, and coworkers. At least four of the eight dead were part of the local Sikh community.

While we do not yet know the motivations of the killer in Indianapolis, the American Sikh community has been the target of countless violent incidents and hate crimes, especially since 9/11. We urge local, state, and federal authorities to investigate this matter further to understand whether there were any racial or ethnic motivations.

As attacks against the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, including South Asian, communities, increase across the country, we also urge elected officials across the United States to denounce those who spread Anti-Asian hate and violence. We stand in solidarity with the victims of this senseless tragedy, including the Sikh community of Indianapolis.

Learning Lab: Bystander Intervention Training

Due to the need and interest of our membership, SABA Foundation is proud to offer our Bystander Intervention Training again this Thursday, April 15th at 6:30PM EST. This training will help empower you to intervene should you witness hate or harassment. This event is co-sponsored by SABA North America, SABA-Austin, SABA-Chicago, and SABANY.

Register here.