Here is wishing our IAGB community a very happy new year.
What's in this email
  • Community Conversations
  • Upcoming Events
  • IAGB Spotlight - Veena Handa
  • Dharohar - Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
  • Event Recap
  • IAGB Youth
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
This month's community conversations are focused on the IAGB republic day event. Please let us know why you like that event and/or what you look forward to most during the event.
Kumu Gupta:
IAGB Republic Day is a great event celebrating January 26 1950, when the Constitution of India was adopted. It is an event bringing together New England communities for an evening of Indian patriotic program & food. It's special to me as I got to volunteer in a ‘Saheli’ booth at this event a few times earlier."

Anshika Shekhar:
The event I am looking forward to the most is the cake decoration and baking event. As an amateur baker myself, I picked up baking during quarantine. I find baking and decorating cupcakes or cakes a pretty relaxing activity. Although I am not the most artistic person, decorating baked goods is not too difficult, so most of the time my edible creations look pretty good.

Aarushi Pant:
In past years, I have helped out with organizing backstage at the IAGB Republic Day event, helping ensure that all the performance groups were ready when they needed to be. Last year, I also worked with the story-telling competition for young children, which was especially fun!  More..
UPCOMING IAGB EVENTS
Republic Day Celebration
Jan 29 2022
IAGB Republic Day Celebration – the celebration of India's Constitution. As always, we will be celebrating this event with the Republic Day Mela, a virtual month-long event with competitions for all ages throughout January. An in-person celebration on January 29th will follow these virtual events, 2022, with a cultural showcase ‘Towards the light together…” composed of classical, fusion, and Bollywood performances.
So mark our calendars and celebrate India’s Republic Day.

Republic Day Blood Drive Jan.25, 2022
IAGB has partnered with American Red Cross for Republic Day Blood Drive. Lets come together and be part of the life saving cause. To Register click here To register click here
Stay informed of all future events at:
https://www.iagb.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iagbface
IAGB SPOTLIGHT
Veena Handa is a woman of many traits - a finance professional, a teacher, a mentor for young professionals, supporter and ally for women, love for designing and sewing clothes, all the while striving to make the world we live in a better place, by giving back to the community.

Veena Hand arrived in the USA in 1972, after finishing her Masters’ in India and then living in Australia for a few years. Throughout her professional career, she worked with many Financial Institutions - MetLife, Fidelity Investments, John Hancock Financial. More..
DHAROHAR
    An integral part of India’s legacy and heritage (dharohar) are its cities, towns, and villages. Through this section we will bring to you some of India’s treasured places.
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala”  

An integral part of India’s legacy and heritage (dharohar) are its cities, towns, and villages. History awaits at every corner of India, whether it’s a lost legend, a well-preserved palace, or a village bazaar. Through our ‘Dharohar’ section we will bring to you some of India’s treasured places.

This month we showcase Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is known as the Evergreen city of India, characterized by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills....  More.. 
EVENT RECAP
IAGB Seniors Meet UP

IAGB held its first-ever in-person seniors’ meet-up on Dec.11th. And though we were graced with heavy rains that afternoon, it was an information-packed event attended by our seniors and senior caregivers. A great line-up of speakers with expertise in various fields such as Health Care plans, Medicare and other insurance programs, basics of money management and budgeting skills, daycare facilities and how those can improve seniors livelihood, many neighborhood programs, and how they can utilize those and not be pushed into isolation, as well as meal programs was welcomed by the audience. Along with many resources available for senior care information, avenues were presented to volunteer for seniors – to care for those who have taken care of us thus far More..
ART AND MUSIC SPOTLIGHT
Aashna Miharia, a junior at Winchester High School, is the published author of the middle-grade fiction novel In Their Heads. Over 150 copies of this novel have been sold, receiving high praise from readers aged 8 to 13. An aspiring writer, Aashna is also the founder of the free, virtual summer program “Read & Write with Aashna,” in which she held one-on-one reading and writing lessons over Zoom for over 80 elementary-aged children to help them grow academically during the pandemic.. More..

 ~ IAGB Youth Editorial Director, Aarushi Pant
This is the youth opportunities column! Parents, please do consider highlighting the following opportunities to your children!
IAGB Youth Spotlights:
Who: 25 and under
When: Submissions are due by August 15th.
Inviting nominations for August IAGB Youth Spotlights! Each month, the IAGB youth initiative spotlights talented local youth who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to art, sports, or the community! Nominees must be 25 years of age or younger, and they must have lived in the New England area.
STEM-Away Summer Internships:
Who: College students and junior professionals. Limited spots are available for high school students.
When: Applications are due March 31st
Are you interested in a career in STEM? Apply for a virtual STEM-Away summer internship! These are free educational remote internships for students to learn, collaborate, and prove their value based on their merit and ability. Students will become work-ready with critical technical & soft skills and complete projects in the Bioinformatics, Cloud Computing, Full Stack, Hardware Engineering, Machine Learning, or UX and UI pathways. Find out more here: https://stemaway.com/
United Tutoring Volunteer Opportunity: 
Who: High school and college students looking for a way to earn volunteer hours virtually by tutoring, or contributing to the organization in many different ways. 
When: Apply to be a tutor or team member year round. 
The pandemic has made getting volunteer opportunities and hours extremely hard for high school students, however United Tutoring allows students from all over the globe to earn verified hours from tutoring and helping out with behind the scenes assignments with a registered non-profit. Learn more at https://unitedtutoring.wixsite.com/unitedtutoring
IAGB Youth; a platform for Youth of Indian heritage to help them develop leadership skills, the skills they need to identify pressing issues in the communities in the New England area, amid racism, poverty, violence, as well as rapidly changing environment, and tap into their own and their communities’ strengths to create positive change.
 
Lend our youth voices to shape policies that empower youth to achieve equity, opportunity and enrich ourselves and our community. Understand what it means to be Indian American, and stay connected to our rich heritage.
 
The IAGB Youth Team is recruiting!!
Who: Grades 8-12
When: Meet once per month
Students will coordinate and engage in several community activities. Community service hours are available, as well as leadership opportunities!
If you have any questions or if you are interested in joining, send an email to [email protected]
SPONSORSHIPS
If you want to become a sponsor, sign up at https://iagb.org/sponsorship
OUR MEDIA PARTNERS
IAGB Communications