We are Thankful for your support !
We hope you and your near and dear ones were able to celebrate a safely distant and healthy Thanksgiving wherever you are. Despite the distance that separates us from our families and friends, we are thankful for their friendship and support through these difficult times. Likewise, we are grateful for the community of supporters, volunteers, teachers and donors who make ISW the vibrant community that it is. Together we are looking forward to when we can celebrate in person, hopefully sooner than later, in a new ISW India Center. Until then we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do.
India Center construction continues at a steady pace. Please click the donate link to become part of the India Center family. https://iswonline.org/Donate
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2020 ISW Christmas Celebration
Saturday, December 19th, 2020
Once again it's the time of the year for the annual ISW Christmas Celebration which will have an unique format for 2020!
Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am: An unique Drive-in Children's Gift Giving will be held at the ISW India Center. Please pre-register your children on the ISW Website to drive by and get their gift. Children up to 10 years old (KG to 5th Grade) are welcome.
Saturday evening from 6 to 7:30 pm: An Indian style Christmas Celebration will be held online including Christmas Carols in many Indian languages, the Christmas Story, recognition of work in the Indian community during the Covid crisis and, of course, a live chat with Santa on Zoom! Don't forget to register at the ISW Website.
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SAYAA Online Meeting, Dec 4th at 8 pm |
Are you interested in encouraging voting in Georgia? Do you want to gather with other young professionals who are interested in social-justice issues? Are you free on Friday, December 4th from 8-9 pm?
If you answered YES to the questions above, please consider joining SAYAA (South Asian Youth Activists and Allies) as we write letters, to encourage Georgia citizens to vote in the Senate run-off elections! Even if you are unable to write letters, please feel free to join us for some good company and discussions on all things voter suppression, the importance of the run-off, and how to further engage in activism! RSVP by sending an email to [email protected] to let us know that you'll be joining!
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2020 Diwali Cultural Program |
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ISW had a delightful virtual celebration of Diwali this year with the theme of "Saat Rang ke Sapne" (Seven Colors of Dreamland). In keeping with the theme, over 140 participants from far and near and representing all ages filled the Diwali stage with a colorful program of various dance forms and art forms.
ISW Diwali Committee is really grateful for the support of ALL the volunteers, committee members, participants and most importantly all our viewers. You can read all about it here and view the complete performance on the ISW Facebook Page. Visit our website for more upcoming events and to become a part of ISW family. https://iswonline.org/
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ISW SOS Shrewsbury's Got Talent Contest
Tanu Nekenti 8th Grade Oak Middle School, Shrewsbury, MA
Hi everyone, my name is Tanu Nekenti and I’m here to tell you exactly what happened last Sunday! If you didn’t already know, India Society of Worcester (ISW) and Spirit of Shrewsbury (SOS) joined hands to create an awesome event! It’s called Shrewsbury’s Got Talent
ISW’s aims to foster the cultural heritage of India and the Spirit of Shrewsbury celebrates the heritage of Shrewsbury (SOS) with many events organized each year in the fall. With a common goal to serve their community, ISW and SOS have worked together on the Shrewsbury’s Got Talent each year, but this year was different! Read more about the first online Shrewsbury’s Got Talent competition, the judges and finalists on our website.
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Community Day at the Worcester Art Museum 2020 |
by Arathi Cowlagi
The beautiful Renaissance Courtyard at the Worcester Art Museum is usually bustling and filled with spectators of all ages enjoying the melodious music and the colorful dances. Every year in partnership with the Worcester Art Museum, ISW presents the Community Day program. This was the fifth year of this wonderful partnership and the theme was Travel the Silk Road. The event was held on Sunday, Nov 8th and looked a little different this year due to Covid. Despite it being a virtual event ISW members, choreographers and participants put on a great show! More on our website.
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Webinar Series: Navigating the College Admissions process
The challenge in college admissions is not just to get the child admitted to a college that best matches the child's potential and abilities, but also to manage it financially. Since the college admission process has multiple moving parts such as school grades, SAT or ACT exams, application essays, extracurriculars and financials to name a few, we are planning 90-minute information sessions to cover these topics. It will be suitable for parents with children in a wide age range (4th graders all the way to high schoolers). Multiple resources and insights about the admissions process will be shared from how much one should plan on saving for college to how to help children explore potential future career pathways.
We are planning two 90-minute sessions in 2021, one in mid-January and another mid-April. Depending on demand, we will hold follow up sessions during the summer.
Team: Mayank Jaiswal ISW parent & Facilitator
Poonam Hingorany ISW Executive Board
Shiamin Melville ISW Executive Board
Sanjay Hingorany ISW parent
Ramendra Chauhan ISW Parent
Shubha Agrawal IYG Advisor/ ISW Executive Board & student Counsellor at Worcester Academy
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Pre-Register for Free Flu shot @ ISW HealthStop
ISW Health Stop will be offering Free flu shots to the community member. Due to limited supply we will are requesting everyone to pre-register so we can plan the drive-thru flu shot clinic. Please use the link here for pre registration. Click to register for flu clinic
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Back Issues of ISW eSandesh newsletter
If you have missed a previous issue of eSandesh or just joined, you can find and archive of past issues here. Enjoy! As always your feedback and contributions welcome.
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ISW CULTURAL & LANGUAGE SCHOOL NEWS
ISW Tutoring Match Program
Looking for Homework Help? The ISW Tutoring Match Program is getting ready for the 4th round of matching.
ISW Cultural and Language School launched the new online Students & Tutor match program in August 2020, to help parents by arranging for one on one online tutoring for their schoolkids with tutoring help from IYG members. Topics included are Math, Physics, Science, English, Spanish Language and Life skills like Time Management. The IYG tutors get volunteer hours and ISW hassled parents get the support they need. So far, we have matched 32 tutors with pupils, our IYG tutors have completed over 160 volunteer hours, and we have received incredibly positive feedback! More on the website.
- My tutoring teacher is awesome!
- This program has been great during this strange school year.
- I really like the way she teaches me. Before we start the class, she always asks what I would like to learn for the day. I am definitely improving in my subjects!
- I thought the tutor program is a great idea. He seems to be enjoying the classes
If you have a student who is interested in being a volunteer teacher or if you are looking for homework help for your child, please email [email protected].
Mansi Gera, Krishnaa Amin, Shubh Agrawal, Ruchi Chauhan & Shiamin Melville
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Questions a founder or entrepreneur should ask themselves
by Ragoo Raghunathan
Three out of five (62%) Americans polled wanted to start a business and make their dreams come true. In a survey of 1,000 American non-business owners done by the New York Post as many as 37% have genuine aspirations to become their own boss and 25% of them said they would seriously consider it. While the startup environment is promising, you should definitely consider a few questions before starting a business or before reaching out to investors. Find out the ten questions every entrepreneur should ask themselves, on our website here!
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Fresh Vegetables, at a cost!
by Pravin Trivedi
Moving into a condo from a big house cramps your style. Especially for outdoor activities, like gardening. Here is how one family dealt with it over three years before throwing in the towel. Or did they? Read the rest of the story on our website.
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Westboro Rotary Club Recycling Challenge
by Sharad Mehta, Chair, Community on the Environment (COTE)
Westborough Rotary Club, COTE, has launched a drive to collect bags and film plastics from community members. While in ubiquitous use, these materials are particularly hard to recycle because it is tough to make a business case for collecting and recycling them commercially. Our goal is to collect 500 lbs for bag and film plastics by May 5th, 2021 as part of the TREX Plastic Film Recycling Challenge. If successful, the Trex company will donate a park bench to Westboro. We have reached about 10% of our goal to date. Details of the project are described in a Community Advocate article.
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Shrewsbury Public Library
Social Justice Talks
The Shrewsbury Public Library will be hosting an upcoming talk as part of their Social Justice Talk series.
Dec 9th at 7 pm: Interracial Friendships
Talk by Dr. Cinzia Pica-Smith
Dr. Pica-Smith will give a presentation on the importance of interracial friendships.
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Contact Information
India Society of Worcester
Mailing Address: PO Box 136, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Answering Machine: 508-842-9795
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