Over the past few weeks, many organizations and business owners of Indian origin based in southern California have been engaged in fund-raising activities to support India in the battle against the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There are several high-profile Indian Americans in the hospitality industry in southern California. We are engaged in raising funds to support healthcare infrastructure in India through various sources, including our franchise partners such as Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, Choice Hotels, Ramada Hotels, Holiday Inn and Hyatt,” Sunil Tolani, philanthropist and CEO of Los Angeles-based Prince Organization, told timesofindia.com “We are also raising funds through community and religious organizations such as Sikh gurudwaras, Hindu temples and churches.”
And it’s not just the big hoteliers who are lending a helping hand to the subcontinent.
Shachi Mehra — executive chef and co-owner of two contemporary Indian restaurants, ADYA, in Orange County — and her business partner Sandeep Basrur felt that as small business owners with families in India, it was their duty to do something to support the relief efforts in India.
“We decided to donate 100 per cent of our restaurant sales from our two locations for a period of one week to the American India Foundation (AIF),” Mehra said.
The fund-raiser by ADYA received huge support from the community. “We saw a great showing from the local Indian American community, but the support extended from there to a wide demographic including those who had never visited us before. The response was heart-warming.”
Doctors of Indian origin in Los Angeles, too, are mobilizing resources to buy and send oxygen concentrators to India.
“With appeals to our members and the larger Indian community in southern California, funds have been pouring in to support our efforts. So far, we have collected $500,000 and funds are still coming in,” said Dr Bharat Patel, founder of Association of Los Angeles Physicians of Indian Origin (ALAPIO). (Source: timesofindi
