JSS in Media
Premier Gordon Campbell was a guest speaker at the 12th annual Janta Sewak Society fundraiser in Surrey. Joining him were a number of guests including CTV anchor Renu Bakshi; former NHL player and Hockey Night in Canada host Kelly Hrudey; and CTV anchor and radio host Bill Good.
Premier Gordon Campbell honours Order of BC recipient and Janta Sewak Society founder Sudarshan Bakshi at the 12th annual Janta Sewak Society fundraising dinner in Surrey. Janta Sewak, which means community services in Punjabi/Hindi, supports charities providing education, healthcare and other services to children and other vulnerable citizens.
HOCKEY STAR TEAMS UP WITH SOUTH ASIAN CHARITY
VOICEONLINE.COM
Former NHL goalie, and popular host of "Hockey Night in Canada" is teaming up with a BC charity to raise money for children.
It's been 18 years since the Janta Sewak Society, which means community services in Punjabi/Hindi, has been providing education and healthcare to the world's most vulnerable citizens.
Kelly Hrudey is joining high-profile South Asian television personality, CTV reporter Renu Bakshi, at a fundraising dinner on Sunday, November 5. Over the years, Bakshi's charity dinner has become the most anticipated South Asian fundraiser of the year, attracting an array of local personalities, including Bill Good and Tamara Taggart.
Hrudey played for the LA Kings, NY Islanders and San Jose Sharks during a stellar 15-year NHL career. "I'm proud to help a respected person like Renu. It's my pleasure helping with the charitable causes the Society contributed to. I'm looking forward to the event."
Bakshi, who is a reporter for CTV News at 6, is a co-founder of the Janta Sewak Society. She has organized a fundraising dinner for the past 11 years. "We are all volunteers who get together every year, invite 500 of our closest friends, and raise money for kids. I believe we all have an obligation to give back to the community, particularly to children."
The charity has given a total of more than $400,000 to B.C. Children's Hospital, memorial scholarships at local high schools, and the education and healthcare of orphans through the International Red Cross. Other children in the Lower Mainland have been helped through the Janta Sewak Society too. Hungry special-needs children have received hot meals through the JSS, and numerous children have received electronic wheelchairs.
Hrudey says, "The Society's commitment to helping children in need follows the philosophy by which I think we all should live."
"Having Kelly Hrudey join us this year is not only an honour, it's a big boost to the charity's profile," says Bakshi. "With his profile, we will be able to raise even more money, and take on more causes."
COMMUNITY PULLS TOGETHER FOR HOSPITAL
RICMOND REVIEW
- Published: August 14, 2009 4:00 PM
- Updated: August 14, 2009 4:44 PM
Here in Richmond, we are very fortunate to have a fairly well managed hospital.
The doctors, nurses, support staff and the administration have been doing a commendable job in meeting the growing needs of its citizens.
It is rather unfortunate that government funding has not been keeping pace with the growing demands on our health care services and the system. This presents a huge challenge for the health care providers and the consumers.
It is a great credit to this community that a number of dedicated citizens and organizations have stepped up to fill the gap.
Take for example, the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Raising $4 million for this special piece of equipment was a humongous task. However, through the concerted efforts by the Richmond Hospital Foundation and the generosity of its citizens, this goal was accomplished recently.
Now, the hospital foundation has embarked on its next project to raise $500,000 for a state-of-the-art 128-slice adaptive CT scanner. To help the Richmond Hospital Foundation in this regard, Janta Sewak Society, a Richmond-based organization, and the Indo-Canadian community held a community picnic on July 30, in King George Park. The response was very good.
The Janta Sewak Society and a number of Indo-Canadian organizations and individuals absorbed food and related costs for this event. The picnic raised a total of $2,500. A cheque for this amount ($2,500) was presented to the representatives of the Richmond Hospital Foundation at the conclusion of the event. Thus, every dollar donated by the donors went to the Richmond Hospital Foundation towards the purchase of the CT scanner.
On behalf of Mr. Sudarshan Bakshi of the Janta Sewak Society and myself (as a community partner), I would like to thank all of the donors, participants, City of Richmond, Richmond Hospital Foundation and the media for their very generous support in making this event a great success.
Balwant Sanghera
Richmond
JANTA SEWAK SOCIETY'S HIT FUNDRAISER
The Indo-Canadian VOICE
The Janta Sewak Society's 12th annual fundraiser was a runaway success as usual. Organizer and CTV anchorwoman Renu Bakshi pulled in the "who's who" of TV, politics, policing and the Indo-Canadian community, including Premier Gordon Campbell, Attorney-General Wally Oppal, Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu, West Van Police Chief Kash Heed, philanthropists David and Manjy Sidoo, as well as noted businessman Peter Dhillon. Also, in attendance were CTV News personalities Bill Good, Pamela Martin, Coleen Christie and Tamara Taggart. And by far the biggest draw -making his second consecutive appearance - former NHL goalie and popular Hockey Night in Canada host, Kelly Hrudey. The JSS raised money for a variety of children's charities in B.C and aboard. This year, the charity was able to expand its reach to include school meals' programs at Lower Mainland schools. The charity also buys wheelchairs for children whose parents cannot afford them. What sets this charity apart is its focus on supporting underprofiled, underfunded charities. More than 1,000 people showed up to the by-donation event. The JSS hosts the event for free because the charity doesn't want to exclude people who can't afford to come. By night's end, $50,000 was raised.
Donation supports Surrey School District summer camp kids
School District No. 36 (Surrey)
April 18, 2008
The Janta Sewak Society and Surrey businessman Jagmohan Singh have donated $5,000 to the Surrey School District's inner-city elementary summer camp program.
The donation will provide all 325 students participating in the inner-city camps this summer with a nutritious snack on each day of camp. The snacks will ensure participating students have the nutrition and energy they need to focus, learn and play throughout the camp. The district's school meal program will coordinate provision of the snacks.
The district has been offering the inner-city elementary summer camp program at 13 schools every year since 2005. The camps operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday for two weeks during the summer. The program is provided free to students in Grades 4-7 who have been identified by teachers and principals, counselors, parents or community organizations as facing exceptional challenges or limited opportunities.
The goal of the camps is to develop skills in arts and athletics; provide a safe, secure and nurturing environment for at-risk students; build self esteem and confidence, and help students return to school in September invigorated and ready to learn. Camps are made possible by funding from local foundations and private donors.
"Camp is extremely important to this community because there is no nearby recreation centre and families in this area often cannot afford community classes for their children," says Cedar Hills elementary summer camp coordinator Gina Challenger. "Camp provides a healthy outlet for children. Instead of being unengaged over the summer, the kids participate in physical activity, receive top-notch art instruction and get encouragement and support from teachers."
"The Surrey School District is very happy to receive this donation from Janta Sewak Society and Jagmohan Singh," says Surrey Board of Education chair Reni Masi. "The camps provide important opportunities to connect with at-risk students over the summer. Feeding the campers each day is a critical part of the program's success, as otherwise the kids often go hungry and become disinterested or disengaged in camp activities."
The Janta Sewak Society, which means "community services" in Punjabi/Hindi, is British Columbia's largest South-Asian charitable organization. The society generates funds through private donations and through an annual fundraising dinner held in Surrey and hosted by CTV reporter Renu Bakshi and her father Surdharshan Bakshi, who started the Janta Sewak Society. For 20 years, the society has been funding projects that focus primarily on youth, physical and mental disabilities and health care.