Bernice is also a board member of Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, an organization that is collecting funds to provide assistance to individuals and families in Haiti and around SE Asia and the world.

Vijya & Associates hopes you will join us in a volunteer opportunity we’ve been participating in for several years now- Operation Nightwatch.

The 4th Tuesday of every other month, we make a trip to Costco, buy enough food to feed dinner to 100+ people and then we go to Operation Nightwatch – in the central district of Seattle.  Once there, we chop, dice, slice, boil, and cook until the first people arrive.  (Soup, spaghetti, and sandwiches have been our specialties so far!)

When:  Tuesday, Mar 23
Time:  8pm-9:30pm
Where:  300 14th Ave South, Seattle
RSVP: 206.418.6260; vijya@vijya.com

Once we start serving the food to those waiting to hear if they will be fortunate enough to get into a shelter for the evening – the time flies and we are cleaning up and heading home before you know it. Each time is a humbling experience, and we are newly reminded of how fortunate we are to have food and shelter and the support of friends and family around us.

Operation Nightwatch is a Christian ministry seeking to meet the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs of Seattle’s night community. They are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor by caring for the homeless men, women and children late at night.  They provide emergency dispatch to shelter, hotel vouchers for families, meals, blankets, and pastoral care for those in need. The services they offer are free of charge and are all funded principally by contributions from individual donors. They are staffed by hundreds of volunteers. They do not require any religious activity for access.

We share this with you because we would like to invite you to take part with us the feeling of community and sharing. Giving back to our community is one way we show that we truly care! Let us know if you can join us – vijya@vijya.com or 206.418.2620

I wanted to share this photo and story of one of my friends – Dr. Darin Collins is a veterinarian at Woodland Park Zoo.

I met Darin last year at the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation auction when he and his partner bought my Mom’s Gujarati Thali dinner last year. We threw an amazing party for them and their friends with not only authentic food, but Indian decorations and garb for folks to adorn themselves in. I wonder who is the lucky recipient this year?!

For several years now, the members of Emerald City Business & Professional Women (ECBPW) stuff 300 Christmas stockings for the homeless women served by Angeline House – a women’s day shelter in the Belltown neighborhood. This year is no different.

The stockings are filled with toiletries, socks, gloves, and goodies. Their goal is to give these women a little something special at this wonderful time of year. “We want them to know that they are not forgotten,” says a ECBPW representative. “For so many of these women, this is their holiday.”

The ECBPW members have donated many of the items necessary. Due to the large number that they are filling, they are asking members of our community for help. If you would like to donate goods, time, or funds to this rewarding project, they would appreciate your help!

Goods they need include: socks and scarves, individually packaged goodies…candy, chips, cookies, nuts, hot chocolate or specialty teas, paperback books, individual beauty and hygiene items, and, of course, jewelry! Contact me to coordinate your donation at vijya@vijya.com or 206-418-6260.

Want to feel like Santa? Volunteers are needed on Monday, December 14th to help fill the stockings. They’ll be meeting at the Best Western Executive Inn in Seattle at 5:45pm. I’ll be there and hope you can join me!

To make a cash donation, checks may be made out to ECBPW Foundation (a non-profit 501(c)3; #37-1423219) and sent to ECBPW Foundation, c/o Dolores Gohndrone, 1511 3rd Ave #520, Seattle WA 98101.

Vijya & Associates hopes you will join us in a volunteer opportunity we’ve been participating in for several years now- Operation Nightwatch.

The 4th Tuesday of every other month, we make a trip to Costco, buy enough food to feed dinner to 100+ people and then we go to Operation Nightwatch – in the central district of Seattle. Once there, we chop, dice, slice, boil, and cook until the first people arrive. (Soup, spaghetti, salads and sandwiches have been our specialties so far!)

• When:  Tuesday, September 22, 2009
• Time:  8pm-10:00pm
• Where:  300 14th Ave South, Seattle 98144
• RSVP:  206.418.6260; vijya@vijya.com

Once we start serving the food to those waiting to hear if they will be fortunate enough to get into a shelter for the evening – the time flies and we are cleaning up and heading home before you know it. Each time is a humbling experience, and we are newly reminded of how fortunate we are to have food and shelter and the support of friends and family around us.

Operation Nightwatch is a Christian ministry seeking to meet the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs of Seattle’s night community. They are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor by caring for the homeless men, women and children late at night. They provide emergency dispatch to shelter, hotel vouchers for families, meals, blankets, and pastoral care for those in need. The services they offer are free of charge and are all funded principally by contributions from individual donors. They are staffed by hundreds of volunteers. They do not require any religious activity for access.

We share this with you because we would like to invite you to take part with us the feeling of community and sharing. Giving back to our community is one way we show that we truly care! Let us know if you can join us – vijya@vijya.com or 206.418.6260

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN 2009 ARE DWINDLING!
Mark your calendars today for either September 22 or November 24.

Homeless people are on their feet all day, and the only pair of socks they own are very likely to be wet, especially during Seattle’s rainy time of year. (September through June).

“Our feet get really chewed up,” says Fred. Working, walking around all day, and no change of socks. Yuck. You can guess how it is at night when guys in the shelter peel off their shoes.

In response, Operation Nightwatch hosts “Sock It to the Homeless” every October to kick off the season’s annual sock drive. Community groups, churches, youth groups, and concerned citizens bring new athletic socks to Operation Nightwatch and we have a ball . . . literally. Volunteers roll the socks into balls, thousands of them. These socks are distributed to homeless people at night through the rest of the year. In 2008, we collected more than 20,000 pairs of socks, gave them all away and needed even more!

Sock it to the Homeless 2009 is Sunday, October 25 from 1:30pm -3:00pm at the Shelter Dispatch Center, 302 14th Avenue S in Seattle. Plan to join us! The goal this year is 25,000 pairs of socks. Will you help?

For more information on “Sock It to the Homeless” call (206) 323 4359 or email here downtowner2003@hotmail.com.

Make a difference in the life of a homeless person today!

Vijya’s 13th Annual Client Appreciation Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, July 19!

The event will be held at Woodland Park again and host fabulous food, games, kiddo activities (including a bouncy house), henna, and even door prizes. (exact location details and time TBD)

Those who have been never miss it. Those who haven’t, check out this slideshow from last year’s festivities:

In times of economic challenges – like these – non-profit organizations feel it bad. They often work with very limited budgets in good times and in bad times they have to start cutting services, actions, and sometimes people.

I make giving back part of my regular regime. Whether its providing a monthly meal at Operation Nightwatch, walking for Water 1st, or captaining a table at the UW Women’s Center auction – it’s part of what I do throughout the year. I know many of you make annual contributions to charitable organizations. It doesn’t have to be a lot — it could even be in lieu of a material gift and made in another individual’s name. Whatever your time or money ability is, I think it’s important to give back to your local community organizations in a small or huge way. Not only are you supporting the mission of the organization but your dollars and your time also bolster the people involved by saying, “I believe in the work that you do.”

Below is a short list of a few organizations I believe in (in alphabetical order). I would love to learn about some of your favorites!

Charley’s Fund

CoolMom

ElderHealth

Local Food Banks (pdf of Seattle and King County food banks)

NW Harvest

Operation Nightwatch

Prosthetics Outreach Foundation

Treehouse

Treeswing

UW Women’s Center

Water 1st

WestSide Baby

The Seattle Times featured a wonderful article (Seattle doctor climbs mountains to raise funds for artificial limbs, 8/21/08) about Dr. Tom Boyer – a man inspired to climb the Seven Summits — the world’s highest peaks on seven continents — in an effort to raise funds for prosthetics.

In addition to being a long-time supporter of Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (the beneficiary of his fundraising), I found Dr. Boyer’s particular story incredibly ambitious and a genuine act of selflessness.