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Sadhana board member Shivani Parikh and Sadhana's Pandita-in-Residence Pratima Doobay in Washington, DC for the Poor People's Campaign's Women’s Moral March

Dear *|FNAME|*,

It's been a busy few months since we sent out our last newsletter. This past July, Sadhana's board held a strategic planning retreat, and we are excited to share some major announcements in the next few months. Read on for some updates and upcoming events!

Program Updates:

After a year-long hiatus due to Covid-19, we re-launched our flagship environmental justice initiative, Project Prithvi! Read on to learn about our next clean-up on September 4th.
Our Hindu liberation theology reading group, led by Sadhana board members Gautham Reddy and Nikhil Mandalaparthy, has been meeting every month. At our most recent meeting on August 1st, we explored the verses of women bhakti saints such as Andal, Meerabai, and Janabai.
After a fabulous inaugural semester earlier this year, we'll be re-launching our Sadhana Samudaya classes (progressive Hindu children's classes) this fall, led by Sadhana board members Helen Lundstrom Erwin and Hari Venkatachalam. If you're interested in learning more, write to us at info@sadhana.org.

Advocacy Updates:

On July 19th, Sadhana board member Shivani Parikh and Sadhana Pandita-in-Residence Pratima Doobay joined women of diverse faiths in Washington, DC for the Poor People's Campaign's Women’s Moral March. Shivani and Pandita Pratima engaged in nonviolent moral civil disobedience to protest the filibuster and demand our voting rights and living wages!
Sadhana's interfaith letter in solidarity with workers who were being exploited at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Robbinsville, NJ was mentioned in this op-ed by Priyanka Jain: We must condemn the misrepresentation of workers at N.J. Hindu temple as religious volunteers.
Sadhana co-founder Aminta-Kilawan Narine offered a message at Hindus for Human Rights' multi-faith vigil on July 9th in honor of Father Stan Swamy.

More Updates:

Sadhana board member Tahil Sharma was named as a member of the Aspen Institute Inclusive America Project's Racial Justice & Religion Commission. Congrats, Tahil!
Sadhana board members Nikhil Mandalaparthy and Tahil Sharma were accepted as youth delegates to the G20 Interfaith Forum, which will be taking place in September in Italy.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing to our Decade of Sadhana giving campaign! We need your support in order to do this work -- any amount helps! Keep reading to learn about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved.

Pranams,
Sadhana Board: Davanie, Esha, Gautham, Hari, Helen, Nikhil, Samir, Shivani, Sunita, and Tahil

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Dear Members and Friends of Sadhana's NYC chapter:

Please join us at 8pm EDT on Wednesday, 1 September for conversation and connection via Zoom. No agenda for this one, beyond checking in with friends about our lives, thoughts, struggles, and achievements. Amid intense feelings around international news, domestic issues, COVID, and the demands of daily life, Sadhana offers a welcoming community space to share, listen, and appreciate each other. Bring a drink or snack and join in our discussion and meet fellow Sadhana members and friends.

Fresh off the heels of our hugely successful cleanup in August, Sadhana is proud to announce the date and co-sponsors for our upcoming beach cleanup at Jamaica Bay! On September 4th, we are partnering with Faith in New York and NYC Audubon!

At our last cleanup, Faith in New York brought out a large number of volunteers and NYC Audubon brought out a bus-full of volunteers back in 2019, so we’re anxious to see what the turnout will be on the 4th.

For those who are able to attend, please kindly register using this link as we keep a running attendance sheet for the National Park Service’s COVID-19 preparation plan.

Please note that gloves, garbage bags and pickers will be provided along with a light lunch. Sanitizer will be made available if needed. Please dress for the weather and wear closed toe shoes. Bring a bottle of water. Verification letters will be provided for those who need to certify volunteer hours for school or community purposes.

We are honored to announce that Sadhana will be joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' We Can Do This campaign to encourage our community to get vaccinated! The importance of the COVID-19 vaccine cannot be understated. If you or your loved ones have not yet received the vaccine try any of the three options pictured to schedule your appointment! Anyone age 12 and older in the US can now get a free COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of your immigration or health insurance status. Let us all do our part to get through this!

Read More at Vaccines.gov

Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 Vaccines and the Delta Variant

Three Ways Students Can Support COVID-19 Vaccinations

WATCH: Sadhana cofounder Aminta Kilawan-Narine speaking from a Hindu perspective on the importance of getting vaccinated. The “Faith in Vaccines for SE Queens” event was organized by the Interfaith Center of New York on July 14th, and Sadhana was proud to be a cosponsor.

Since 2011, Sadhana has been building a progressive Hindu movement centered in social justice through community transformation, advocacy, and seva (selfless service).

We have been recognized by the White House for our environmental justice work; featured in outlets like the New York Times for helping to establish the nation’s first sanctuary temple; and are often still the only Hindu voices in progressive interfaith movements like the Poor People’s Campaign.

As we enter our tenth year, we hope to transition from being a fully volunteer-led organization to hiring our first Executive Director, who will help us take this work to the next level.

However, we can’t do this work without your help. With your support, we hope to raise $51,000 by our ten-year anniversary in October 2021.

We hope that 2021 will be a year of tremendous growth and energy for our progressive Hindu movement. If our mission, vision, and values are meaningful to you, please consider making a donation of any amount to Sadhana today.

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You can also donate a portion of your online shopping purchases to Sadhana through Amazon Smile.