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India Post
May 8, 2015
www.indiapost.com
4 Indian-Americans to receive Ellis honor India Post News Service
NEW YORK: On Saturday, May 9, four members of the American-Asian Indian community will receive the 2015 Ellis Island Medals Of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of OrganizationsNECO. Dr Rajdeep Dhami, Physician at Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Illinois; Meera Gandhi, CEO and Founder of The Giving Back Foundation; Dr Rahul M. Jindal, Transplant Surgeon and Professor at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and KV Kumar, Managing Partner at Kumar & Talvadkar Associates
currently works as a hospitalist physician in Illinois and is a mentor and role model to ethnic women and children. Dr Dhami works actively in the community, supporting and organizing health screening fairs in regions with poor access to healthcare. These fairs provide medical information and screen patients for hypertension, diabetes, podiatry, dental, and proteinuria, and offer flu immunizations. She works with the American Lung Association to improve asthma education in the state and with the Michael Cuccione. Meera Gandhi was born in Mumbai, India. She is the CEO
The Ellis Island Medals of Honor embody the spirit of America in their celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity. they recognize individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge LLC. Other prominent honorees will include: Journalist Meredith Vieira, New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, U.S. Representative Ted Poe (R-TX), twelve members of the U.S. Military and Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier. The 29th Annual Ellis Island Medal of Honor Ceremony will be held on Ellis Island at 6:30 p.m. The Ceremony will be followed by a Gala Dinner in the historic Great Hall. Emmy-winning Senior Correspondent Marvin Scott and fellow Emmy-winning Nightly News anchor Tamsen Fadal, both of WPIX-11, will be the Masters of Ceremony. Dr Rajdeep Dhami immigrated to the United States in 2007. She
and Founder of the Giving Back Foundation, whose mission is to support and educate girls. The Giving Back Foundation supports many entities with scholarships and grants. The children of St. Michael's School in India, through the foundation's five year commitment, are being provided with daily meals and have had their entire school and grounds refurbished. Additionally, the foundation awards teenage students at the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center program on an annual basis, one of the many programs that the Giving Back Foundation supports. Gandhi's motto is "We are to the Universe only as much as
we give back to it." She launched her own film, television and internet production company and recently completed the production of the film Giving Back, nominated in the category of best documentary film at the Woodstock Film Festival. Dr Rahul Jindal is a Professor in the Department of Surgery and Division of Global Health, USUHS Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery and Medicine at George Washington University. Dr Jindal has been recognized for his contribution to global health issues, in particular, his work in Guyana, South America. There he mobilized a team of physicians and nurses and successfully performed the first living kidney transplant in Guyana, South America. He also played a crucial role on the medical team that conducted groundbreaking surgery at Walter Reed Medical Center on 21-year old senior airman, Tre Porfirio, who was shot three times by an insurgent in Afghanistan and received the first ever pancreas islet cell transplant after trauma. Dr Jindal has provided CME activities for the past two decades and is in the process of organizing a Global Kidney Support Network that integrates medical professionals and patients in developing countries so that they can deal with the challenges of kidney diseases, renal failure and kidney transplantation. He is the Director of "Hindus Gift of Life," which conducts The National Hindu Temples Blood and Bone Marrow Campaign sponsored by about 600 HinduAmerican temples throughout the United States. Dr Jindal has taken a lead in organizing and increasing the reg-
istration and donation rate of bone marrow in ethnic communities in the U.S. by organizing and conducting numerous bone marrow registration campaigns throughout the U.S. and by promoting education and creating awareness of the need of marrow/ blood stem cell donors especially in the ethnic communities KV Kumar serves as the Managing Partner at Kumar & Talvadkar Associates, LLC. He has turned around many projects including a privately held healthcare company in Southern California. In three short years, with Kumar's support, the company was sold for nearly three
fluential Multi-Cultural Business Leader" and "Lifetime Achievement Award" for Outstanding Public Service, U.S. Indian American Chamber of Commerce, among others. Chairman of NECO Nasser J. Kazeminy states, "NECO seeks to inspire America to embrace diversity, tolerance and respect for all of its citizens by celebrating those who have given so much of themselves to the betterment of our nation and our world. Each of these honorees represents traits that I admire in great Americans: the vision of a better world for all, the tenacity to overcome challenges, and the leadership and imagination to blaze their own trail.
He is the Director of "Hindus Gift of Life," which conducts The National Hindu Temples Blood and Bone Marrow Campaign sponsored by about 600 Hindu-American temples throughout the United States times the original estimated value. He was recently appointed to the Small Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the California State Bar Board of Examiner's Committee and California District Board of Appeals for the Selective Service, appointed by the President. KV is the President of U.S. India Foundation and serves on the Advisory Boards of Hispanic 100 and the Latino Coalition. KV was awarded the Millennium Award by the Brain Injury Association of America for Advocacy on behalf of victims of brain injury which led to the passing of the 1996 Traumatic Brain Injury Act by the U.S. Congress. He was also awarded the "2009 Most In-
And most importantly, they have the humility and self-reflection to appreciate the amazing opportunities that America has given them. They inspire me and we honor them so they can inspire others as well." The Ellis Island Medals of Honor embody the spirit of America in their celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity. they recognize individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity; all while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America.
Yoga fever reaches Capitol Hill WASHINGTON: After the White House and Pentagon and mushrooming of several studios across the nation, Yoga has conquered the last bastion in the US the Congress. Ahead of the first International Yoga Day on June 21 - a move initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly - a group of US lawmakers and hill staff have come together to form the first ever and one-of-its kind "Congressional Yogi Association". The inaugural event at the historic Cannon House Office Building of the US Congress was attended by a number of top
American lawmakers. Prominent among them were Tim Ryan, Charles Rangel and Barbara Lee. Organized by the Congressional Yogi Association with support of the Indian Embassy here, the first-ever "Yoga on the Hill" on May 1 was attended by Brennan Mullaney (Team RWBveterans' welfare organization) and Tom Voss (Iraq War veteran). Around 60 Congressional officials participated in the yoga and meditation session. Congressman Tim Ryan from Ohio, who performed yoga and meditation along with others, said an important issue faced by Americans is extremely high lev-
els of stress. "I have found that mindfulness and the practice of yoga help to reduce stress, improve concentration, and increase feelings of well-being," he said. "I am happy to support the first annual Yoga on the Hill event and the Congressional Yogi Association in raising awareness for the many benefits a yoga practice can bring to individuals across the country," Ryan said. "As a Korean War Veteran, Yoga on the Hill's mission to promote wellness among the veteran community is close to my heart," said Congressman Charles B Rangel. -PTI