This year’s theme is homelessness in the San Jose area
Ritu Jha
Each summer for the past 10 years, the India Community Center, a non-profit built with a mission to unite, serve and celebrate, has been hosting Sevathon, a 5k/10K half marathon and help hundreds of non-profits to raise funds, create awareness about their work, learn to connect and help each other to support the cause through seva (service).
Individuals can also register for doing Yoga ( 27/54/108 Sun salutations).
Anu Jagadeesh, ICC board member, past co-chair and one of the key hosts of Sevathon for the past five years told indica, “The main objective is to bring together all the non-profits in the spirit of service in a fun way and learn the best practices from each other.”
The smaller non-profits are the ones which benefit by being able to work with Non-profit veterans like Murali Krishnamurthy from Sankara Eye Foundation and Raj Desai, CEO, ICC.
Jagadeesh said this year Sevathon is to be held not in the Baylands Park, San Jose, as in the past. Since 2016, the hosting venue is Arena Green in downtown San Jose.
The 2018 Sevathon event starts at 6:30 am and concludes at 1 pm, Sunday, August 19.
She said that what started with 250 participants in 2009 today attracts many thousands, but Baylands Park was too small, with a capacity of only 3,000.
“So we had to move,” she said. “I am super excited about it because it provides an opportunity for the race to grow and bring more awareness for the causes.”
The ICC Sevathon has more than 75 non-profits and they address a wide range of issues like poverty, education, healthcare, women empowerment, domestic abuse and more.
The theme this year is “The local causes” with the focus on homelessness in the San Jose Bay Area.
Jagadeesh said there are over 75 non-profits and a few new as well, non-profits like Touch a life Foundation which supports disadvantaged students in San Jose, the Sukarma Foundation, which promotes hygiene for women in Indian villages to name a few. There are organizations working on water rejuvenation in India and schooling tribal children.
Explaining further about Sevathon, Jagadeesh said for the past five months 30 to 50 volunteers meet each Thursday at India Community Center to get more details on the best practices to fully leverage the Sevathon.
She said that the event provides a lot of reach, ensuring that a single person running a non-profit suddenly is known to 5,000 people and that many of them use this opportunity to raise funds for their cause, promote their cause and recruit volunteers at the event.
Ash Kalra, the first Indian American to serve as assemblymember of California and represent District 25, said in a press statement, “I knew Sevathon will be of great quality as it’s an ICC project. A positive mission, Sevathon has become such an incredible tradition that focuses on non-profits, on health and fitness and also having a lot of fun with many wonderful performers!”
Desai, CEO of ICC, said in a press statement, “In our 10th year we will take this event to newer heights… It will be an event with something for everyone.”
