2010 Grant Recipients
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| SABA-SC PUBLIC INTEREST FOUNDATION AWARDS $16,500 IN GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS TO LOCAL PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS AND LAW STUDENTS | ||
| The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California Public Interest Foundation (“Foundationâ€) is proud to announce that it has awarded grants and fellowships totalling $16,500 to local organizations and law school students committed to serving the public interest. The Foundation awarded grants to the following organizations: the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California; the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF); the South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency (SAHARA); and the South Asian Network (SAN). The Foundation also awarded summer public interest fellowships to UCLA Law School student Priyan Chandraratna, Duke Law School student Nirupama Hegde and Loyola Law School student Puneet Toor.In its short existence, the Foundation has raised and disbursed over $100,000 in grants and fellowships to deserving organizations and law school students. The Foundation thanks its supporters for their generosity and congratulates grant recipients for their dedication to public interest work. Foundation President Fred Thiagarajah said: “This year was another fantastic year for our Foundation. Despite the economic slump, we raised enough money to give grants totalling $16,500. The continued success of the Foundation is a testament to our donors — corporate, government, public interest and individual members. It is through our generous donors that we can continue to fulfill our mission to promote public interest activities for the benefit of the South Asian community and the Southern California community at large. This year’s grant recipients are a diverse group of organizations and individuals who all share the dedication to public interest service.†Grant and Fellowship Committee Chair Harit Trivedi added: “Congratulations to these outstanding organizations and individuals. They inspire us all through their commitment to public service. The Foundation is proud to support this important work.â€Neeta Dayal of SAHARA appreciated the Foundation’s continued support: “The ongoing support and guidance SAHARA has received from the SABA Foundation since 2006 is very valuable in helping South Asian community. Thank you!†Kavneet Singh of SALDEF said: “With the support of the SABA-SC Foundation, SALDEF will be able continue its work to empower Sikh Americans and be a dedicated resource across Southern California. We thank the SABA-SC Foundation for its generous support and look forward to continued partnership with them in the years ahead.†Shakeel Syed of Shura Council summarized the general gratitude to the Foundation “for empowering community organizations and enabling them to give voice to the voiceless in their respective constituencies.†| ||
| GRANT RECIPIENTS | ||
 The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California is an umbrella organization of more than seventy mosques and organizations     serving more than a half-million muslims in Southern California. Since 1995, the Council has continued to foster the spirit and culture of     working together at all levels in one of the most diverse and largest muslim populations in the country. Shura Council will be using the     Foundation’s grant funding to document and publish stories of three local victims of discrimination to promote awareness of ongoing abuse     and advocate for change. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, founded in 1996, is the oldest and largest Sikh American national non-profit      civil rights and educational organization. SALDEF empowers Sikh Americans through legal assistance, educational outreach, legislative      advocacy, and media relations. SALDEF’s mission is to protect the civil rights of Sikh Americans and ensure a fostering environment in the      United States. SALDEF received Foundation grant funding to support the opening of a full-time, staffed office in the Los Angeles are to      serve the Sikh American and broader South Asian communities of Southern California. The South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency is a non-profit organization founded and directed by South Asian professionals who volunteer their time to help serve the growing South Asian community in Southern California. SAHARA services all eight counties of Southern California. In August 2003, SAHARA established one of the only transitional living homes in Southern California for South Asian victims of domestic violence. SAHARA will use its grant funding to provide multilingual and culturally competent direct legal clinics through project LEAF (Law Enforcement and Freedom) to South Asian victims of domestic violence. The South Asian Network is a grassroots, community-based organization dedicated to advancing the health, empowerment and      solidarity of persons of South Asian origin in Southern California. Since its inception in 1990, SAN has provided a safe, open forum for      individuals of South Asian origin to gather and address social, economic and political issues facing the community. SAN will utilize its grant to      expand its Workers’ Rights Project which conducts outreach, community education, case management, worker organizing and leadership      development for South Asian workers in Southern California. |
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| FELLOWSHIPS RECIPIENTS | ||
| Priyan Chandraratna of UCLA School of Law will be working in the Immigration Unit of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, assisting     clients with issues of family re-unification and establishment of legal residency as well as provide legal aid to victims of human trafficking. Nirupama Hegde of Duke Law School will be working in the Children’s Rights Project of the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles,     where she will focusing on legal issues confronting children in the foster care system and working on cases related to the right to education. Puneet Toor of Loyola Law School will be working in the Workers’ Rights Project and on immigration issues at the South Asian Network in     Artesia, assisting in case management on domestic abuse, immigration and civil rights issues affecting the South Asian community.The Foundation congratulates all grant and fellowship recipients for their exemplary commitment to public interest law and their service to the South Asian communities of Southern California. |
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| ABOUT THE FOUNDATION | ||
| Established in 2003, the Foundation is the 501(c)(3) non-profit affiliate of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. The Foundation is proud of its past and ongoing efforts to promote public interest work in Southern California. The Foundation seeks to unite members and friends of the South Asian community over our shared commitment to public service, recognize the outstanding achievements of local South Asian lawyers and trailblazers and award grants to organizations and law students dedicated to serving the public interest.The Foundation provides annual grants to organizations that serve South Asian communities and summer fellowships to South Asian law students committed to public interest work. The Foundation’s public interest grants play a vital role in allowing many worthwhile organizations to provide valuable services to under-served communities. The Foundation’s public interest fellowships enable distinguished law school students to work for local public interest organizations during the summer. These fellowships have been successful in encouraging law school students to serve underprivileged individuals and communities and in promoting awareness of public interest issues that impact South Asians in particular. |
socalsaba@gmail.com
SABA SC Public Interest
Foundation
P.O. Box 4587
Cerritos,
California 90703-4587
