HASC celebrates Swami Vivekananda’s birthday through Interfaith Seva

HASC celebrates Swami Vivekananda’sbirthday through Interfaith Seva

- Launch Interfaith Annadaanam Program and
Appoint Hemant Wadhwani, NJ/NY Seva Project Director - 

Livingston, N.J. January 12, 2013:   Hindu American Seva Communities (HASC) honors Swami Vivekananda on his 150^th birth anniversary, today.  For HASC Dharmic Seva and Vivekananda’s message is the catalyst to building Pluralistic Communities.  We are grateful to Swamiji for bringing Hinduism to America and laying a path for us and inspiring us even today…. “All differences in this world are of degree and not of kind because oneness is the secret of everything. ….. They alone live, who live for others….. You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself…..

On this auspicious and celebratory occasion, HASC is proud to launch an interfaith Annadaanam (homeless feeding) program and announce the appointment of Hemant Wadhwani as HASC’s Seva Project Director, NJ/NY metro area.

“Hemant is a role model to our community and a tireless community worker. Most recently he organized a Dharmic response for Sandy victims.  Hemant has worked with HASC from its inception and serves on HASC’s Executive Advisory Council Board.  With his leadership to our community, HASC’s seva programs will continue to expand and strengthen our country.  We urge the community to reach out to HASC to start seva projects and donate food to feed the homeless. We ask what Swami Vivekananda asked– Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.” observed Anju Bhargava, HASC founder.

The Annadaanam program (a homeless feeding project), developed by Hemant Wadhwani, is a partnership with Muslims Against Hunger.  HASC piloted this interfaith collaboration on August 3^rd, 2012 at our White House conference, “Dharmic America Future: Seva, Innovation and Tradition”.  The Next Generation Seva Leaders prepared food packages and distributed to the homeless in the Capitol Hill area.  Now we are expanding this program in the NY/NY metro area.  HASC and Muslims Against Hunger are willing to pick up the excess food from Temples and Restaurants and distribute it to the homeless in the NY/NJ metro area.  Hemant can be reached at hemant@hinduamericanseva.org.

Brief bio: Hemant Wadhwani started his career working at Diversified Investment Advisors building financial applications for the pension industry. During the first internet boom in 2000, he co-founded Translation City and has since been working in the language translation/international business services field servicing Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and government agencies. Hemant is also a community development specialist having served as an advisor and board member at the NJ Asian American Health and Human Services Association, Real Medicine Foundation, India Youth Climate Network, the Sindhi Association of New Jersey, Save Latin America, Newark's Sumei Arts Center, Harlem/South Bronx Youthbuild mentorship programs, Healthy Harlem Soup Kitchen Project, and the United South Asian Donor Registry. He is active with many faith and interfaith organizations. He has also been appointed to a number of commissions and advisory committees by the Governor and state legislature of New Jersey. Most recently, Hemant launched the Hanuman Capital Initiative to bridge the funding gap related to both global development and local urban economic development needs. Hemant has a B.A. in Economics from Manhattanville College and an M.S. in Management with a specialization in International Business from New Jersey Institute of Technology.