Daawat 2009 for Alumni and Volunteers

Dear Sankalp Alumni and Volunteers,

It is that time of year, when we actually start to enjoy the "winter", and look forward to spring and the year ahead.

For Sankalpites, this time of year also brings to focus a major event: Daawat 2009

Daawat: A Dinner for Development is our fundraising dinner that we host every Spring in order to support infrastructure development projects, literacy programs, and various developmental initiatives in India. Daawat is one of our biggest efforts towards fundraising and is organized entirely through the efforts of students and members of the ISU and Ames community who give their time to prepare delicious Indian food and entertainment. 2009 will be the third year in a row that Sankalp organizes Daawat, and we would like to make it bigger and better than ever before. In order to do so, we need the help of well-wishers like you.

We ask you to support our cause by lending a helping hand in making this event a success. Some of the ways in which you could help us:

• Contribute monetarily to the project showcased in our fundraiser (Some organizations also provide matching donations)
• Obtain corporate sponsorship for the event from your employer or any institution that you have in mind. Sponsorship will help us raise more money by improving the scale and grandeur of Daawat.
• Help us organize the food preparation and entertainment.

Please write to us at sankalp_event AT yahoogroups DOT com or sankalp AT iastate DOT edu and let us know how you would like to contribute toward this cause. Your help will go a long way in making a difference and building a stronger India! We look forward to hearing from you.

Sankalp is a registered student organization at Iowa State University partially supported by the Government of Student Body. We raise money through volunteering activities and fund-raising initiatives and channel this money towards charities and NGOs that are involved in socio-economic development in India.

In the last 13 years, Sankalp has contributed approximately $70,000 toward nearly 20 such projects. Some ways in which Sankalp has raised this money: football volunteering at ISU football games, lawn mowing and other gardening activities, coin and can redemption, and our dinner fund-raiser - Daawat.