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 Newsletter
AAISW e-Newsletters will provide all the members with important news and happenings with in the organization. Please click on the following links to get all the recent and archived news. More..
 

AAISW Proudly Presents

Summer In USA

 
American Association of Indian Social Workers, Inc. Annual Report 2004
Introduction

I am privileged to be here as the Secretary of AAISW to present you our annual report, filled with activities and accomplishments over the past one year. During the year we have made real measurable progress moving faster and further raising the morale and boosting the spirit of our members . As you know this has been an year of great expectations, big challenges and hard work. But we have proved together we can do a lot. This progress /achievement is the result of cooperation, commitment and participation of each and everyone of you who have stood solidly behind us in carrying out the mission put forward by the executive committee.

Election 2004
The Election of the office bearers for 2004-'05 was conducted at Raj Mahal Restaurant in Queens on . The Election was conducted between two panels. Before the election was started candidates from both panels were given a brief time to introduce themselves. About seventy registered members participated in the Election using secret ballots. The Election was conducted under the supervision of the returning officers Luke Malika and Alex Chamakkala.
The following were elected as office bearers
  • President - John M. John
  • Vice President - Saji Joseph
  • Secretary - Sajan Thomas
  • Sajimon Kadavil - Joint Secretary
  • James George - Treasurer
  • Abraham Thomas - Board Chairman
  • Biju Philip - Board Member
  • Jhancy Anthony - Board Member
  • Kamalesh Bagga - Board Member
  • Sajan Jose - Board Member
  • Charlie V Daniel, CPA - Auditor
  • Alex Chamakala - Election Officer
  • Jacob Mathew, CSW and Margarette Varghes - Election Committee
  • Dr. Francis Jacob and Biju Abraham - Editors
Programs accomplished:

Inaguration and Holiday Party

The Inauguration of the New Executive Committee and the Holiday Party were celebrated on January 24th, 2004 at the Charis Christian Center auditorium in Queens. The program started with registration coordinated by Mr. James George- Treasurer AAISW and Ms. Jhancy Anthony. The public meeting commenced about 4.00pm with the welcome speech by Sajan Thomas, Secretary who was also the Master of Ceremonies. Mary Ann George's the melodious prayer song was uplifting to everyone in the auditorium. Sunny Paulose CSW, senior member and the Treasurer of FOKANA introduced the chief Guest George Koshy the President of FOKANA. Mr. Koshy in his inaugural address stressed the importance and role of Social Workers in today's changing society. He urged social workers to become agents of social change and get involved in the multiple challenges and complexities of the Indian Community.
John Mattam in his Presidential address gave a brief outline of the programs and activities of the Association for the coming year.The lighting of the Traditional lamp "Nilavilakku" by Mr. Koshy marked the formal inauguration of the Association, which was followed by Oath taking ceremony by the Committee members. Dr. Paul Njalieth introduced the newly elected executive committee to the audience. Dr. Francis Jacob in his felicitation stressed the need to galvanize the association by making it truly national and not just parochial. Mr. George Thaila gave a 'Walk down' of the 10-year history of the association and its phenomenal growth through the years. The second part of the celebration- the entertainment programs presented by our children- conquered the hearts and mind of every one. It was a spectacular show of talents filled with fun and thrill. The colorful and enchanting single dances by Amy Abraham, Veena Cherian and Silpa Francis kept everyone in rapt attention. Stacy and Sheena Machanical, Reshma and Manisha George, Noel and Nikhil James performed their best group dance winning applause from the spectators. Mary Ann George, Silpa James Rony James along with Xavierkutty Thomas, John Kuruvila and John Kusumalayam entertained everyone with their heart warming solo performance. Instrumental music Anuraj George (clarinet) Jerry Mathew (violin) Roy Cyriac (African Bongo) etc added further flavor to the cultural events of the night.
Sajimon Kadavil , Joint Secretary proposed vote of thanks to everyone. Saji Joseph Vice President took care of the sumptuous dinner, which was enjoyed by everyone. The Asianet TV and other weekly Indian publications provided Media coverage.

CSW review course

We have organized a well co-ordinated CSW Review Course on February 28th Saturday 2004 at the Woodhull Hospital . It was a one day class 9.00 to 4.00 attended by about 30 participants including five non AAISW members from Woodhull. The massive attendance at the class was notable. The class was handled by Dr.Craig Crabtree PhD Social Work Supervisor at Woodhull. Every participant was given a package containing thousands of possible questions and answers. Mr.Sajan Thomas, Secretary welcomed the gathering and Mr. John Mattam ,President proposed vote of thanks. Mr. Abraham Thomas was instrumental in arranging such a beautiful conference room at Woodhull and making it a grand success.

Newsletter

The first Newsletter for the year published in April provided all the members with important news and happenings with in the organization. The second issue is getting ready on the editors desk of Mr. Francis Jacob (Editor) and Mr. Bijumon Abraham (co-editor). The members and families are urged to contribute articles for our Newsletter.

SW month celebration

The Social Work month was celebrated on 03/27/04 at Raj Mahal Restaurant, Queens, New York with a participation of forty members. The keynote address was made by the chief guest Ms. Irene Torres, Associate Executive Director of Woodhull Hospital. Ms. Torres spoke on the National Social Work Month theme "The Power Of Social Work. Pass It On". Another guest of the occasion Ms.Indira Parmar, Director f Social Work, Wycoff Hospital urged the members to go beyond the community and geographical limits and reach out to the burning national problems of Indian society like AIDS, Domestic Violence, illiteracy etc. She also encouraged to involve more Social Workers from other parts of India as well. Awards of recognition was given to Ms. Torres and Dr. Craig Crabtree Ph.D, Social Work Supervisor of Woodhull Hospital. The program was sponsored by Dry Harbor Nursing Home, Brooklyn.

Fund raising

'Summer in USA' fund- raising program conducted on 06/06/04 at Martin Van Buren High School auditorium, Queens was a grand success. By all account it surpassed all our expectations and calculations in the amount we collected and the massive crowd we were able to assemble.The dedicated team effort and untiring hard work by our Committee & Board as well as the members who took upon themselves the strenuous task of reaching out to their friends and families are commendable. We also want to thank our benefactors, sponsors and advertisers who generously supported us in our endeavor. Besides the financial gain we also scored in the public relations front. As a team we were able to bring the message of our Association to the public and let them know our strength and solidarity.

Family Picnic and General body meeting

This year the AAISW Family Picnic was conducted on July 17th, 2004 at the Glen Island Park, upstate New York. It was really a day of family- fun in the sun. Many thanks go out to everyone who made the 2004 picnic a phenomenal success. There were approximately 150 people. Members came with their spouse, children , parents and family members. Besides the Barbeque everyone brought in an array of delicious dishes which made it sumptuous and enjoyable. That's the joy of sharing . We had a spectacular show of sports and games competition for the children as well as for the adults. The winners were awarded trophies and prizes at the end of the day. Every child was given a gift for their participation.
We did have our semi annual general body meeting held on the picnic arena. The General body expressed many words of appreciation for the excellent fund raising program we had in June. A lot of valuable ideas and suggestions were shared about the future programs for upcoming year.

Public Seminar on Retirement Plan

A free seminar for public on "ELDER LAW and ESTATE PLANNING" was conducted in collaboration with The Law Office of Steven A. Kass, P.C. The seminar took place at the Charis Christian Center auditorium in Queens on 9/26/04. The seminar helped to understand Medicaid laws - to plan future healthcare needs, and to protect hard earned assets. The seminar also covered - court action of Guardianship, empowering Family to implement planning in lose of competency, how to protect your spouse and loved ones who may be on Medicaid at your demise, investigate Long Term Care Insurance etc. The seminar was marked as a success with a good participation of more than 30 people from the local area. The members had suggested that more free seminars shall be conducted on different parts of the Tri-state area in future.

Blood Donation program

Our Association together with The Kerala Cultural Association of North America (KCANA) had organized a Blood Donation Drive on 10/09/04 at Kerala Cultural Center in Queens Village. The blood drive was a noticed public event with a good participation of people from all walks of life. Special thanks to Mr. Regi Kurien (who took initiative to conduct the program), New York Blood Bank and their well- equipped professionals and all the members volunteered for blood donation - a great humanitarian act which can save lives.

Website revamping The association's official website - aaisw.org - was revamped with many features, adding sites of interests, services and infos, updates etc.. The new site is also more user friendly, informative and attractive. Search engines like Yahoo and Google have listed our website for public access. Special thanks to Desicompany.com and Mr. Tomy George for modifying and maintaining our website for free of cost.

Conclusion

2004 was a great year of hard work, success and accomplishments for AAISW. I believe that the executive committee was able to keep the promise, we made in the beginning of this year, to bring our association to the path of progress and achievements. This was made possible through a lot of tiresome meetings, constant phone calls, mailing letters and many campaigns. And I appreciate each and every member of this association for the enduring support and continuos motivation you have provided in needy times. As a team we were able to bring the message of our Association to the public and let them know our strength and solidarity, as we made inroads into the community. Definitely it was the result of dedicated team effort and untiring hard work by our Committee & Board as well. I am privileged to be a part of this great team and hope that next year also we can continue the progress we made with all your support.

Sajan Thomas
Secretary.
 

 

 

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