The recently formed Indian Support Centre Inc (ISC) launched its first Fund Raising event on Saturday 17th October 2015.
The event was held in the Roselea Community Hall in Carlingford. In spite of the many Indian Australian community events occurring on that day, the ISC event was well attended and supported.
The event was attended by a large number of federal, state and local government representatives who included Hon. Phillip Ruddock, Federal MP from Berowra and a doyen of the Liberal party, Hon. Dr. Geoff Lee MP for Parramatta, Parliamentary Secretary for Communities and who represented the Premier of NSW, the Hon. Mike Baird MP, Dr. Hugh Mcdermott MP for Prospect, Mr Kevin Connolly, MP for Riverstone, the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Mr. Aravinder Singh Ranga, Consul – Consular Services from the Indian Consulate, and Councillor Gurdeep Singh from Hornsby Council.
Other attendees included Mr Praful Desai, President of the Council of Indian Australians, Mr John Kennedy, President of the United Indian Associations Inc and representatives of the various Indian community associations.
The event commenced with a formal welcome by the Stanley D’Cruz, Secretary ISC. He briefly mentioned about the ISC and then introduced the Master of Ceremonies for the evening – Ms. Monalisa Grover.
The formal lighting of the lamp was performed by Hon. Philip Ruddock accompanied by Mr Subba Rao Varigonda (President ISC), Mrs Saryu Rao, Stanley D’Cruz (Secretary), and Ms. Srilalitha Suresh. Hon. Ruddock then addressed the gathering, congratulated the Indian Australian diaspora for opening the ISC and wished the very best for this Center.
The event was sponsored by many business organisations operating in Sydney. The platinum sponsor was Paradise Inn, gold sponsors were Best & Less Travel and Eurosolar, The Indian Telegraph, Punjab Times, The Indian Cuisine Durbar and the Indian Down Under, Bank of Baroda and the State Bank of India and others.
An excellent cultural and entertainment program was set up by the Program Director, Ms. Srilalitha Suresh. There was a good mix of devotional and entertainment singing, and an assortment of excellent and breath-taking dance performances. Mr. Vinod Rajput, Dr. Gamini, Ms. Deepa Aurora and Ms. Hamsa Venkat all contributed to the cultural program.
Pallavi Sinha, Brand Ambassador for the Indian Support Centre (ISC), did a great job as an anchor in a video film on the Indian Support Centre, created by Garage Film Studios. The Video film covered the legacy, purpose, role and the inside stories of ISC management committee members, who shared their backgrounds with passion and expressed a strong need for the Indian Support Centre. Pallavi also spoke with passion about her parents and family, who came to Sydney from India in the 1970s and their experiences. She concluded the wonderful video presentation, quoting British Prime Minister Winston Churchill “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.
The official part of the event was conducted by Mr. Subba Rao Varigonda, President of ISC. Hon. Geoff Lee, Hon. Dr. Hugh McDermott and Hon. David Clarke addressed the gathering. All of them congratulated the Indian community for having taken this initiative to start ISC. They all wished well for the Center and indicated support and encouragement from the State government for this great cause. Mr. Varigonda in his address thanked the State government for their support, informed the various on-going programmes in the Centre and requested the community for their on-going support as volunteers and sponsorships.
Others who addressed the gathering included Mr. Praful Desai, President of the Council of Indian Australians, and Mr. John Kennedy, President of the United Indian Association.
A formal vote of thanks was presented by Stanley D’Cruz, Secretary ISC.
An excellent buffet dinner was served by Paradise Inn, platinum sponsors for the event. Several attractive prizes were presented by way of raffle and auctions at the function. Notable prizes included a return air ticket to India and a cricket ball signed by Brett Lee, the well-known Australian bowler. Books from the Om Swami organisation were also auctioned at the event.
Overall, the first fund raiser event of the Indian Support Center was an outstanding success. Mona Grover did a great job as Master of Ceremonies. A lot of awareness has been created in the community.
Launched six months ago, the Indian Support Centre is located at Pendle Hill, in the heart of Western Sydney, to service the Indian and South Asian population across Sydney and New South Wales. The ISC has just started its journey. The ISC would provide the Indian Australian community with information on employment, domestic violence, senior-citizen related matters and general news. The Centre will also provide networking opportunities and act as a platform for the community to voice issues that affect them.The Management Committee of the Indian Support Centre Inc comprises of Subba Rao Varigonda, President; Mr Tony Colaco, Vice-President, Mr Stanley D’Cruz, Secretary; Dr Sreenivas Pillamarri, Treasurer, Ms Jaspreet Chopra, Deepak Chitnis, Mr Nalin Patel, Ms SriLalitha Suresh and Deepak Patel as committee members.
Any individual or groups from the local Indian and South Asian community seeking help and assistance from the Indian Support Centre, can contact Subba Rao Varigonda 0411 335 999 or Stanley D’Cruz on 0412 922 179
