Highlights:
- UNITED SIKHS opens the Western Region office in Fremont, California to serve the Bay Area community, the first office in the United States for the west coast Sikh community that will handle : a) Advocacy, b) Humanitarian Aid, c) Community and Empowerment and Education
- Dignitaries at the ceremony included D. Paul Monteiro, Associate Director of Community Relations at White House, Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, Representatives from the offices of Congressman Mike Honda and Pete Stark and Mayors Jose Esteves, Mark Green and Bob Wasserman of Milpitas, Union City and Fremont.
- Delegates from Gurdwara Sahib Fremont, Sikh Gurdwara Sahib San Jose, El Sobrante Gurdwara Sahib, Gurdwara Sahib Milpitas, Gurdwara Sahib Hayward and Stockton Gurdwara Sahib were in attendance.
- The new office will facilitate coast to coast operations of the organization, ensuring the most efficient service to the community.
Fremont, CALIFORNIA: UNITED SIKHS celebrated the opening of its Regional Office in Fremont, CA. Established in 11 countries around the globe and now with coast to coast offices in the United States, in California and New York, the organization strives to continue to serve the minority communities in an efficient and productive manner.
At the opening ceremony on October 22, the organization introduced its work and vision to members of the Sikh American and Bay Area communities. A large gathering of about 300 people including elected officials, members of the civil and human rights advocacy, humanitarian and educational communities; govt officials from DOJ, the US State Attorney for Northern California, the Community Relations Service (CRS) were present during the opening ceremony. D. Paul Montiero, Associate Director of Community Relations at White House was the Chief Guest. Jatinder Singh, Director of UNITED SIKHS, stated, “The center will serve as the primary institution in addressing the needs of the community in the Bay area.”
“Whether it is mentoring young kids, whether it is feeding needy people, or helping other countries in natural disasters and whether it is protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of all the people, UNITED SIKHS’ work should be saluted”, said Paul Monteiro, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement in his key note speech.
Northern District of California Hon. Melinda Haag congratulated the organization on opening its second office in the western region and extended an invitation to discuss any civil rights issues. “UNITED SIKHS played incredibly important role in building bonds with diversities” Ms. Haag added.
Congresswoman Chu, sent her best wishes and gave the organization a certificate of recognition.
The center in Fremont offers education programs such as the After School Education Assistance Program, SAT tutoring for high school students, and the youth leadership program. Plans are in place for health programs such as screenings and education, as well as legal assistance programs. Kashmir Singh, Western Region Director UNITED SIKHS, reiterated that, “the office is envisioned to be a substantive resource for the community. UNITED SIKHS is currently looking for an attorney and a community organizer to enable seamless and smooth functioning of the organization. The office expects to handle discrimination law suits and will empower the community at large enabling Sikhs to integrate with the mainstream community.”
Fremont City Mayor Bob Wasserman and Human Services Director, Suzanne Shenfil welcomed new office and announced the partnership of UNITED SIKHS office with family resource center. Enthusiastic support from community and partner agencies is pertinent to make this office a success not only for the organization but to the regional communities as well.
Charanjit Singh said, “As Fremont is the center of the American Sikh population in the Bay area, it is the perfect location for the UNITED SIKHS West coast office.”
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