Page 24 - The Indian EYE 011626

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JANUARY 16, 2026 | The Indian Eye 24

FIA Starts 2026 with a Mission:

30,000 Meals Packed for Feed My Starving

Children at their Schaumburg location

OUR BUREAU

Chicago, IL
he Federation of Indian Associations -
501(c)(3) is Chicago’s premier non-profit
Torganization, uniting over 300,000 Asian In-
dians across the Midwest. FIA serves as the bridge
between our local community, the US, and India.
Led by Founder chairman Mr. Sunil Shah, FIA is
dedicated to empowering and connecting our vi-
brant culture.
Winston Churchill once said, “We make a liv-
ing by what we get, but we make a life by what we
give.” FIA team embodied those words, giving
their absolute best at the Feed My Starving Chil-
dren (FMSC) facility at Schaumburg, IL.
What a powerful way to kick off the New Year!
The members of the FIA team along with the FIA Chairman Mr. Sunil Shah, President Mrs. Richa Chand alongside the FIA team at FMSC Facility
FIA Chairman Mr. Sunil Shah, President Richa
Chand gathered at the Feed My Starving Children
(FMSC) facility in Schaumburg with a singular
goal: to turn compassion into action. The reality of
hunger is stark—every day, at least 6,200 children
lose their lives to starvation. FMSC works tireless-
ly with partners to reverse this trend, relying on
donated meals and the hands of volunteers to get
food to those who need it the most.
Answering this call, almost 100 FIA mem-
bers brought incredible energy, enthusiasm, and
teamwork to the facility. The atmosphere was tru-
ly electric as our volunteers worked in rhythm to
pack food for the hungry, labelled the packages,
our energetic youth volunteers took charge of the
heavy lifting in the warehouse etc.
While we were joined by teams from three
other organizations, FIA was proudly the largest
group in attendance. Together, we packed 162 box-
es, resulting in 34,992 meals ready to be shipped to FIA Chairman Mr. Sunil Shah, President Mrs. Richa Chand and FIA team after completing the packaging tasks, as the back-
children in need. Hunger is a sad reality, and data ground screen displays the box-packing statistics
shows that over 821 million people—one in nine
on Earth—do not have enough to eat. Mrs. Anu Malhotra and current President Mr. Al- led by FIA Event Management lead Ms. Asha
FIA team had a truly heartwarming experi- taf Bukhari were unable to attend due to vacation, Mehta, who showed their heartfelt compassion
ence fighting these statistics. The energy, team- President Ms. Richa Chand took the lead, inspiring by labelling almost 2,000 packages. Many of FIA
work, and compassion displayed by everyone was the team and ensuring everyone arrived promptly. directors; Mr. Rajesh Narayan, Mr. Cecil Joseph,
incredible. Each packet the team prepared was The team also admired the contributions of Gen- Mr. Subhash Iyer and Mr. RV Reddy also joined
filled not just with essential ingredients like rice, eral Secretary Ms. Kamlesh Kapoor and her coun- in with genuine enthusiasm, travelling from both
soy, and vegetables, but with hope, love, and care. terpart, General Secretary Mr. Anshul Bindal, for near and far to support the event.
Together, FIA team helped FMSC contribute their outstanding support. Overall, the FIA team initiated its 2026 event
$10,147.68 worth of food. The precious moments of internal joy and calendar by giving back. The energy at the Feed
Gratitude & Acknowledgments: This was enthusiasm that radiated from the team were cap- My Starving Children (FMSC) Schaumburg fa-
more than just a volunteer event; it was a reminder tured by FIA executive VP Ajanta Talukdar, VP of cility was absolutely inspiring, bringing hope and
of the power we hold when we unite for a common membership Mr. Manoj Rathod, Ms. Hina Trivedi, empowerment to the fight against global hunger.
cause to serve the community we live in. Cultural Secretary Ms. Fal Rana and many more. Following this successful service project, the
None of this would have been possible without VP of Membership, Mr. Smitesh Shah, Joint sec- FIA team, guided by its leadership, is now gear-
the remarkable efforts of FIA Founder and Chair- retary Dinesh Kapoor, Treasurer Mr. Vaishal Ta- ing up for its next major milestone: FIA’s signature
man Sunil Shah, and the new president Mrs. Richa lati were also helping the team and managing FIA celebration of India’s 77th Republic Day, on Jan-
Chand. Although FIA immediate past president Banners etc. Special Thanks to our senior group uary 22nd, 2026.

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