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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                   MAY 01, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 18

                Gift of Life USA Celebrates 11th Gala

                                       with Inspiring Speakers

               Advocating & Supporting Differently Abled Individuals - “Living with Post Traumatic

                 Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Scleroderma”

            OUR BUREAU                        awareness of various disorders and   community inclusion. This year we
                                              inspiring individuals living with the   heard inspiring speakers Tiffany liv-
            New York, NY
                                              disorders. This year the organization   ing with PTSD, BPD and Evamarie
                  o-hosted by Kalpana Patel   advocated and supported inspiring   Gilbes-Cole living with Scleroderma
                  of UCI and emceed by Dr.    individuals living with Post Traumat-  for over 16 years, Keynote Speaker
            CHarshil Parekh, Gift of Life     ic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Border-  Dr. Shashi Patel, Dr. Vikas Malik
            USA celebrated its 11th Annual Gala   line Personality Disorder (BPD) and   (Psychiatrist) and Dr. Nilesh Soni en-
            - this past weekend at an evening   Scleroderma.                    joyed a classical masterpiece Kathak
            filled with inspiring speakers and sev-  The Gala event, orchestrated   Performance and enjoyed a mesmer-
            eral opportunities to make a differ-  by the organization, was proof of   izing show by Guiness World Re-
            ence in our community, celebrating   innovative spirit and dedication to   cord Holder mentalist and magician   our Committee Members, Perform-
            11 years of dedicated service to the   making a meaningful difference and   Ivan Michael. Several prizes and gift   ers, Donors, Supporters, Volunteers,
            special needs community. Keynote   was evident of compassion, empathy,   baskets were raffled by Dr. Bhavani   and well-wishers for their continued
            Speaker Dr. Shashi Patel shared his   and tireless dedication to the noble   Srinivasan. Sumptuous appetizers,   support over years. The team’s vision
            powerful and inspiring vision reflect-  cause. In a landscape often marked   dinner and desserts brough smiles on   and efforts were a remarkable step
            ing his journey with his very special   by monotonous programs, the ability   faces.                  forward towards changing lives and
            son Sameer Patel and wife Dr. Usha   of Gift of Life USA to infuse creativ-  The Gala recognized their com-  making our world a better place.
            Patel. Board member Shashi Malik,   ity and uniqueness into the Gala was   mitted and dedicated donors – Dr.   Our heartfelt Thank you to
            Sheetal & Jasmin Pathak, Kamlesh   duly complimented and attended by   Shashi Patel, Dr. Ravi Bhooplapur,   all for being part of our incredible
            & Mrudula Parekh, Asha Shah and   community leaders, over 30 Organi-  ASK Foundation, Kalpana Patel   journey, supporting our various pro-
            Darshna and Chetan Mehta along    zation Presidents .and several distin-  (UCI), Sunil Hali (Media), Kanak   grams and activities, not limited to,
            with volunteers were instrumental at   guished doctors.             & Prabha Golia (Perfume Center of   “Save a  Child”  Support,  “We  are
            the registration and welcome desk.    Apart from combating social   America), Darshana & Chetan Me-   Special” Talent & Skill Recognition,
                Under Flora’s leadership, Gift   stigma by raising awareness about   hta, Sheetal Pathak, Mayur Dalal   “Health & Education,” “Awareness”,
            of Life USA holds an Annual Gala   different disorders, the true strength   and Vass Pipe (Sunil and Anil Jain).   “College Scholarships for Different-
            where they highlight differently abled   of Gift of Life USA lies in the fund-  The event was graced by several dis-  ly-Abled” and “Service Dog Support
            individual talents, demonstrating the   ing and support it gives to individuals   tinguished Organization Presidents   Program”. The organization awards
            appreciation of diversity, inclusion,   with these various physical and men-  and Community leaders –Dr. Bhupi   Scholarships to Autistic College stu-
            and cultural competence. The Gala   tal disorders.                  Patel, Devang Patel, Shudh Jasuja,   dents, promote and highlight talent
            provides a safe space for those with   Over the years, the Gala has   Mukund Mehta, Dr. Purvi Dixit, Ha-  of the differently abled, help special
            physical and mental challenges to   visualized the incredible talent of   ridas Kotahwala, Vinod Shah, Kanti   needs community with health and
            bring awareness and express them-  several differently abled individu-  Vadsola, Dr. Harshad Bhatt, Drs.   education needs and much more.
            selves as equals in society. Flora’s   als with Parkinson’s, OCD, Autism,   Shyam and Maya Rao, Dr. Tazeem   Gift of Life USA, is a 501 (C) (3)
            work with Gift of Life USA has not   Down-syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, As-  Beg, Lions President Howard Ma-  non-profit organization, founded by
            only elevated the voices of all, re-  perger’s, Epilepsy, Visually Impaired   zer,  Kidney donor Kevin Harrison,   President & Founder Flora Parekh,
            gardless of ability, but has furthered   Conditions, Physically Disabled /  Abbas Fazal, Rupa Doshi, Rajesh Pa-  Co-Founder  Paresh  Parekh and
            the accessibility of resources and op-  Challenged, Amputees, Dysprax-  tel , Dr. Mahendra and Chhaya Patel   CFO  Dr. Harshil Parekh, focused
            portunities for everyone.         ia Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Schizo-  (Friends of ARCH), Indu Jaiswal,   on  generating  efficient  resources  to
                Every year, the Gala witness-  phrenia, Bipolar Disorder, & many   Jyoti Gupta, Bhadresh Acharya, and   support the physically and mentally
            es the inspiring journey of several   more. to help  them  achieve  higher   many more.               challenged through fundraising, ad-
            disorders, advocating and raising   independence,  self-sufficiency,  and   Our heartfelt Thank you to all   vocacy, and education.

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