Sant Nirankari Mission’s blood donation drive
"Blood should flow in veins, not in the drains," has said His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj. And so Sant Nirankari Mission (Universal Brotherhood) Atlanta organized a blood donation drive on Human Unity Day (Manav Ekta Diwas) with free medical checkup and fun for the kids followed by snacks, at Global Mall on 27th April, 2013 between 10am and 4pm. The drive was conducted in collaboration with LifeSouth Community Blood Center of Atlanta. Because of the great response from donors (130 giving their information and 65 donating blood), two buses from LifeSouth were organized to receive as many units of blood as possible.
Just another day lounging around at home? It felt like that to many donors who were speedily and comfortably processed by volunteers. Seen in the right-hand photo is donor Neil Nitin Shelat; in the left-hand photo are some of the volunteers who made the blood drive possible.
The free health checkup and medical advice were given to about 50 patients by a team of doctors and nurses, including Dr. Rita Agarwal from Tennessee, Dr. Rekha Singh, Dr. Shashikala, Dr. Pankaj Sethi, Ruchika Sethi, and Manisha Arora from Atlanta.
The message of Universal Brotherhood was imparted at a publication stall. A free gift was given to the blood donors, including audio CD, Sant Nirankari magazine, and Hansti Dunia for the kids.
Vistors from other states attended to encourage the Atlanta Sadh Sangat: Rev. Mr. Bajwa ji, Rev. Harlavleen Bajwa ji (of the national executive committee), Behen Meena Singh ji from MI, as well as Rev. Prem Sushil ji, Dr. Rita Agarwal ji, Rev. Kishore ji, Rev. Sandeep ji, and Rev. Soniya ji from TN.
Shiv Aggarwal of Global Mall kindly provided the site for the event, as he used to provide a place for regular Sadh Sangats (congregations) before the SNM obtained the Bhawan in Atlanta at 641 Buford Drive in Lawrenceville.
Subash Razdan, Chairman of Gandhi Foundation of USA, helped promote this noble mission on his weekly TV show “Namaste Bombay" and through various broadcasts on Internet bulletin boards. He visited the blood drive bus and complimented the donors for their philanthropy and the volunteers for their dedication and commitment to serving humanity.
A forensic artist, Sharon Reddick, volunteered on the spot to add an exciting activity by portraying people's face on the paper and helped the event by making it even more attractive throughout the blood drive.
The team from LifeSouth Community Blood Center was very appreciative of the efforts and results and is happy to make other organizations aware of the availability of the mobile bus for future blood drives.
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
