Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART NSKS Executive Director Michael Reinke accepts a donation from volunteers Priya and Priti Shokeen on behalf of SEWA International's Boston chapter while President of IAGB Sanjay Gowda and member of the NSKS board of directors Krishna Mangipudi watch on.

NASHUA – The Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter received a sizable donation Tuesday that will go toward supporting their Nashua Meals for Kids program.

Volunteers with SEWA International’s Boston chapter visited NSKS to deliver a $2,315 check. Since the pandemic hit, the India Association of Greater Boston (IAGB) has worked closely with SEWA to raise funds for various causes. President of IAGB Sanjay Gowda said one of those fundraisers was to raise funds for local food pantries and homeless shelters. Nearly $12,000 was raised, which is being distributed to a number of pantries.

“I’m glad that everybody’s coming together and helping,” Gowda said.

Priti Shokeen is a volunteer with the SEWA Boston Chapter and explained that SEWA is a Hindu-based nonprofit organization with a mission of doing family services as well as volunteer development and disaster relief programs. Tuesday’s donation to NSKS was one of those disaster relief programs.

“Here we were able to collect about $11,575 and we distributed that among five different food pantries in the area,” Shokeen said.

Krishna Mangipudi is on the NSKS board of directors and said SEWA does a lot within various different communities.

“In addition to that, they also collected PPE’s (personal protective equipment) very early on during the COVID thing and so some of the PPE’s went to Greater Nashua Dental Connection,” Mangipudi said.

In a letter dated May 21, Executive Director at The Greater Nashua Dental Connection Lisa Woods thanked SEWA for their donation of masks, face shields, goggles and adult and children cloth masks. Even during the pandemic the dental facility remained open.

“With the generosity of funders like you, we continue to thrive as a nonprofit, not federally funded dental facility, even in these challenging economic times,” Woods wrote.

NSKS Executive Director Michael Reinke said that Tuesday’s donation will benefit the Nashua Meals for Kids program, which started three years ago this month. The program began by offering frozen meals at one school in Nashua when teachers made NSKS aware that kids were coming into school in the morning having not eaten any dinner the night before, or in some cases. This program then popped up in response and has since grown.

Once the pandemic hit, the program expanded and is now at eight different city schools where these frozen meals are given out every Friday. Reinke said in addition to that, NSKS is also giving out several thousand pounds of fresh produce on Friday’s to those schools and other locations.

“We’re in a total of 16 mobile pantries all around the community in addition to what we’re giving out here (2 Quincy St.) and so all of that benefits the kids,” Reinke said.

More information on SEWA can be found online at https://sewausa.org/.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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