2016 Mini Fundraiser

The celebration started with the Diya ceremony which was performed by Swami Mukundananda of Bharat Sevashram of Chicago. Prominent leaders in attendance were Steve Chirico Mayor of Naperville, Aurora Alderman Rick Mervine, Krishna Bansal, Outreach Coordinator Naperville Village, and MAFS board members.

In his opening remarks our keynote speaker, Steve Chirico, Mayor of Naperville, spoke about the importance such community services provide to the society and commended the MAFS team for serving the community on all fronts for over 3 decades. Mr. Krishna Bansal in his opening statement said that he counts himself as part of MAFS family and urged the community to come forward and join in MAFS mission of serving and caring. Mr. Rick Mervine was honored to be a part of this event and wanted to know if it was possible to have a center like this in his constituency of Aurora.

Ms. Awilda Gonzalez UMAS CCP Director spoke about her concerns on the recent budget cut and the effect it is having on our programs.Ms. Gonzalez spoke about all our lobbying efforts to save Community Care and Adult Day Care Services. The entertainment program began with the Naperville ADS seniors performing a beautiful Bollywood song “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” wonderfully choreographed by ADS coordinators Heena Mehta and Eva Contractor. Our Schaumburg ADS seniors performed a pulsating Gujarati garba “Nagada Sang Dhol Baje” ably choreographed by ADS coordinators Dipti Shah and Mital Patel. Chicago and Orland Park ADS seniors preformed 2 more mesmerizing Garbas choreographed by ADS coordinators Pankaj Patel and Grishma Shah respectively but the stage was set on fire by the students of Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream performing a Punjabi Bhangra.

The Niles ADS seniors stole the show with 80 year olds performing “Ladki Kar Gayi Chull” with their walking sticks as props. Chicago Staff Pankaj and Kiran Patel brought a tear to every eye by their heartwarming performance and Naperville Staff also showcased their talent by performing taditional garba. The grand finale was by the Naperville ADS seniors performing a lively Qawwali number which was encored by the audience. Our emcees Neelam Desai, Naperville Manager, Jahnavi Bavisi, Niles Manager and Nehal Thakkar, Carol Stream CCP Supervisor successfully managed the entire program and the event was concluded with vegetarian dinner prepared by our Kitchen staff. Mrs. Santosh Kumar presented the vote of thanks.