2018 Mini Fundraiser

MAFS Seniors create magic at Mini Fund Raiser 2018 Over 300 seniors and prominent community members attended Metropolitan Asian Family Service’s Mini Fundraising dinner on May 10, 2018 at 1032 E. Ogden Ave. Naperville IL 60563. The celebration started with Lighting of the auspicious Deep by prominent leaders of the community like Jon Lavin CEO AgeOptions, Attorney Joe Fortunato, Christopher Pecak Mayor of Lisle, Jossue Espinosa Administrator at State of Illinois DHS, Beatris Gonzalez DHS office, Marta Pereyra Executive Director CLESE, Jagat Shah Founder and Chief of Mentor on Road, Nimish Jani Schaumburg Village Trustee, Krishna Bansal Outreach Coordinator Naperville Village, Ashfaq Hussain, Care Coordinators from various counties, Dr Firdaus Jafri President MAFS, Mrs. Santosh Kumar Executive Director MAFS and members of the MAFS Board.

This was followed by a warm welcome by Dr. Firdaus Jafri President MAFS. She thanked everyone for coming and encouraged all to donate generously. Next came an inspirational dance by Rina Rockers of Naperville. The dance “Aarambh hai Prachand hai” was choreographed by Rina Thakur and dedicated to all women and girls. In his speech Jagat Shah Founder and Chief “Mentor on Road” gave a new formula for living where he explained that seniors should count their age backwards every year so they will remain young forever.

Mayor of Lisle Christopher Pecak was happy to be there for his first time and promised to come every year. Jossue Espinosa Public Administrator at the DHS office thanked MAFS for inviting him and appreciated the work done to make seniors’ lives better. Attorney Joe Fortunato wished MAFS success in all their endeavors and reminded everyone of the diligent service and support of his wife Judge Linda Davenport.

Nimish Jani and Krishna Bansal both counted themselves as a part of MAFS family and are proud to support the organization. Keynote speaker Mr. Jonathan Lavin President and CEO AgeOptions remembered his long association with MAFS and Mrs. Santosh Kumar and congratulated MAFS for 26 years of dedicated service.

He also announced his retirement which was met with a lot of dismay from all present. The MAFS Board of Directors commemorated Mr. Lavin for continuous community service with a plaque and flowers were presented to all the guests of honor. The Seniors’ performances began with a rocking show by Niles ADS seniors performing on “Macarena”. Vernon Hills ADS seniors performed “Unity in Diversity” emphasizing togetherness and one world. Naperville ADS seniors showcased the beauty and grace of Rajasthan with “Ghoomar” dance performance. Chicago ADS seniors rocked the show with a Marathi wedding dance “Navrai Majhi Ladachi”. Orland Park ADS seniors performed for the very first time on a dance medley taking the audience from Shammi Kapoor’s era to Sridevi’s times. Schaumburg ADS seniors followed by a dance tribute to the Late Sridevi ably introduced as “Meri Chandni” with a speech from ADS senior Jayesh Desai.

Next was a hilarious surprise performance by the UMAS staff spoofing some of the Board of Directors. Written and introduced by Schaumburg ADS senior Jayesh Desai “Parichay” was received by a thunderous applause from the audience. The seniors’ performances ended on a high note by a solo performance from Naperville ADS senior Ms. Tabassum Rabbani dancing on a very popular number “Mere Rashke Qamar”. In her address MAFS Executive Director Mrs. Santosh Kumar remembered the help and guidance given to her by Jon Lavin 26 years ago and added that due to budget constraints this program will not be able to sustain itself for long and appealed to the public to help in every way they can.

She thanked Board president Dr. Jafri as a pillar of the organization, other board members, staff members who are working in front and behind the scene to make MAFS a well reputed social service organization. She also showcased few key staff members from the public benefit program Ms. Connie Dogaru, Ms. Meenu Jethi, Ms. Charlotte Singh and Mr. Harish Mahajan for their exemplary work for the community. The audience enjoyed a delicious vegetarian dinner catered from Touch of Spice, Itasca IL. Dinner was followed by a melodious performance of Bollywood songs by local singers Chetan Trivedi and Dr. Sonal Patel ably supported by professional DJ Abhi Trivedi.

Our emcees Neelam Desai, Naperville Manager and Jahnavi Bavisi, Niles Manager successfully managed the entire program and the event was concluded with the vote of thanks presented by Mrs. Santosh Kumar.