Namaste,

The RANA Business Conference is kicking off on the 16th and there is a strong delegation from our Chapter including sponsorship from our members Dhiraj Uncle, Mahavir ji and Kishor Bhai. Our very own Shree Mahida will be one of the MCs and Ohm Mahida will be presenting his new venture, an app called FIrefly.

Our Ambassadors will also be making a presentation. I will send more information regarding their progress and much more RANA news soon.

There are many interesting sessions including a RANA venture fund/group and Dr. Jaivir Singh will speak about the opportunities in Healthcare. This is a wonderful topic for our youth that aspire to pursue a career in Healthcare. This conference is not just for business folks, it is a great place to network with professionals across all fields.

With nearly 100 delegates, this inaugural conference is already a massive success. There is still last minute registrations that we can try to accommodate. Please reach out to me to let me know if you are interested in attending.

Regards,

Rajiv Singh
NJ Chapter President

Namaste!

So you think the blood of Rajputs is different from others? Well, its time for you to share it with those that need it. RANA NJ Chapter is sponsoring a blood drive during the 2016 Picnic which will be taking place on Saturday, August 13th. As good community citizens, this is a wonderful opportunity to give to those that need blood. The blood drive is being facilitated by the Miller Keystone Blood Center. You can find more information about the organization at https://www.giveapint.org/

This is the first time we are attempting to do blood drive. This is a very important event for RANA NJ and participation is essential for success. There is a minimum requirement of 30 donors that are needed in order for the Blood drive to take place. To encourage participation, we are making the Picnic FREE to all those families that have a minimum of one person in their family that donates blood. Thats right……FREE DOSA!

Pre-Registration is required by Miller Keystone. Each person that agrees to donate blood will be contacted by Miller Keystone one week prior to the blood drive. We are hoping we have the minimum of 30 donors prior to August 1. For those that are interested, we will need the following information:

Name:
Phone Number:
Email Address:

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.

Only a few days left for the business conference. Please make a point to attend this inaugural networking event. Many members of the NJ PA Chapter will be attending the event including most of the NJ Executive Committee members.

The camping trip will be taking place within the next couple weeks. We are so excited that it will be the largest camping trip ever. There are many awesome activities planned. Hardevji will continue to send updates as they develop. Its still not too late to register.

Regards,
NJ Chapter Executive Committee

Namaste!

The deadline is approaching quickly for the discounted rate of $69 for the RANA Business Conference. This is a wonderful opportunity to network with Rajputs from across the US. The Keynote speaker is Indian Ambassador to the US, His Excellency Arun Kumar Singh.

Om Mahida of our NJ PA Chapter will be presenting his new venture, “Fireflies”. I am looking forward to his presentation as well as meeting the other delegates to this event.

RANA has discounted the rate to $100 for Juniors members that are attending college. Our Chapter will pay the cost of $100 for all junior from our chapter that elect to attend this event. If you are interesting in speaking, please contact me.

Don’t miss this awesome event. Please let me know if you will be attending. I hope to see you there.

Regards,
Rajiv “Manu” Singh

Namaste!

We are excited that our Ambassadors have begun their assignment for a community service project in India. Their tickets are booked and they will be off to India on the 1st of August. They will be in touch with you to raise funds for Faith Aalingan which is an orphanage for HIV positive children. Please be sure to support them.

Below you will find a short bio for each Ambassador. Their email addresses are also noted.

Soon we will be sending important announcements for the upcoming RANA business conference, Camping trip and Picnic.

Regards,
Rajiv Singh
President RANA NJ Chapter.

Ayushree (Shree) Mahida (20 yrs old), is the daughter of Hardev and Jayshree Mahida and is a younger sister to Om Mahida. She graduated from Lenape High School. Shree is a fourth year student at Temple University pursuing her undergraduate degree in Computer Science, with a minor in Public Health. A few of her hobbies include: reading, cooking, traveling and playing tennis. Shree can be reached at [email protected]

Gaurav Jadav is currently 19 years old. He is attending Rutgers University as a rising junior and is pursuing degrees in computer science and economics. He graduated from North Brunswick Township High School. He lives with his parents Rasik and Chandrika and his younger sister Jamie. He enjoys watching basketball and football and likes to teach himself how to play the dhol and piano in his free time. His other interests include photography and boxing. Gaurav can be reached at [email protected]

Yash Bahadur Singh is currently 18 years old and a rising sophomore at Haverford College (as well as a graduate from Montgomery High School). At the Moment, he is interested in pursuing a major in the natural sciences, most likely biology or chemistry with a biochemistry concentration. Yash’s favorite sport (to play And watch) is squash, and he’s currently on the varsity team at Haverford. He is the son of Rajiv and Vibha Singh, and he has an older sister named Ambika Singh. Yash can be reached at [email protected]

Roshni N. Padhiar (19 yrs old), daughter of Nareshsinh B. Padhiar and Kailash N. Padhiar and also the youngest of three children including two older brothers, Dheeren (26 yrs old) and Janak (25 yrs old) Padhiar. She attended an all-girls college preparatory high school named The Baldwin School located in Bryn Mawr, PA. She now attends The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia studying Biochemistry with a minor of Humanities pursuing a career in Medicine, specifically Neonatology (working with infants) or OB/GYN. A Few of her hobbies would consist of traveling, cooking, learning new languages, painting and drawing. Roshini can be reached at [email protected]

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. Please mark your Calendars for the annual RANA NJ Chapter Picnic. It will be on Saturday, August 13th at the following location:

Core Creek Park
901 E. Bridgetown Pike
Langhorne, PA, US 19047
Pavilion 10

There are lots of very cool activities planned and we will have Dosa. Should start at Noonish. Although in PA, it is right over the border in Langhorne. More details to follow soon. A special thank you to Mukesh Parmar ji for taking the initiative to reserve this location.

The RANA business conference is around the corner, July 16th to 17th. Make your reservations soon before the discounted rate is gone.

Our RANA NJ Youth Ambassadors are gearing up for their exciting community service project in India. Details will be provided as they continue to develop.

The camping Trip is almost sold out! Please make your reservations asap; we are only a month away! Contact Hardev bhai at [email protected]

Regards,
Rajiv Singh (Manu)
RANA NJ Chapter President

A special thanks to all those that attended the Holi gathering. We had scrumptious food, mingling among the Biradari, several visitors and a fun game of spring time cricket. As always, it is the participation of our members that makes it special.

This Sunday the RANA NJ Chapter Executive Committee will be meeting to discuss many important topics. After our meeting, we will send you updated information regarding the following:
1. RANA Camping Trip. For more information, please contact our revered Camping Convener Hardev Bhai at
[email protected]

2. RANA-NJ Youth Ambassador Program
3. Picnic/Blood Drive Event
4. Mahatma Gandhi Community Service Day
5. RANA NEC initiated Business Conference
6. Leadership of the next NJ Executive Committee.
Please let us know if you have knowledge of internships that would benefit the Chapter Youth/Young Adults.

There are 2 PAID summer internship positions RESERVED for our chapter Youth/Young Adults. Here is some information:
1. Must have completed sophomore year of High school and not older then those entering their Junior year of college this fall.
2. Based upon the candidate’s background, experience and interest, tasks will range from general clerical duties, social media marketing, website design, marketing, accounting and website content writing. There will also be opportunities to shadow/network senior executives.
3. Located in Belle Mead, NJ 08502 and will be for a duration of 4 to 6 weeks.

Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions regarding these positions. For those that are interested in applying, please submit resume with cover letter.
Regards,
Rajiv Singh (Manu)
NJ Chapter President

The RANA – NJ Chapter Holi Celebration is less then a week away. Celebrate with your Rajput friends. In addition to festive colors, we will have awesome food catered including:

Chaat
Chicken Biryani
Vegtable Biryani
Papard
Raiyta
Mango Laasi
Mithaii
Traditional snacks and drinks

We need to provide a final head count to the caterer. So please let us know if you will be attending if you have not done so already.

Here are some more details:

Date of Event: April 16, 2016

Time of Event: 1PM to 5PM

Venue: Johnson Park Grove#5, River Road, Piscataway NJ 08854 If coming from Landing Lane Bridge, make your first left.

Attached please find a flyer for the event. You can register at www.RANA-NJ.org
We are getting set to organize the RANA-NJ Youth Ambassador program for community service projects in India. Currently we have 6 RANA young adults/youth that are interested. If your child is in High School or College, please let us know if there is interest in participating in a RANA NJ sponsored community service project in India. Once we have a final number of those that are interested, we will provide more details. Please note, this is the LAST opportunity for you to convey interest to us.

We have many exciting announcements that will be coming your way soon including:
1. RANA Business Conference; Tentatively the Weekend of July 16th

2. Camping July 4th. You should have received information from our Camping Convener, Hardev Bhai. Sites are limited, so sign up soon!

3. RANA Family Convention. Avan Bhai Sahaab of the NY chapter is the Convener and this will be an Epic event.

AND MUCH MORE……..

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Regards
Rajiv “Manu” Singh
President
RANA NJ Chapter

As spring approaches, I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather. Recently Raj Shekhar sent out the RANA NJ Chapter Holi announcement. For more information and registration, please visit www.RANA-NJ.org

For those interested, we hope to arrange for our members to donate blood prior to the Holi gathering and will get the information to you soon.

We are getting set to formally commence the RANA Youth Ambassador Program. We have decided to open the participation to RANA young adults that are currently in College in addition to those that are in High School. Openings are limited, please let us know if your child is interested in participating.

Regards,
Rajiv Singh (Manu)
RANA NJ Chapter President

Namaste,

We are happy to report that the RANA NJ organized New Year Celebration, the DHAMAKA was a huge success. It was the support of RANA members that made this event so special. Here is some data:

• Not including support staff, total of 233 attendees.
• Approximately 90 were RANA members.
• 86 were not associated with RANA. They registered from our advertising on Facebook and sites such as Sulekha. We had over 8,000 unique visitors to our DHAMAKA (created by NJ EC) website.
• 59 were friends of RANA members that were not Rajputs. We probably could have sold out the event with just friends and family of RANA members since we got an additional request of 100+ registrations after we were sold out 3 days prior to the start of the event.
• From gate receipts we had income of approximately $13K and this covered our expenses.
• We had $9,000 in additional sponsorship pledges. We have already received $6,500. We should hit our projected goal of $10K.
• 100% of our guests had a positive or neutral experience. We made sure it was a classy party and everyone enjoyed. The PAID support staff included 6 babysitters, 2 Bartenders, 1 Dishwasher, 5 servers, 1 cook, 1 catering manager, 2 bouncers (including an off duty police officer) and 2 Photographers. The entertainers included a DJ, 2 Comedians and a Dhol player. This was a total of 24 people to make sure everyone was well taken care of. The # of 24 does not include the NJ EC volunteers.
• We raised $326 for ASHA with a raffle.
• Approximately 25 young adults were present and enjoyed the party very much.
• We hope the DHAMAKA will be an annual fund raising event. The infrastructure and intellectual capital is in place.

The 10K we raised will serve as seed money for the RANA NJ Chapter Youth Ambassador Program (RYA). The NJ EC is in the process of finalizing the program. Here is a “draft” (subject to change) of the program:

We are happy to announce the RANA – NJ Chapter Youth Ambassador Program. We will be sending 5 RANA youth to India for a community service project.

The goals of the RYA program are:

. Youth will learn the gift of giving.

. A stronger value proposition to membership.

. Benefit a worthy cause.

. Youth will have future affinity for RANA-NJ, India and camaraderie for

members of their team.

. And much more.

RANA NJ will pay for the airfare for each youth and grant a $1,000 scholarship for College Education. We will make arrangements for the travel, lodging and meals. Parents of the RYA will be responsible for any expenses in excess of $1,000. Each RYA will be required to do as follows:

1. Fundraising individually and as a group. Goal is for each RYA to raise $1,000 to donate to (Name of Organization TBD). Mentors will be available to assist.

2. Keep a journal of their activities and experiences.

3. Jointly create a minimum of 10 minute or so video journal of the experience from beginning to end.

3. By the end of August, submit their journals and a 500 word essay in digital format to RANA NJ.

More details:

A. The trip will be in July.

B. Parents are welcome to join the fun.

C. There will be RANA NJ chaperons.

D. It will be a total of 3 weeks or so in duration.

E. There will be a one week cultural trip through Rajasthaan.

F. Priority will be given based upon age to those entering 12th grade in September 2016, then to those entering 11th grade and so on.

G. Each participant will earn a college Scholarship of $1,000 and be commended as a “RANA NJ Scholar”.

We will request other RANA chapters to have a similar program.

Please note, the above is subject to change. If you are interested in sending your child, by January 21st, please send us your child’s name, age, name of school, and the grade they are currently in. Of course, you are not bound to send your child until details are finalized.

Respectfully,
RANA NJ Chapter Executive Committee

RANA NJ Chapter Members, Future Members, Family and Friends,

Pranaam!

It has been a delightful privilege to serve you this past year. As we look forward to serving you in 2016, please note the following by your NJ EC:

Hosted a very well attended Picnic event with Masala Dosa.

Supported The Dharma Conference and had a booth there.

Organized a youth volunteer initiative that prepared 400 meals for the benefit of the Trenton Soup Kitchen.

Sent Post Cards to over 1,000 Rajputs encouraging them to join RANA and or be more active in RANA.

Hosted the Diwali event at Arsha Vidya Gurukulum. RANA members contributed $1,500 in donations.

Created a Chapter website.

Created a Chapter facebook site.

Contributed to 3 charities.

Re Created an Electronic version of the RANA membership directory.

Added 3 new families to membership.

Hosting The New Year Dhamaka. This will be an annual fund raising event for RANA NJ Chapter. We supported the careers of 2 young Rajput professional comedians and photographer. Supported the Elks Non profit organization and raised 10K for the RYA program listed below.

Juniors hosted Ski Trip to Camelback; cancelled due to lack of snow.

Added 3 junior and youth members to executive committee as members at large.

Members of NJ EC were active in neighboring Chapter events such as Picnics of NY and DC Chapter.

Positively supported NEC and attended meetings as requested.

Ended the year with a slight increase in cash balance in checking account.

In 2016, in addition to the usual events, we will add a Navratri Dandiya Raas to be open to all including non Rajputs. This was suggested to us by past President Chandrikaji. We will try to recruit her to help spearhead the organization of this event. We hope to invite a famous Gujurati film star from India to MC/Sing this event.

We have launched the RANA NJ Chapter Rajput Youth Ambassador Program. Our youth will be doing community service projects in India starting this summer. More information to follow.

We have already started recruiting the next NJ EC so that there is continuity and the established positive momentum continues. Anand Singh and Jayshreeji have agreed to be a part of the upcoming team with full support of the existing Team.

We invite your comments and suggestions. Thank you so much for your support and participation.

Respectfully,

The RANA NJ EC:

Cultural Secretary: Raj Shekhar Singh
Treasurer: Jayshree Mahida
Fundraising Chair: Mukesh Parmar
Membership Chair: Jay Gohil
General Secretary: Raj Bimal Singh
Vice President: Chetan Puwar
Junior Member: Ambika Singh
Junior Member: Auyshree Mahida (Shree)
Youth Member: Ananya Singh
President: Rajiv Singh (Manu)