A Healing at the Margins: A Volunteer-Led Wellness Movement
Tarvinder Taneja- MOS Houston
According to CAP, the USA has a 5-year lower life expectancy than its peer industrialized countries. Improving the health of the most vulnerable populations will boost health outcomes and social well-being, strengthen the economy, and help build a strong, equitable future.
The Sewa Houston ASPIRE Centers are located at ground zero for individuals living below the poverty line—uninsured, underserved, and marginalized populations, including recently arrived refugees, undocumented immigrants, and resilient survivors of unspeakable trauma. These individuals face myriad existential challenges, including stress, poor health, and lack of access to adequate healthcare.
We developed a Total Wellness program to reach children, adults, seniors, and other vulnerable individuals—first within the complexes where the ASPIRE Centers are located, and then extending to equally vulnerable neighbors. With the support of volunteer doctors, dentists, optometrists, medical paraprofessionals, medical students, and AmeriCorps members, we launched monthly clinics two years ago. The objective was to increase awareness and accessibility, inculcate healthy behaviors and accountability, and improve outcomes through wellness education.
2025 Impact
— 600 adults received medical evaluations from medical professionals, along with referrals for continued treatment.
— 12,000 sets of vitals were checked by AmeriCorps members. Regular testing ensures behavioral modification geared toward self-care and the mitigation of health-related emergencies and complications.
— 40 workshops were conducted on topics ranging from nutrition and maternal health to dental care and stress management, presented by AmeriCorps members trained as Certified Community Health Workers through the UH Medical School.
Partners who have joined our efforts include Harris County Health (vaccines, basic blood work, and other tests, including pregnancy and STDs), Precinct 4 (the largest precinct in the country, with a population the size of New Jersey, where we will provide clinics and vitals testing regularly in the coming year), The Rose, and Hope Clinic.
Performance measures are expected to double in 2026.
A Run for a Cause: Autism Awareness in Motion
Priya Sudarsan- 9/11 events coordinator, San Diego
On Saturday, April 11, early in the morning, the NFAR Race for Autism brought together an ocean of people walking with joy, pride, and unity. Teams cheered for one another, strangers became supporters, and all of Balboa Park, in the heart of San Diego, moved like one big heartbeat for a cause that truly matters.
NFAR (National Foundation for Autism Research) is a nonprofit organization based in San Diego that fundraises to support autistic individuals and families through education, outreach, and specialized programs tailored to their needs.
The Sewa San Diego Chapter partnered with NFAR to bring autism awareness closer to home. Fifteen Sewa volunteers joined the walk/5K race to show solidarity and support. Our runners and volunteers ranged in age from 10 to 60, and each contributed “yatkinchit”—whatever they could. Together, we raised $300 to help NFAR extend support to more families.
Several Sewa volunteers stayed back after the run to help with teardown and cleanup, joining hands with local community members. For us, it was not only important to participate in the run/walk, but also critical to support the organizers afterward. As Sewa volunteers, we believe that serving means rolling up our sleeves, jumping in, and getting our hands dirty.
This was truly a multifaceted event organized as part of #9/11SewaDayOfService—where we raised funds for the community, ran for health, and volunteered time to clean up after the event. What a fulfilling Saturday morning it was!
Sewa’s Voice in Thought Leadership: Bridging Service and Policy
Kusuma Buddhiraju- Policy Research Team, USA
Over the last 12 months, alongside some stellar individuals, I helped shape a new dimension of Sewa’s impact through its Policy Research initiative. Sewa has served communities for decades, but this effort is about ensuring that service also informs systems, policy, and public thinking. Through this work, we are helping bring Sewa’s grassroots wisdom into conversations with policymakers, nonprofits, think tanks, and other institutions that shape long- term change.
In the past year, we ran six Policy Cafés, wrote numerous blogs and a sectoral report, engaged diverse stakeholders across industry, academia, and local governments, and created thoughtful, solution-oriented conversations around public challenges. For me, this was not just about organizing events or producing content. It was about helping Sewa grow into a credible convener in the policy space—one that can connect lived experience, volunteer service, and evidence-based ideas.
That has been deeply meaningful to me. I have seen how Sewa’s work, when articulated thoughtfully, commands respect well beyond the volunteer world. It has the power to influence how people think about education, hunger, disaster response, healthcare, dignity, and community resilience. This endeavor changed my life because it expanded my understanding of seva itself. Service is not always about responding to a need; it is also about shaping the conversations and institutions that determine whether those needs are met with dignity at scale.
To me, this is the next chapter of Sewa’s impact—to go beyond serving communities and help shape the ideas that serve them better.
