In a thrilling display of sportsmanship and camaraderie, the Chicagoland Indoor Cricket Tournament 2024 unfolded at the Naperville Yard on Saturday, September 28th. Led by the passionate cricket-loving group known as "Boxers," this event united sixteen(16) diverse teams, showcasing their cricketing prowess while supporting a “SEWA SHE” noble cause.

The day was characterized by over six hours of non-stop action and engagement, where the atmosphere reverberated with laughter, chatter, shouts, and cheers from players who shared deep-rooted connections, whether through community bonds or professional affiliations.

Originating from Naperville, the 'Boxers'—a closely-knit cricket-loving community—organized this tournament with a dual purpose: fostering a sense of unity within Chicagoland and contributing to the noble cause of "Sewa," a prominent non-profit organization for “SEWA SHE Project” support.

The tournament featured a dynamic lineup of more than 31 games, with teams competing in around-robin format before advancing to the knockout stage. The pinnacle of excitement arrived with the final match—a nail-biting thriller—where "Hit N Run A" emerged as the champions, narrowly defeating team "Rest of the World" Meanwhile, team "Jersey" secured a well-deserved third position.

Volunteers from "Boxers" have been the driving force behind the Indoor Box Cricket tournament since 2016. They consistently foster a sense of community engagement for social causes through friendly competitive entertainment. The tournament continues to attract participants, volunteers, and spectators of all ages.

Organizing team members, expressed heartfelt gratitude for the growing support and enthusiasm from the cricketing community. SEWA volunteers explained Sewa International initiatives and work around the globe & Chicagoland.

Looking ahead, the eagerly anticipated Naperville Box Cricket tournament is scheduled for the summer or fall of 2025, with the aim of further uniting neighboring cities and communities for a common philanthropic cause. This event promises to add another thrilling chapter to the enduring legacy of cricket, community, and charity in Chicagoland.

Stay tuned for more riveting cricketing action and community bonding in the years to come! Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) organization that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development.

Sewa International, Chicago chapter hosted Rishte Nate - a spectacular musical show on Nov 4 at Swaminarayan Mandir, IL.  The program was organized to raise funds for the victims of the recent disaster - Harvey, IRMA and Maria, and, Sponsor a Child - a program that sponsors the education of underprivileged chldren in India and Nepal.

Award winning participants from the musical school Swara Sadhana, and five dance schools Swaralaya, Utkalaa, Dancing Petals, Indian Dance School, and Nartan gave a spell bound performance leaving the audience mesmerized.

Watch report on TV Asia

SEWA USA- Chicago, successfully organised their annual fund raising, Dandiya-Garba event, on 9/17/2016. With an attendance of more than 1100 enthusiastic audience, the night was an absolute hit. It took a dedicated effort of more than 40 volunteers to manage and see through this event to its entirity. 

Highlights: 

• 1100+ attendees
• 5 Vendor Booths
• 4 hours of funfilled dancing on Rohit Parikh's Band 
• 6 different variety of snacks offered for purchase 

Congraulations to all the volunteers ..

Sewa USA- Chicago Chapter successfully conducted the 1st Sewa day event on September 12th from 8pm-9.30pm at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) located in Schaumburg, lL. The event was attended by 43 volunteers (28 adults + 15 youth)

54 boxes containing 11,664 meals which will feed 32 kids for a year was packed by the group. FMSC food is supplied to over 70 countries across the world.

Kudos to the youth volunteers who participated on a week night and an applause to all adult volunteers in carving out some time from their busy schedule.

This is 4th year for Sewa Chicago GIC  summer internship program. In all 33 High school and collage students participated. Internship was conducted at 3 Chicago suburb locations  i.e. Naperville, Schaumburg and Lake county for a duration of 8 weeks. Each group was headed by a Coach and a college intern as Team Lead.

The project was to conduct research on causes for Diabetes, its alarming increase, conventional treatment, holistic treatment options, understanding Sewa's SDM ( Stop Diabetes Movement ) program and marketing/making presentations to local community groups.

Interns did an awesome job doing research, learning from Doctors whom they invited, did survey on social media, studied SDM program, interacted with past SDM camp participants, made a short video on Dos and Don'ts on prevention and made presentations to local community groups ( from 20 people to 250 people audience !) e.g. Mayor's office, Temples, Church, Senior groups, Fitness centers, Yoga studios, Hospital, cultural organizations...etc. 

 On August 14th we had a concluding day event which was attended by over 110 people. Interns made presentation on  their 8 weeks of learning and shared their experiences. It was an eye opener for the audience to see their innovation in several areas, depth of  research, thinking out of the box and confidence with which they presented. The interns were presented  Sewa certificate.

 We would like to thank tremendous efforts put in by Team Leads ( Avni Patel, Abby Mohan ) and Coaches ( Kruti ji Patel, Mangal ji Nagarkar and Manish ji Joshi ) for guiding their group.

 Link to the photos : https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9kX8qzyafz2TU1yLUprOXJ2b0U

We will be happy to share our experience, if any Sewa chapter would like to conduct such an internship. 

Friendship Village is a continuing care retirement community in Schaumburg, IL. They organized “Easter Egg Hunt & Visit with the Easter Bunny” for residents, associates, children and grandchildren on Saturday, March 19 from 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm.

Friendship Village requested SEWA to assist them in accomplishing below activities on time and with perfection:

• Hiding  eggs
  
•  Crafts
  
•  Egg hunt patrol
  
•   Set up
  
•   Clean up
  

Volunteers were requested to reach Friendship Village by noon and stay until event is over and cleanup is done.  Six adults and seven teens volunteered for the event. This was a wonderful experience for everyone specially our kids. Friendship Village representatives were very pleased with the enthusiasm and commitment of our volunteers.

Our group of volunteers helped Friendship Village to peacefully manage crowd of around 150 people