Community Seva celebrated its 10th anniversary – Tree of Life Gala on October 7th, and the evening proved to be an outstanding success. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the 440 supporters who graced the occasion, making it an unforgettable event.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan made a surprise appearance and spoke about his family’s experience volunteering with Community Seva, and how he believes deeply both in addressing and alleviating the immediate suffering of an unhoused individual, while also finding lasting solutions to the larger problem of homelessness.
This was followed by a keynote address delivered by Mr. Robert Egger, a nonprofit leader, author, speaker and activist. Mr. Egger spoke about his unexpected path into public service, he emphasized how community service benefits the giver more than it does the recipient, and he endorsed the vision and mission of Community Seva. The audience was captivated by his deeply inspiring speech.
Mr. Nathan Ganeshan, Founder & President of Community Seva made a quick presentation on the financial growth for the past decade, and shared the future five year goals of the organization namely, building their own kitchen, purchasing a shower/laundry-on-wheels, creating a fund to provide short term temporary housing to those in critical need, and providing educational support to unhoused students. He emphasized that the most critical need of the hour was the central kitchen, which would allow the organization to provide more meals, include more volunteers in service, and expand to different counties in need in the Bay Area.
Senator Dave Cortese and his wife, Pattie Cortese, Assembly Member Ash Kalra, Assembly Member Alex Lee, County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas , representatives from Supervisor Otto Lee and Congressman Ro Khanna’s offices, San Jose City Council Member Pam Foley, San Jose City Council member David Cohen, and San Jose City Council Member Domingo Candelas were in attendance at the event.
Gail Osmer, and Shaunn Cartwright, both hard working, driven, and passionate unhoused advocates were presented Community Seva’s ‘Tree of Life’ award for their unstinting service to the unhoused individuals living on the streets and in encampments. Core team member & volunteer Saras Venkatram was awarded with a special Founder’s award for “going above & beyond” in providing dedicated service to the organization for the past decade.
A sumptuous plated dinner and dessert was provided by Jalsa Catering. The cocktail and networking hour had entertainment by Timo Gutierrez, and an exciting array of silent auction items. The dinner was accompanied by a rollicking comedy routine provided by Bldg 18 Comedy Club. The evening ended with melodious tunes by IyerWaltz and team, that had the audience up and dancing until late night.
