Deadline: 24th April 2012, this Tuesday.
To Nominate: Click here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal/submit-a-nomination?utm_source=041612&utm_medium=topper&utm_campaign=daily and answer the questions being asked for. Attached below is the profile of Hardayal Singh of the projects that you have heard & will help you to provide with the necessary feedback.
UNITED SIKHS began in 1999 when a group of Sikhs from the New York metropolitan area banded together to assist in the socio-economic development of the local immigrant communities. The organization today has come a long way and has taken up a global outlook after spreading its wings across the globe with 11 chapters globally in America, Asia and Europe with a common objective of pursuing projects in the area of spiritual, social and economic empowerment of the underprivileged and minority communities.
Nominate a deserving Sikh and we recommend Hardayal Singh who has volunteered for UNITED SIKHS from the day of its inception & his profile.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has said: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Hardayal took those first steps, to build a stronger America.
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Hardayal Singh’s Profile- Founder and Volunteer UNITED SIKHS.
1) Serving as a clergy liaison with NYPD on behalf of the community. Role is to assist the families of victims of hate crimes that have suffered after 9/11. In this role, assisted kids who have been bullied to familiarize them with their rights and follow up with schools to make sure that appropriate action has been undertaken. These immigrant families are those who are not able to communicate and express their rights and especially the rights of children whose identity becomes one of the main reasons for discrimination and bullying.
2) Advocate on behalf of hate crime victims, especially those who are not well versed with the English language and don’t know how to get their rights executed in the USA. Convincing, the immigrant families, that setting precedent is a very important factor. This will pave for other minorities to stand up for their rights. These rights that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights
3) Setup legal Clinics for the American citizen Haitian families who returned from Haiti after the earthquake and were shaken up. Hot Meals were provided by as a part of the Haitian Earthquake Relief Effort at the Brooklyn Armory in New York. https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-10-02-2010-00.html
4) Serving on the BOD of New York Disaster Interfaith Service: Set up a Legal Aid clinic for Haitian Families in Brooklyn to receive Legal Assistance and Hot meals as a part of the UNITED SIKHS Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort
https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-10-02-2010-00.html
5) Setup a base camp to provide relief operations with FEMA during the Katrina hurricane in New Orleans to assist those impacted by the floods. Setting up of a food kitchen to feed thousands of families impacted during this disaster. A letter was sent to President Bush on 4-Sep seeking assistance to airlift the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh Guru but there was no response. The UNITED SIKHS emergency relief team then sought the help of UNITED SIKHS volunteer, Ranbir Kaur, a US Army National Guard from Bakersfield CA, to hire the rescue services of SRT (A private helicopter special response and training company of California) and launched the rescue operation. In a precarious environment, amidst curfew and random shootings the UNITED SIKHS rescue squad comprised of Hardayal Singh with air force rescue experts David Cruz and Tom Bausman of SRT to remove the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in an operation that lasted over a period of 22 hours. He took this mission on behalf of the community, risking his life and not worrying about the impeding dangers.
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UNITED SIKHS rescue squad, Hardayal Singh with Guru Granth Sahib on the Zodiac Boat https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-08-09-2005-00.htm |
6) Setting up a food kitchen during the RITA floods in Dallas to assist the families
7) When the 2004 Tsunami struck in the Indian ocean and a call was made for volunteers from all countries, as an American, and as a volunteer with UNITED SIKHS, he moved to the jungles of Batticaloa,in Sri-Lanka to setup a food kitchen and distribution of supplies to the tsunami affected families. In a war-stricken country, where safety of life is not guaranteed, he stayed in the jungles for weeks to assist the families from various faiths- Christians, Muslims, Tamils, the Buddhists and many more residing in the IDP camps.
8) Being an American, on behalf of the American families who have relatives in the tribal areas of Pakistan, during the on-going war, he went to provide relief aid to those impacted, and to make sure that the government of Pakistan recognizes these minorities as Internally Displaced Families without any discrimination. See: http://vimeo.com/5564855
9) On a call to Americans to reach out to assist those in Haiti, Hardayal volunteered with UNITED SIKHS and set up a base camp in Port-Au-Prince Haiti with other volunteers, to distribute hot meals to those that were impacted by the earth-quake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbyIcmSmyzc
10) Regularly work with the American Red Cross-NY region to prepare the local community to act as first responders during an event of the magnitude of 9/11 and of such nature, god-forbidden, takes place. Have conducted numerous exercises with ARC-NY involving the local community for preparation
11) Mentoring outreach programs for the youth like Little Khalsa, Big Khalsa that have served the community on issues such as bullying, homework help. This program expanded into a program for the youth to conduct ESL, SAT and programs for computer literacy for senior citizens.
12) As a founder of UNITED SIKHS, Hardayal Singh has worked to put in efforts to built this organization from a regional community service organization in 1999 to a UN affiliated international organization growing to 11 chapters worldwide in 11 years.
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13) Launched the Sikh Summit in 2010 to serve as a platform where the participating members of the sikh delegation will meet with US congressmen and senators from different regions and share the concerns and voice issues that most affect Sikhs in the United States with our lawmakers. Bring the voice of those tax-paying immigrants who don’t have the time to express their concerns, his objective was to make their voice be heard.
I4) Global Sikh Civil Rights Conference and Report- Hardayal Singh is the architect behind this annual conference and the Global Sikh Civil and Human Rights Report which is now in its 4th year.
Topic for this year- “Identity, Human Rights, and the United Nations”; discussions will be focused on the historic decision of the UNHRC on French resident Ranjit Singh’s turban issue https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-15-04-2012-00.html
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bANUqG7Zxlo |
LET US UNITE AND ENSURE THAT OUR SIKH BROTHER GETS THE RECOGNITION HE DESERVES FOR ALL THE SELFLESS SEWA HE HAS DONE. He insists that this is all with the efforts of the team, your support & faith. But we recognize, the necessary first steps, taken by him.
Once again the link to nominate Hardayal Singh for the the White House Presidential citizens medal award is below
http://www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal/submit-a-nomination?utm_source=041612&utm_medium=topper&utm_campaign=daily
For any questions, feel free to call me at 1-469-222-6288. Don’t forget the deadline is the 24th of April, this coming Tuesday.
Issued by:Gurvinder Singh
Director, UNITED SIKHS
1-469-222-6288/1-866-243-1690
