On October 12, 2013, SALDEF held its National Gala “United We Stand” in Washington, D.C. Past awardees, government officials, and guests joined supporters from across the country to recognize the progress that our community makes when it stands together.
Fauja Singh, the 102-year old marathon runner from the United Kingdom, was honored by those assembled for inspiring people around the world and teaching us that anything is possible. Fauja Singh shared his humble message of chardi kala (high spirits) with the audience. At the event SALDEF announced its Media Initiative dedicated to telling the Sikh American story in the mainstream media across the country. As part of the program, Comcast Corporation Vice President Johnnie Giles announced that Comcast will contribute production and distribution of public service announcements (PSAs) to be shown across the Comcast and NBC family of networks to millions of viewers across the country.
Awardees included Dr. Prabhjot Singh (Youth Leadership Award), Harmeet K. Dhillon (Public Service Award), Deepa Iyer (Dorothy Height Coalition Building Award), the Sikh Human Development Foundation (Bhagat Singh Thind Community Empowerment Award), and the American Sikh Congressional Caucus (Dalip Singh Saund Legislative Leadership Award). Special guests included the Honorable Norman Mineta, former United States Secretary of Transportation and previous SALDEF Public Service Award recipient, and Congressman Ami Bera. SikhLEAD Alumni Guneet Kaur Chawla, Gurpreet Singh Sarin, and Jasleen Singh, reflected on their experiences after going through the program and welcomed the Leadership Development Program Class of 2013-2014.
Thank you to all who attended and supported SALDEF’s mission and vision. If you weren’t able to join please all those who attended and support us today with a tax-deductible donation. SALDEF thanks all of the volunteers, SikhLEAD alumni, Guninder Kaur, Eastern Brew, and sponsors, including Ik Manzil, Comcast Corporation, and Southwest Airlines for making the event possible.
