India Community Center was conceived as a place where every generation of the Indian Diaspora could find comfort in various facets of their culture, preserve and practice unique traditions and celebrate festivals and social milestones in a welcoming environment. It was also designed to be a center where people of other cultures can explore and experience Indian traditions and values.
Over sixty years ago, India’s Founding Fathers asked all Indians to respect the national symbols of India, to cherish its heritage and preserve its composite culture (Constitution Part IV-A). To honor the importance of those ideals, a small group of Indian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area (all successful entrepreneurs) decided to create a broad-based, inclusive, Community Center. Its mission would be to preserve the culture, values, and heritage of India for future generations based on the vision and ideals of the Founding Fathers of India.
India Community Center was conceived as a place where every generation of the Indian Diaspora could find comfort in various facets of their culture, preserve and practice unique traditions, and celebrate festivals and social milestones in a welcoming environment. It was also designed to be a center where people of other cultures can explore and experience Indian traditions and values.
In addition to cherishing our heritage, ICC founders also decided that promoting brotherhood and fraternity in the spirit of the constitution would be even more important in a distant land. So uniting the diverse community also became one of ICC’s goals. And finally, incorporating community service as an essential pillar of this center was considered vital to living up to traditional Indian values. Thus came into being our mission of UNITE. SERVE. CELEBRATE
India Community Center (ICC) opened its first facility in February 2003 with the efforts of the Godhwani brothers, Anil and Gautam, first generation Indian Americans and successful entrepreneurs, who created ICC as a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the Indian American and Greater Bay Area community. ICC is a non-religious and non-political organization with a goal to unite, serve and celebrate Indian culture in the community.
Talat Hasan served as the first Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Anil Godhwani served as the first President of the Board of Directors and Naren Bakshi, who created the first ICC in the U.S. in Cleveland in the 1960s, was the first Adviser and guided the founders on the early direction. They were joined by several successful, passionate community members including Kanwal Rekhi, Sheena Vaidyanathan, Bala Joshi and Kailash Joshi who worked full time for several years to establish ICC.
ICC is financially supported through membership fees and community donations. It has also received corporate, foundation and government funding. Today it is the largest Indian American community center in North America. Its 38,000 sq. ft. facility in Milpitas, California, and an 10,000 sq. ft. Table Tennis Center serve the entire Bay Area with a professional staff and hundreds of volunteers providing a wide range of programs and services. ICC conducts several hundred programs annually to serve the community.
To promote Indian culture and values by providing social, cultural, recreational and community programs, thereby uniting the Indian community, and raising awareness about Indian culture in the local community
To promote awareness and understanding of the Indian-American subculture in the mainstream as well as provide a bridge to India.
To make a positive difference in the community by providing social, cultural, educational, professional and recreational programs.
To be an essential resource for the community by providing free or heavily subsidized services in areas such as health, legal matters, and senior support.
To foster community spirit by creating a place for family and friends to come together.
(CEO, ICC)
Raj has over 40 years of experience in building global teams and entrepreneurship after holding senior positions in professional services, telecom and non-profit organizations. He is an CPA (UK) and a Charter Member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). Raj started his career with the Coopers & Lybrand, UK practice where he held a variety of roles, including C & L Malawi.
Subsequently, Raj joined British Telecom’s management team in the new and emerging value-added services business and participated in several acquisitions in the US which resulted in his relocation to the US. In 1994 following a merger of British Telecom’s operations in the US with MCI, Raj ventured into the entrepreneurial world by acquiring a number of commercial printing businesses over a period of six years.
After consolidating these businesses, Raj made a successful exit. In 1994, Raj joined The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a Silicon Valley not for profit organization focused on inspiring and mentoring entrepreneurs then as the Executive Director for six years,doubling up as TiE Global ED until 2005. Subsequently, he took a three-year India assignment for a Silicon Valley based startup Rhythm New Media as the Country Head. He currently serves as a Board Member of Miista Inc., a high-end, London-based, women’s shoe company. He returned to TiE SV in 2013 as the Executive Director until November 2015. Continuing with his passion for working in the non profit and community based organizations, he is now CEO of India Community Center in Silicon Valley. Raj is a very experienced mentor and brings to the table a tremendous understanding of global markets, a keen understanding of business dynamics, a sharp sense of operations planning & management and a deep knowledge about how the global investing eco-system operates.
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