SANDESH—The newsletter of The Hindu Society of NE Florida - A Non-Profit, Tax Exempt Religious, Cultural & Educational Association Mar, Apr, May 17 Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha VOUME XXI, ISSUE 1 (Dharma Protects those who protect it) Special Events HOLI CELEBRATION Sunday, March 12 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS Sunday, March 26 UGADI CELEBRATION Tuesday, March 28 RAM NAVAMI CELEBRATION Wednesday, April 5 MAHAVIR JAYANTHI CELEBRATIONS Sunday, April 9 HANUMAN JAYANTHI CELEBRATIONS Tuesday, April 11 VAISHAKHI POORNIMA CELEBRATION Wednesday, May 10 MOTHERS DAY CELEBRATION Sunday, May14 What’s Inside ? Financial Summary Page 4 Chairperson’s Message Page 5 Head Priest’s Message Page 9 Quarterly Calendar Pages 13-14 Pooja Rates Page 18 This issue is dedicated to all our donors and volunteers www.hsnef.org E xcellence in E ye Care Florida Eye Specialists is Jacksonville’s leading comprehensive vision care center. Our eye surgeons are recognized in the region as the top sub-specialists in their fields. We specialize in laser cataract surgery, cosmetic lid surgery, glaucoma and laser refractive surgery (LASIK). Cornea and Cataract Glaucoma and Cataract Amit R. Chokshi, M.D. S. Akbar Hasan,M.D. Kathryn B. Freidl, M.D. Rachana A. Patel, M.D. Ravi R. Patel, M.D. Rajesh K. Shetty, M.D. Cosmetic Lid Surgery (Oculoplastics) Optometry Wassia A. Khaja Ahmed, M.D. Kimberly Riordan, O.D. David A. Kostick, M.D., F.A.C.S. 904-564-2020 www.FloridaEyeSpecialists.com Fernandina Beach – Ponte Vedra – Riverside – San Marco - Southside ——————————————————————————————————————————————– Page 2 www.hsnef.org HSNEF Board 2017 Executive Board Chair Raghu Chatrathi (708) 207-8786 Kalyan Kandlakunta 534-3799 Sandip Gupta 268-2050 Raghu Chatrathi Tracy Khona 382-2321 Chitra Pudhucode 571-6851 Raj Satyanarayana 233-6205 [email protected] Sangita Harton 434-1929 Vipan Kalhan 233-8266 Vinod Malhotra 201-1948 Vamsee Srikakolapu (561) 628-3157 Sunil Shah 982-7999 Saraswati Singh 993-8116 Vice Chair Vamsee Srikakolapu [email protected] 2017 Advisory Council Mani Perumal Gyan Joshi Rajat Sharma Secretary Nandu Shah Krishna Hanchate Sarath Kuravi Sandip Gupta [email protected] ADVERTISING IN SANDESH Treasurer Advertising in Sandesh is an excellent opportunity for business owners and profes- Kalyan Kandlakunta sionals looking for exposure among local Indian community. It is a quarterly publi- cation reaching Indian community households in the Jacksonville area. Sandesh [email protected] publication is also available online at www.hsnef.org. The rates for advertising per issue in Sandesh are as follows: Worship Tracy Khona Full Page: $100 Half Page:$75 Quarter Page:$50 [email protected] First and Last Page (inside) Full: 200 Half: 150 Maintenance Last Page (outside) Full: 250 Vipan Kalhan Education Chitra Pudhokode RENTAL FACILITY Bal Vidya Mandir The Temple facility is available for private events, personal functions and Krish Seetharaman social gatherings on first come first served basis and at a cost. Please avail of the facility and help the temple by optimally using the existing facility. Priest Please contact Office Administrator at temple office (904) 268-7630 or Pt. Kadambi Srinathji [email protected] for bookings. For rates, please see Page 22. Admin Asha Sharma Sreelakshmi Manne Shilpa Vather [email protected] Sandesh Editor Anita Mandal Ripples Mentor Suraksha Jhalani Facebook: Jax Hindu Temple - HSNEF Hindu Society of NE Florida Questions, comments or 4968 Greenland Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258 concerns Phone: 904-268-7630, www.hsnef.org [email protected] (904) 268-7630 Temple Timings Morning Timings : 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Weekdays Evening Timings : 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (Summer) and 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Winter) Weekend Timings : 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM (Summer) and 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Winter) ——————————————————————————————————————————————– Page 3 www.hsnef.org Hindu Society of N.E. Florida Highlights: Wells Fargo Bank Balance as on. 12/31/2015 $ 122,277.27 We will be sending a Thank Wells Fargo Bank Balance as on. 12/31/2016 $ 337,522.08 You letter to all those who Money in Emergency Fund 12/31/2016 $ 16,676.22 have contributed $250 or more in the year 2015. If you do not get the letter please contact Year-2016 us at the temple. Income Jan-Dec 2016 Oct-Dec 2016 Annual Gala Pledge $38665.00 $38665.00 Always collect receipt for Bank interest $112.88 $36.91 payment made in cash Classes Income $4785.00 $90.00 Future Kitchen $16499.75 $4349.00 We request you to pay big General Donation $127,098.87 $40011.00 amounts by check. Hundi $83,257.00 $24,933.00 For credit card receipt must be issues for payment over $21. For Capital Income $48503.00 $20350.00 payment of $21 or less by credit Membership $37380.19 $4568.00 card receipt will be issued on Pooja $61659.00 $10633.00 request. Rental of Temple Facilities $13144.00 $2005.00 Sandesh Income $4026.00 $2500.00 Help us correct our records of your Special Events $59196.00 $18189.26 contribution for life membership. Total Income $494,327.06 $166,330.17 Please verify the contribution amount in our record. For resolving the gaps please inform and Expense produce evidence. Please volunteer for Kar Seva. Capital Expenses $22183.51 $711.55 Check with office for schedule. Classes Expenses $824.34 $0.00 Credit Card charges $4581.26 $982.26 Employee /Consul. Benefits $18607.90 $5619.62 Employees Salary 91972.79 $25626.03 License & Fees $1676.25 $1550.00 Maintenance $51259.37 $6272.24 Pooja Related Regular Expenses $3492.72 $791.00 Publications, Print & Postage $2274.63 $85.63 Property Insurance $16078.28 4033.53 Special Events – Exp. $32185.77 $13299.49 Supplies (Office + General) $4323.44 $287.05 Taxes - Payroll + Others $1609.82 $878.62 Utilities $19,493.05 $4,844.59 Workers Comp. $1421.00 $0.00 Total Expenses $271,984.13 $64,921.61 www.hsnef.org Message from HSNEF Chair Namaste Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!! On behalf of our community, I would like to thank the outgoing members of the Executive Board and Advisory Committee for their contributions to Hindu Society of North East Florida. I would also like to welcome the new Executive Board and Advisory Committee members. With the community help and EB and AC leadership we hope to build on prior year successes and make 2017 another successful year. This year we will achieve an important milestone – 10th year of our temple at the current loca- tion. We want to thank the countless individuals whose contributions helped create HSNEF and built the temple as a place for us to congregate and offer worship. These 10 years have signifi- cantly increased the size of our congregation. In order to accommodate the increased size of the congregation we have embarked on a temple expansion plan. During the Annual General Body meeting conducted on November 12th, the temple expansion plans were presented and approved. The approved plan is included in this magazine. In 2017 one of the goals is to complete the park- ing lot expansion and the temple needs your financial support to achieve the goal. A big thank you to all the members that are working on the temple expansion plan. We have started implementing the new safety and security procedures during major religious events to enhance both the religious experience and the safety of the devotees. The response from the congregation has been highly complementary. We will continue to evaluate this policy after each major religious event and make adjustments as necessary. Thanks to the generosity of the community we raised close to $60,000 during the annual gala event that took place on December 3rd at UNF Robinson Theater. Others have done their part to raise funds as well. Mata Rani devotees raised over $10,000 and Navratri celebrations raised over $3,500. Eat for a good cause (EFGC), an effort started in 2015 to raise funds for a new kitchen, raised over $16,000 in 2016. A big thank you to everyone who is contributing to the success of HSNEF. Ripples, the youth volunteer organization started in 2015, successfully conducted a children’s day carnival on November 12th at the temple premises and raised over $4,000 for HSNEF. More im- portantly over 50 young adults volunteered at the event. These young adults are going to be the future of HSNEF. Thank you Team Ripples. Please renew your annual temple membership ($121) for 2017 or consider upgrading to a life member ($5000). Your support helps HSNEF provide the religious, social, educational and other services to the community. Please also consider supporting the temple expansion plan by sponsor- ing a brick for $1001. You can become a member and donate by going to the temple website www.hsnef.org, by calling the temple office at (904) 268-7630, or by visiting the temple. Member- ship and donation forms are included in this magazine. A list of life members, 2016 annual mem- bers and 2016 donors is included in this magazine. Thank you for your continued support of HSNEF. Please consider volunteering at the temple. We are always looking for individuals who can help with temple maintenance activities, parking and temple setup for major religious events and other activities. Please send an email with your availability and interest to [email protected]. Finally change is coming to our beloved Sandesh magazine. Starting from this issue, Sandesh is only going to be available online and can be found on the HSNEF website www.hsnef.org under Services. Sincerely Raghu Chatrathi HSNEF 2017 Executive Board Chair —————————————————————————————————————————————— Page 5 www.hsnef.org —————————————————————————————————————————————— Page 6 www.hsnef.org —————————————————————————————————————————————— Page 7 www.hsnef.org @ Foiled Rotten Salon Threading * Facial * Chemical Peel * Bleach Microdermabrasion * Waxing * Body Art Eyebrows/Eyelash Extension/Eyebrows/Eyelash Tinting Parita Warde – 904-962-4717 Text, Call or Schedule online-paritaskincare.com —————————————————————————————————————————————— Page 8 www.hsnef.org Message from Head Priest WISH YOU ALL HAPPY UGADI, GUDIPADVA, TAMIL NEW-YEAR DAY, VISHU, BAISHAKHI AND SHRI RAMNAVAMI CELEBRATIONS Hari Om Wish you all Happy Gudipadva, Ugadi and Temple’s 10th anniversary Celebrations.