First phase of fundraising campaign to help the flood victims of Chennai and other places of Tamil Nadu was held recently at Mahatma Gandhi Center hosted by Tamil Sangam of Missouri in alliance with India Association of St. Louis, Telugu Association of St. Louis (TAS), Ohmkaram Association of St. Louis, Dhvani Foundation, Sangeetha Association of St. Louis, Gujarati Samaj, St. Louis Tamil Church, St. Louis Marathi Mandal, Sangama St.Louis Kannada Association, Asha of St. Louis, Asian American Chamber of e-commerce, STLVA Chapter and ACA ( American Cricket Association).

It has been nearly a week since the catastrophic floods brought the life in the beautiful metropolitan city (Singara Chennai) and other parts like Cuddalore and Kanchipuram to a complete halt. The amount of damage caused is unprecedented and many experts suspect that the total impact will run into the tens of millions of dollars. Over 300 people have died and several thousands are stranded and suffered crippling losses from the debacle. People have no access to food, water and very basic amenities and the city needs immediate relief measures it can get.

The objective of our campaign is to help the victims to get back their lost life back by soliciting the funds from generous donors and channelize it to different charity organizations like Abdul Kalam Vision India Movement, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, etc. to meet their long and short term goals to expedite the process.

The meeting started at 10 A.M. on Sunday (12/06/2015) with moment of silence observed for those affected by the flood. Hundreds of people turned in to show the support and solidarity to the people back home who have shouldered the heaviest toll, prayed to Almighty to give enough courage to bear the loss and to shower His blessings for the normalcy to return soon. The successful campaign witnessed enthusiastic donors keeping the volunteers at the collection desk busy throughout the time. The Presidents and representatives of the respective organizations participated in the campaign were called upon to the stage to share their views and thoughts about the disaster and the various help we can provide at this tough time. The collected funds were updated and donors were thanked for their support at regular intervals by announcing it in the stage. Videos and Presentations were continuously displayed to show the nature of the disaster. The campaign was generously supported and sponsored by US wide financial, Sun Copies, Seema, Asian Spices, Bombay Bazar and special thanks to Mayuri, Paradise, Anis and Sam's club, snacks, coffee and cookies were available to all attendees throughout the campaign. With the overwhelming response and support from all Indian communities and associations in St. Louis, the organizers of the campaign were able to raise the collection amount towards the flood relief to 60,000$ plus. Lastly the proceeding came to close at 1.00 P.M. after the President of Tamil Sangam of Missouri expressed his gratitude and extended his thanks to all the sponsors, donors and partnering associations who were instrumental in running this successful campaign in short notice. Every beginning has its end but we have taken pledge that our efforts never end until the affected people back home gets the new beginning. Donors who wish to donate and help the flood victims could log on to http://www.motamilsangam.org/ to make their valuable contributions.