NIAASC President Gunjan Rastogi opened the event, welcoming attendees and acknowledging the accomplishments of NIAASC over the past 25 years. “Today is about celebrating not only our organization’s history but also our commitment to continually addressing the needs of our senior community. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication of our board members, supporters, and collaborative partners who have helped NIAASC grow and thrive,” Rastogi said in her opening remarks.
Rajeshwar prasad the founder and the chairman of NIAASC presented the Historical perspective of 25 years of NIAASC.
The conference highlighted practical topics essential to the health, wellness, and daily life of seniors. Key sessions included:
- “Practical Points to Achieve Healthier Outcomes with Nutrition” presented by nutrition expert Rita Shah Batheja, offering attendees valuable insights on how nutrition choices directly impact health outcomes and well-being.
- “How to Stay Out of Hospitals” by Dr. Subramanium Srinivasan, focusing on preventive healthcare measures that seniors can adopt to support long-term wellness and reduce hospital visits.
- “Enhancing Daily Life with New Technology” by Dr. John Power, who introduced seniors to technological tools designed to improve quality of life, mobility, and communication.
In addition to these engaging presentations, Sumptuous Breakfast was enjoyed by the attendees, which was sponsored by India Home. Gunjan Rastogi thanked the sponsors and donors for their contributions in making the conference free of charge to the NIAASC members and attendees. Gunjan Rastogi thanked the dedicated volunteers who helped move the conference smoothly.
The presidents of the collaborating organizations Gobind Munjal -President of the National AIA – Association of Indians in America (AIA) and Alex Esthappan President of the Kerala Center thanked NIAASC for the partnership and for doing a great service to seniors.
After the Luncheon guests enjoyed cultural performances by talented artists Pradep Rastogi and Vandana Kumar.
NIAASC honored Bharat Rana of FISANA and the senior program of Indo-American Seniors of New York, for their service to seniors.
NIASC also presented a founders award to Rajeshwar Prasad, for his vision and pioneering Spirit in advancing and Shaping our Senior Community.
The day concluded with the 25th NIAASC General Body Meeting, featuring annual reports and organizational updates.
About NIAASC
Founded formally in 1999, the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving Indian American seniors through advocacy, information dissemination, and referrals. Over the past 25 years, NIAASC has grown into a respected institution that provides seniors with the tools they need to live independent, fulfilling lives.
For more information about NIAASC, its mission, and membership opportunities, please visit our website www.niaasc.org.
Topics are appended below:
remarks provided by Yogesh Naik from Shantiniketan-3 (Advisory Committee) and Chandrakant Shah (NIAASC Conference Coordinator) who welcomed all the participants and the guests. This was followed by the lecture topics as per above. All the above-named speakers are subject matter experts, and the delivery of the topics were succinct and material content was one that allayed a lot of apprehension/misgivings that the attendees had relating to Aging and its effects.
The conference was financially supported by various sponsors and donations ranged from $51.00 to $10,000.00. The major sponsor being Santosh Kumar from Chicago she is also known as “Mother Teresa of Chicago”. India Home (NY) was another notable sponsor and supported the event by sponsoring the food. The cultural program was emceed by Tara Ashok and thoroughly regaled the audience with great fanfare.
cognizance at the subsequent events.
Dr. Mamta Shaha thanked all members for putting their trust in as their Charter president. She talked about the importance of the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” and added that Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency will be the guiding principles for this club. She mentioned the work of club for the year will be focused on 1) Feeding Hungry 2) Protecting the Environment and 3) Mentoring and education of children.
Rotary Club of North Shore. The Honorable Consul General was not able to attend. He will be presented with the plaque soon.
Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi, who is the founder of India Home nonprofit organization and a current board member of NIAASC hosted the conference, which was informative and entertaining with vegan breakfast and lunch served. Dr. Bhavani Srinivasan, Vice president – NIAASC was the coordinator of the conference and coordinated the event effectively and flawlessly.
The main speaker was Dr. Vikas Malik, a board-certified medical professional in both Child-Adolescent Psychiatry and Adult Psychiatry and his PowerPoint presentation on Mental Health in light of COVID-19 captivated the audience of roughly 70 physical attendees and 30 virtual attendees, who appreciated the information and knowledge that was succinctly explained. His presentation was followed by Dr. Swaminathan Giridharan, a Geriatric specialist, who spoke about COVID-19 Vaccination. The conference also focused on physical health and a presentation by Mrs. Suman Munjal, president of World Vegan Vision, who discussed the health benefits pertaining to a vegan diet.
Lunch was followed by Diwali cultural program that was presented by Ms. Jyoti Gupta and her team consisted of several singers, Dr.Jag Kalra, Kul Bhooshan Sharma, Gautam Chopra and Raj Dhingra. The group entertained and regaled the audience with lively Bollywood songs. Music program was followed by Diwali Felicitation by Nilima Madan.