Zone 1
Canada
The Canadian SSE Festival held virtually on July 9, 2022, called Fun with SAI–Shine, Act, and Inspire, featured inspiring speakers from around the world. Topics ranged from connecting with God through nature and feeling His presence to living with values and surrendering to Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Videos highlighted SSE students and teachers who continued Sai's work through the pandemic with love and dedication.
In April 2022, SSSIO volunteers commemorated Earth Day with a community clean-up. The Envirocare team organized a lively online workshop, How to Green Your Sai Centre, to educate Center officers and members about environmental sustainability and tools to assess one's carbon footprint.
Messengers of SAI Series is a unique SSE initiative whereby an SSE-alum is invited each quarter to talk about practicing Sathya Sai values in daily life. The first speaker, an SSE graduate from 20 years ago, captivated the audience with his story of putting into practice Sai values in a challenging political arena in Washington, D.C.
The Sathya Sai School of Toronto continues to receive national recognition through its achievements. It leads in nationwide ranking and service to the surrounding community.
In Fall 2022, the National Events Committee initiated a weekly Instagram post with an inspiring message from Sathya Sai and original graphic art.
Jamaica
On April 24, 2022, the SSSIO of Jamaica observed Aradhana Mahotsavam by organizing a medical camp for 120 people with physical and mental challenges. Eighteen SSSIO members, doctors, students from Campion College, and the Indian High Commission at Jerusalem, Jamaica, volunteered at the camp. In addition, the SSSIO donated 40 girls' dresses to the Mustard Seed Community, a nonprofit organization serving impoverished and challenged girls.
On May 1, 2022, 23 SSSIO members observed Easwaramma Day and Mother's Day by cooking and serving breakfast to about 100 residents at the Marie Atkins Shelter. In addition, the ladies received toiletries. The event concluded with beautiful devotional singing by the young adults.
Suriname
In March 2022, SSSIO volunteers from the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Sonjastraat commemorated Maha Shivaratri by delivering gift hampers containing food and disposable diapers to six families caring for bed-ridden relatives in Paramaribo.
In April 2022, the volunteers distributed 15 packages containing groceries, medical supplies, and diapers to people in need in the districts of Commewijne and Paramaribo.
Groceries, disposable diapers, sheets, and pillowcases were distributed to elderly residents at the Esther Foundation Senior Home on July 7, 2022. In addition, 40 bed sheets, 60 pillowcases, five bales of disposable diapers, and 100 toothbrushes and soap bars were delivered to the Huize Ashiana Retirement Home, where more than 400 seniors resided. These donations brought joy to retirees, sick and disabled seniors, and their caretakers.
In October 2022, Sai volunteers commemorated Avatar Declaration Day by delivering care packages containing stationery items to 35 school children and gift hampers with necessities to 26 needy households.
SSSIO members delivered Christmas packages to more than 100 children in three homes for impoverished children in December 2022.
Trinidad and Tobago
On April 10, 2022, about 35 volunteers from the Sri Sathya Sai Garden of Blooms ECCE Centre in Trinidad cleaned, washed, and painted a local school.
On May 15, 2022, 60 SSSIO members commemorated Buddha Jayanti (Birthday of Lord Buddha) by installing a statue of Lord Buddha at Sai Nilayam. Sister Tsunma Kunsang Palmo, a nun visiting from Tibet, chanted ancient Tibetan mantras and expounded on the teachings of Lord Buddha.
Children at Longdenville Sri Sathya Sai Primary School observed Easwaramma Day on May 16, 2022, with stories, pictures, and discussions about Mother Easwaramma's compassion for impoverished villagers around Puttaparthi that led to improved healthcare, education, and access to clean drinking water. Students also thanked their mothers and expressed their love by reciting poems and presenting songs and plays.
The Service Wing held an Environmental Awareness Community Outreach Project on May 25, 2022, at the Union Recreational Grounds in Rio Claro to improve the landscape and spread awareness of sustainable environmental care. Five SSSIO volunteers, young adults from two local sports clubs, and the local Councilor, Mr. Shaffick Mohammed, planted fruit and shade trees.
Over 20 children from four Sai Early Childhood Care and Education Centers attended a memorable in-person graduation in August 2022. While staff and parents prepared decorations and refreshments, the students enthusiastically practiced and beautifully delivered their presentations.
The Navet Presbyterian Primary School hosted an event on August 7, 2022, during which 35 SSSIO volunteers distributed clothes to about 150 needy community members. The School Principal expressed her gratitude to the SSSIO for the opportunity to serve and foster a sense of community inclusion and engagement.
On September 3, 2022, nearly 200 SSSIO volunteers, led by young adults, treated 55 Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) from the Blind Welfare Association to a fun day at the beach. This event has been held annually for the past twenty years. Volunteers interacted with the VIPs, assisted them in enjoying the water, and ensured their safety. They also prepared and served meals to the guests. The volunteers and the Blind Welfare Association jointly presented a cultural program/talent show enjoyed by all.
USA
About ten members of the Sri Sathya Sai Centers of Lake Washington and Seattle volunteer twice a month to construct 8' x 12' tiny homes for the homeless in the Seattle area. The volunteers, guided by experienced supervisors, performed construction activities such as cutting wood with power drills, assembling products using drills and nail guns, building the roof and inner walls, and finally, caulking and painting the house. Despite having no prior experience, the volunteers felt an incredible sense of accomplishment in helping provide a roof over someone's head.
Fifteen Young Adults (YAs) from Chicagoland, Illinois, organized a summer enrichment camp for children from low-income families in July 2022. The weekly four-hour program, held over four weeks for more than 20 children (aged 7 to 13), included arts and crafts sessions, science experiments, reading and creative writing programs, a robotics session, and fun games. The structured activities kept the children engaged in good work during their summer break.
To assist Florida communities devastated by Hurricane Ian, SSSIO members across the USA have shipped about $30,000 worth of relief supplies, including household items, toiletries, and non-perishables, since October 2022. Sai volunteers in Florida drove several hours to drop off relief items for SSSIO local partners, such as churches, that helped distribute the supplies to the hurricane survivors. Sai volunteers also brought Christmas cheer by distributing toys to children and relief supplies at a holiday drive-through giveaway on December 17, 2022.
The Sri Sathya Sai Center of South Houston held a toy drive over several months. It contributed about a thousand toys to Toys for Kids drive, a Christmas event held on December 17, 2022, for 5,000 children from low-income families. Sai volunteers also helped to sort, arrange, and distribute toys to crowds of eager recipients at the event.
Members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Albany, New York, made 250 blankets for Project Linus, a nonprofit organization serving children in need. They also made 95 blankets for impoverished, expectant mothers at the Alpha Pregnancy Center.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the outdoor Bowery Food Service resumed in late August 2022. This program spans 40 years and serves 150-200 homeless individuals weekly in New York City. Reignited by a commitment to service, members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Metropolitan, along with other Sai volunteers in New York City, began serving lunch bags of sandwiches, fruits, granola bars, juice, and water to about 50-60 homeless people in the street.
On April 9, 2022, over 25 SSSIO members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Fairfax, Virginia, and the Capital Area Sai Group participated in a nationwide environmental service activity, Sai and Sustainability. They picked up 32 bags of trash at the Little Rocky Run in Centreville, where the watershed was clogged with trash, such as plastic bags and bottles. SSE children also eagerly donned gloves to pick up litter and debris.
SSSIO members from Northern California volunteered at the Day on the Beach on July 9, 2022, at Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz, California. This heartwarming annual event sponsored by Shared Adventures provides individuals with disabilities and their families an opportunity to enjoy a fun-filled day at the beach, trying water sports, such as kayaking, surfboarding, and canoeing, that they never dreamt of participating in. SSSIO volunteers also served food and organized fun activities for guests.
Members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Central San Jose have tutored children at the Voices Academy in San Jose, California, for a few years. On April 22, 2022, in observance of Earth Day, they built a community garden for the children to grow their vegetables and helped beautify the school grounds with flowering plants. They also organized various educational and fun hands-on activities that taught the students environmentally sustainable practices.
For over three decades, SSSIO members of the Greater St. Louis area in Missouri have distributed freshly prepared meals to elderly residents in the Soulard area every other Saturday. Sai volunteers cooked a meal of pasta, corn, and vegetables and packed them in food containers, which were placed in brown bags along with juice, fruits, cereal, crackers, and cookies. The packed lunch bags are then delivered to the seniors. The lonely residents look forward to the delicious meal and the friendly visit by Sai volunteers with much joy.
The Sri Sathya Sai Group of Greater Phoenix in Arizona has been partnering with Cultural Cup Food Bank (CCFB) to provide an essential but often overlooked service in donating infant diapers to single mothers living in poverty with their babies, as well as adult incontinence underwear to the elderly.
Every year, at the beginning of school in August, SSSIO members distributed backpacks filled with school supplies to needy children. SSE students from the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Lowell, Massachusetts, donated 108 backpacks through the Wish Project. The Sri Sathya Sai Center of Columbia, Missouri, packed and delivered 48 backpacks to students from refugee and immigrant families.
SSSIO members in the Bay Area in Northern California assembled and distributed 500 backpacks to children from low-income families in the Hayward Unified School District.
A few SSSIO members in the Greater Boston area and Texas continue to support Afghan refugee families in adjusting to their new life and becoming self-reliant. The volunteers help them bridge language/cultural barriers, navigate immigration, healthcare, and education systems, achieve financial and computer literacy, prepare for jobs, and provide tutoring and emotional support.
During COVID, millions lost jobs and became food insecure. SSSIO volunteers stepped in to fill an urgent need at food bank warehouses. They helped to sort, shelf, and pack food in boxes and prepared them to be shipped to food pantries for distribution to those in need. About 15-20 Sai volunteers helped at the Los Angeles Food Bank. About 16 volunteers from the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Charlottesville, Virginia, helped sort and shelf food and clean a local pantry every month. About 15-25 Sai volunteers in Orlando, Florida, helped out for 2-3 hours every month at a large Second Harvest Foodbank warehouse.