South Asian Circle Of Hopkinton

SACH Annual 5K - Step it Up for Hopkinton Emergency Fund is a wrap! 1 Week, 62 Participants, $2,150 Raised! In advocating for active community involvement and philanthropy, SACH partnered with Hopkinton Emergency Fund to launch its inaugural 5K. Through this initiative, SACH was able to fulfill its mission of civic engagement, spread awareness about this new organization and raised $2,150 towards helping Hopkinton residents in need. The event was a big success with 62 participants and a good number of young kids who were proud to run their very first 5K and make a difference.  View Photos   SACH also organized a weekly social runs leading up to the main event, with a small group of interested participants. This included warm-up time, practice run and cool down stretches.  The event was made possible with the help of our generous sponsors: Phipps Insurance Agency, HopYo and Bill's Pizzeria.  How did the 5K idea begin?  Read more from the Hopkinton Independe...

A huge congratulations to Mirabella Paolucci, recipient of 2021  SACH Scholarship - Young Women in STEM Recipient of $1000!   Mirabella is a highly motivated student with keen interest in the areas of biology and neuroscience.  She shares SACH's passion of women and minorities to get involved in STEM careers and be well represented.  Mirabella selected Integrative Physiology and Neurology as major because of her growing interest and curiosity in cognitive science from an early age having witnessed a family member's struggle with head injury and having celebrated victories through their treatment.  She hopes to scientifically understand the brain, how these injuries may alter its core structure and learn more about adaptive measures that could be implemented to mitigate long-term consequences. She is also deeply interested in understanding its role surrounding emotions and psychological disorders, having witnessed her own peers struggle with mental health is...

SACH collaborated with the Hopkinton High School Diversity Club to raise funds towards the club's activities and events.  The SACH Team along with members of the HHS Diversity Club worked together to set up a 'Chai Craft Fair' selling different varieties of South Asian teas, tea towels with ethnic prints and home-baked cardamom rose cookies generously donated by community members.  We had also put out some free samplers for people to take and some educational material about teas that visitors and passersby could read.  The students had an awesome time and we were SOLD OUT by 3:45pm! SACH was able to raise over $600 for the HHS Diversity Club.  Thank you to all who supported us at 'Chai Craft Fair' at the at the PolyArts festival. 

In collaboration with Hopkinton Freedom Team and several other Hopkinton community members, SACH was an integral part of the virtual event 'Juneteenth to July 4th'. This event was a small step towards reflecting on Freedom and Justice.  SACH participated in Hopkinton's first ever Juneteenth Freedom flag raising ceremony along with Hopkinton Freedom Team organizers and Town leaders.   Photo Credit: John Cardillo, Hopkinton Independent Article SACH helped reinforce a sign of unity by lighting up a sign that reads 'Hopkinton Lights Up As One', using different colors at the Town Common.  This was an artifact to encourage Calls to Actions for each of the letters of the 'HOPKINTON' acrostic throughout the sixteen days until the 4th of July National Independence Day. Learn more about the event at: www.hopkintonfreedomteam.org/events/juneteenth-celebration

The SACH Team marched on proudly sporting our newly launched 'I Make A Difference' Tshirts for the first time during this event. During the parade, we showed our support and allyship  with a Pride Ally flag and a Rainbow Peace flag.  It was a great moment in the history of our town to be there and show our support. We walked with several members of the South Asian community, both adults and youth of diverse age groups.   Ruta Upaleker, President of SACH stated the following during her interview to the Hopkinton Freedom Team:  “I have a niece and nephew who came out ten years ago in India and it was tough for them. Seeing this happen in my own town with my kids being part of it has been a truly special experience.”  View blog post from Hopkinton Freedom Team Also... VIEW: Town turns out for inaugural Pride Parade  -  Hopkinton Independent WATCH: Hopkinton LGBTQ+ Pride Parade: June 26, 2021 -  HCAM TV

SACH celebrated and shared the spirit of Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr with the Hopkinton community.  All about Ramadan The Spirit of Ramadan is a project to showcase how the holy month of Ramadan is celebrated leading up to the festive day of Eid. During the 4 weeks of Ramadan, SACH published videos submitted by the Muslim community of Greater Boston to showcase family traditions, types of food eaten during Ramadan to prepare for fasting and also to break the fast after sunset.  Week 1 features one of our youngest members of the community reciting the story of Ramadan and a quick recipe of Fruit Chaat (spiced fruit salad) demonstrated by a member as a favorite Iftari item. Week 2 of Ramadan features a popular dish 'Kebab' prepared for Iftar. Also meet a family sitting around the table and sharing their meal for Iftar.  Week 3 of the 'Spirit of Ramadan' features a short clip on different rituals about Ramadan. Week 4 of the 'Spirit of Ramadan' features seniors observ...

With Hopkinton Cultural Council's grant funding, SACH was able to organize and string together a colorful and fun community event for the town of Hopkinton to celebrate Holi, the festival of colors.  Community members of all backgrounds participated.  There were 3 parts to putting this event together in celebrating Holi as one big community:  Holi Cheer 'Goodie bag': SACH prepared color cheer 'goodie bags' with environmental friendly colors for children and adults to play with, stickers, crayons and coloring sheets. Children from the SACH family participated in packing the goodie bags with Covid protocols in mind. Multiple pick-up stations were set up in different parts of the town to make it easy for residents to pick up their goodie bags. Children proudly welcomed residents at their pick up stations and enjoyed interacting with the residents.   Community Photo submissions:  An online gallery of pictures from the community showing how they celebrated Holi....