Under shimmering lights, in the most elegant, yet simple, banquet hall of Chandani restaurant, Newark HOH celebrated a decade of existence on Saturday Oct 20th. The event raised $125,000 net in ticket sales, sponsorships and pledges - breaking all previous records. The evening offered an opportunity to remember a trail of successes, which brought HOH to this proud day, starting with a simple goal of "making a difference, one child at a time."

One such success is Ruhi. Ruhi flew out of India for the first time in her young life and spoke before a crowd of 650 donors and well wishers which included Fremont Mayor Bill Wasserman and Councilwoman Anu Natarajan. She shone as a bright example of how dramatically the course of one's life can change from the path of potential failure and rejection to success and great hope, if help comes in the right way at the right time. In a moving speech that came straight from the heart, this lovely young woman of 22 years gushed "It's so cool to be here! Thank you for all that you have done for me and the other children of Udyan Ghar (HOH Delhi Project)". As Ruhi stood before the attentive crowd listening to her every word there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was living proof of how effectively the HOH funded Mental Health Program at Udyan Ghar's was working.

Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, Chairperson of HOH remembered "her calling to serve the children started with a restless heart" after her visit to India where she saw the work being done at Children's Home of Hope in Chennai. The orphanage was so limited in its means and yet trying to accomplish such a big job in the lives of the abandoned orphans. Making a donation and walking away did not seem the right. Upon returning to the US, Dr. Sabharwal vowed to spread the word and "that was the start of a movement which turned into Home of Hope". She noted "over $1,000,000 had been raised over these 10 years".

Today, HOH has 2,000 children under its umbrella of care with 14 projects based in India and one in Berkeley - CEID a project for hearing impaired children. All projects reach out to children in need, including Tsunami ravaged orphans, drug addicted street children of Mumbai, mentally/physically challenged or otherwise disadvantaged children. Run by volunteers, HOH finds its formula of minimal expenses and low overhead has been working effectively.

Shilpi Minocha, current President of HOH shared her vision for the decade to come. She noted "1 in every 3 malnourished children in the world lives in India (over and above Africa)." She said HOH would prioritize nutrition above the remaining four program areas which included, mental health, education, education, leisure, health and personal hygiene. Minocha also observed "India has the world's largest number of sexually abused children, with a child below 16 raped every 2.5 hours. Many such children receive a fresh start in life with Home of Hope" through the mental health program.

NBC 11's Technology/Business Reporter and TechNow! host Scott Budman, gave a heartfelt endorsement of HOH's work during the evening. Although his interest in India began with the outsourcing phenomenon and a focus on the major Indian high tech companies, he discovered HOH along the way which allowed him to tangentially feature Atmashree, HOH's project in Bangalore in his India coverage. He received high acclaim for his "From Bangalore to the Bay" series, which included an Emmy nomination. He said his "commitment and respect for the work of HOH would continue on."

The entertainment for the evening was just delightful. Comedian Dan Nainan was the artiste du jour and had the crowd laughing out loud with his unique US/Indian/Japanese blend of comedy, turning every day occurrences into comic relief. His impressions of Bush, Clinton and Schwarzennegar were just hysterical. He came with an impressive resume of having performed at events with Hillary Clinton, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Russell Peters to name a few. On this night he donated his "act" completely free of charge and also the proceeds from the sale of his CD/DVDs - it was clear that not only was Mr. Nainan hugely talented, but he also had a truly generous heart.

This year's event planner was Nalini Bhat, who humbly gave much of the credit to the team of people who helped out. These included entertainment committee star Vikas Singh (who crooned romantic numbers throughout the evening at $100 a song as requested by attendees) and Neelam Bhavani in charge of decorations, which included fresh flowers on white table linens and linen coverd chairs, dressed with gold and maroon ribbons. Beautiful banners, posters and information brochures and programs were designed and coordinated by talented graphic designer Rajesh Relan. What is well planned evening without good execution? This was flawlessly done with Fundraising Committee member Rennu Dhillon and her group of volunteers.

Wishing HOH continued success in the decade ahead!

For more information on Home of Hope and our current projects and how you can help, please visit us at www.hohinc.org. Your support is very important to the success of our mission. You can also write to us at info@hohinc.org