Aram Sei ( tamil: help others) is a registered 501 (c ) (3), non-profit organization with a vision to support grassroots charities worldwide with specific focus on education and healthcare. We are a fully volunteer driven organization represented by an eclectic mix of personalities from diverse fields such as engineers, entrepreneurs, IT, human resources, finance and sales professionals.

In furtherance to our core value of “sowing the seed of giving in the minds of the young”,  Aram Sei organizes an annual event, SPARK – Compete for a cause,  a fun yet meaningful way for students to be part of a cause.

Our Journey:   

Our trips to India exposed us to a new side of non profit organizations. Organizations that you find in your local communities supporting the child of a domestic servant, single parent households, and help children attend school or even get a meal a day. These deserving causes were everywhere globally, doing wonderful work.  We have often wondered “How are they being funded?” The answer invariably is by word of mouth.

Our group had built up incredible event management skills over the years of running Galaata, an Udavum Karangal event, and so the idea of supporting the efforts of these grass root charities with funding, marketing and publicity came to us.  Thus with 19 others Aram Sei was Founded in January 2012. At Aram Sei we focus on projects in the areas of healthcare and education.

At the heart of Aram Sei is our core value of sustainability. We enable grassroots organizations by providing a platform for awareness and then help them build an organization that fosters respectable and sustainable living. On our end we are able to sustain the donor-ship model by engaging with our local communities to make the act of ‘paying it forward’ fun. We conduct fundraising events around the Bay Area that include dance and music shows. We have the support of leading Bay Area performing arts groups that recognize us as their beneficiaries. With our group’s event management expertise we manage the operational aspects of the show allowing the performers to focus on doing what they do best- enthralling the audience.

Aram Sei also collaborates with the public libraries to create awareness programs and to encourage community participation.  We partner with schools and after school programs to conduct educational and entertaining seed events, sowing the seed of giving in the minds of the young. These events help us in engaging with the young ones in our community who end up being some of our best spokespeople and volunteers.

We are fortunate to have a number of corporates such as Google, Qualcomm, Visa and Oracle that support us through various avenues like donor matching programs. Bay Area local businesses such as Madras Café/Groceries have been avid supporters of us since inception. We also have support from philanthropists such as Mr Rangaswami who has guided us from our humble beginnings and provides us with constant support personally and also through organizations such as Indiaspora.

Since inception, Aram Sei has identified and successfully funded projects:

  • 35 Children – St Thomas High School, Veerapandipattinam, India
  • 85 Children – Arunodhaya center for Street and working children, Chennai, India
  • 100 Children (HIV+) – Community Health & Education Society, Chennai, India
  • 250+ Sexual Assault Victims – The Grateful Garment Project, Campbell, CA
  • 140 children (Nomadic Community) –  Vanavil Trust, Nagapattinam, India
  • 120 Children – Pudiyador, Chennai, India
  • 50+ Mothers – Unmarked Streets, Guatemala
  • 30+ Children – Shiksha Ke Ore, Natbasthi, Rajasthan, India
  • 400 Children – Futures Elementary, Oakland, CA
  • 55 Children/Adults – Snehadhara, Bangalore, India
  • 30 Children – Payir, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 300 Children – Father Frank’s Kids, NPH – Honduras, South America

and our journey continues…