Local Pittsburgh Religious Groups Aid Tsunami Relief Efforts

December 28, 2004

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04363/433495.stm

On December 28, 2004 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, "The tidal waves that swept from South Asia to East Africa Sunday morning have riveted the attention of every major relief agency -- and may bring new attention to relief efforts by minority communities in the United States. V. Velpari of Monroeville could picture the devastation in southeast India even before he saw it on satellite television. He is from Tamil Nadu, a state hit hard by the tsunami. And, as treasurer of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Tamil Nadu Foundation, which runs relief programs in that region, he knew he would be involved in the response...The Tamil Nadu Foundation will be collecting relief funds. The group has a social service center in Chennai that will determine how the money is used... The Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills is dispatching two representatives to India to assess the needs and coordinate relief from Pittsburgh...The annual New Year's Day prayer service at the Hindu-Jain Temple in Monroeville will be dedicated to aiding victims."