$29K donated for cancer patients

BY A STAFF WRITER

LONG BEACH (CA) — The Susen Daniel Memorial Cancer Relief Fund raised $29,000 at their 29th Annual Banquet held recently at the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel Crystal Ballroom, which was attended by a crowd of over 275 from all walks of life.

Mathew Daniel, chairman of the board of directors, in his welcome speech declared that SDM was a charity with only one mission: to help as many poor cancer patients as possible, and he proclaimed that the mission had been accomplished.

SDM began with one patient and one hospital in 1985 and has become an organization that helps as many as 180 patients each year in four different hospitals, the Indian American added.

He recalled that the organization was started when his wife Susen Daniel passed away of cancer in 1985. Thereafter, his daughter Sudha, who was a board member, also died of cancer in 2002 just before her 34th birthday.

Mathew Daniel expressed his utmost satisfaction at the support he has received from the younger generation that had almost taken over the organization. He further stated that the success of SDM was not possible without the personal commitment and dedication of all past and present board members.

Daniel then introduced and thanked the current board: attorney Abraham Mathew, president; Jai Johnson, secretary; Sunil Daniel, treasurer; Ivy Thomas Mathews, accountant; as well as other directors Vinodh Bahluleyan, Dr. Sajini George, Jay Chandran Nir, Joseph Ouso, C.A. Phillipose, Priya Phillipose, Dr. Ravi Raghavan, Ravi Vellatheri, Sunil Warrier and Binoy Yohannan.

Daniel said that a donation to SDM was not just a donation but was a gift to the deserving patients whom they had not seen nor had ever known.

He appreciated the generosity of Jay Zaveri, who brought 30 members of an organization called Cerritos Royal Group and who donated a laptop computer as the first prize for the raffle (out of five) that evening along with other donations; along with the larger donors including Aavadesh Agarwal, Bryan Hull and Jane Nayagam.

Dr. Sajini George, the keynote speaker, appealed to everyone present and their friends to donate generously to help poor cancer patients in India.

SDM is the only organization with no overhead and 100 percent of the donations are sent directly to the poor cancer patients, it was emphasized.

For the first time, SDM introduced its third generation members Anjali John, Nithya Menon and Vishal Bahuleyan who read out the letters received from the poor cancer patients and family members thanking SDM.

A fun-filled entertainment program was also presented that included a circus performance by Circo Entero and Bollywood dances by Karmagraphy. A three-course dinner was provided by Balbir Singh of Tandoor Cuisine of India in Orange.
MC Reggie engaged the audience from the beginning to the end with humor.