On the early Saturday morning of October 2, 2004, over 100 youth gathered to perform community service activities in the Atlanta area for the National Gandhi Day of Service (NGDOS). Projects included renovating historic homes, cleaning neighborhood yards, and registering voters at Piedmont Park, Underground Atlanta, and Dekalb Industrial Blvd. The volunteers came from various organizations and university groups around metro-Atlanta, and were united in their common values of community involvement and service, regardless of ethnicity, racial, or religious background.

NGDOS is an annual event sponsored by the South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow (SAALT) to inspire and empower people around the world to participate in community service. “We could not be happier about this year’s effort. We enlisted more than 10,000 volunteers nationwide, involving 200 organizations to do more than 50,000 hours of community service,” said, Ankur Agarwal, National Co-Chair of NGDOS.

The event in Atlanta began at 9:30am in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center with a tribute to Gandhi lead by the members of the Gandhi Foundation USA. Executive Director, Giriraj Rao stated that the volunteers “exemplify in a very practical and meaningful way how the message of non-violence and selfless service can help the society.” 

The volunteers were served brunch in the Fellowship Hall of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Martin Luther King, Jr. The food was from Chopaati and sponsored by Mumtaz Fashions, Impact Conference Center, Federation of Indian Associations, VS Securities, and the Gandhi Foundation USA. Guest speaker, Representative Karla Drenner addressed the volunteers saying that “by serving the community, [they] are serving more than those [they] see. [They] are creating a physical environment that is cleaner, safer, and more harmonious. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, whose life and teachings we honor today, we must be the change we want to see.”

Volunteers then gathered into five groups for the various community service sites and devoted their time for the next 3-4 hours. “The neighborhood members were grateful for our help, and it felt great to be able to paint an entire house for them because of the large group we had,” said the Emory Team leader, Priya Patel.

Atlanta NGODS coordinator, Dhruti Contractor reflected on the day as “one that made a lasting difference by uniting groups from all races and backgrounds under the common goal of service.” 

“It was wonderful being part of something bigger,” said Beth Myers referring to the nationwide event. 

Other Gandhi Day events in Georgia included activities in Augusta, GA, and by the Indian Cultural Exchange at the University of Georgia (which will be hosting their Gandhi Day on October 17, 2004 with another group of almost 100 volunteers).