As 2016 comes to an end, SALDEF has diligently worked to deliver on further empowering the Sikh American community. Please make a generous, year-end gift to SALDEF now. With your support, we are:
Supporting Emerging Leaders
Our programs in DC and across the country remain as vibrant as ever. This year, we had 16 participants in SALDEF’s SikhLEAD Internship–the largest ever Sikh American presence on Capitol Hill. Among other accomplishments, they sponsored the annual “Langar on the Hill,” with more 500 attendees, including more than a dozen members of Congress.
With your support, we can continue to develop leadership skills, encourage political and civic engagement, and provide unparalleled experiences for our youth.
Telling the Sikh American Story
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Leveraging our pioneering Turban Myths Report, SALDEF continued our work to build the Sikh American presence in the media. Whether it was the re-airing of the first Sikh American commercial (PSA) on Comcast, securing over several dozen media placements to tell the Sikh American story, working with major network television studios to increase our presence, or bringing on a new media fellow to focus on this work, SALDEF is raising the visibility of our community to new heights. Donate to support our media efforts.
Advocating in the Community
The other component of SikhLEAD–an annual Leadership Development Program bookended by two intensive training sessions for emerging leaders–also continues to have an impact across the country. This year, participants from the 5th Cohort of this program put their leadership skills in action by: hosting the first-ever Sacramento “Langar on the Hill” in California; advocating for mental health awareness in New York City (pictured above); and, providing thousands of meals as part of an interfaith service project in Florida. Donate to support our leadership development programs.
Amplifying the Community’s Voice
Through our SikhVote initiative, we worked with the Sikh American community to host voter registration drives and provide information all year. As a community-based organization, SALDEF encourages civic participation, including providing access to information about voting to Sikh Americans at Gurdwaras and other community centers. Through SikhVote, we provided outreach at these community centers and ensured that Sikhs have up-to-date information regarding voting rights and regulations. In order to maximize our reach, we encourage Punjabi-speaking households to provide this essential information regarding citizenship and voting rights. Donate to support our community development programs.
Addressing Hate Crimes and Profiling
Beyond our nation’s capital, we continued our nearly 20-year-old Law Enforcement Partnership Program. In the last year, SALDEF’s efforts have reached communities coast-to-coast, including: Orange County, CA; Lowell, MA; Las Vegas, NV; Robbinsville, NJ; and Houston, TX.
We collaborate with law enforcement and other government officials across the country so they can better understand hate crimes and bias incidents affecting Sikh Americans. As a direct result of these efforts, our materials have been added to the curriculum in California and Washington, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Donate to support our law enforcement training efforts.
SALDEF Year-End Campaign
Support us with a generous year-end donation or monthly donation so that we can expand this work and continue to empower the community. Your donation will help us:
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Educate local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies around the country as to who Sikh Americans are and how to treat them and their articles of faith with respect;
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Inspire our future Sikh American leaders through our SikhLEAD Leadership Development and Internship Programs;
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Monitor the media to ensure they are providing their audiences with accurate representations of Sikh Americans; and
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Advocate to policymakers in Washington D.C. on behalf of Sikh Americans.