Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) is proud to continue working in the true spirit of seva for the Sikh American community. Your immediate and generous year-end donation can play a vital role in helping SALDEF continue its pioneering work on behalf of the Sikh American community. Support SALDEF now by:
- Click here to make a one time or recurring monthly donation.
- Click here to join SALDEF as an individual or organization member.
As the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the country, SALDEF has for the past decade instituted and developed key initiatives and programs to both protect and empower Sikh American sangats across the country, and also to educate our fellow Americans about Sikhs and Sikhism. With your support, we will continue to serve for a DECADE longer. By supporting SALDEF now, you support SALDEF’s vision of an integrated, empowered and engaged Sikh American community for our children to be safe and secure in the future. Our most recent efforts on behalf of Sikh Americans include:
- Last month, SALDEF unveiled the Kirpan Poster, produced in collaboration with the the Department of Homeland Security, explaining the Sikh Kirpan. This poster entitled Sikh Americans and the Kirpan, will be used to inform thousands of federal law enforcement officers and security screeners about the religious significance of the Kirpan to Sikhs.
- On December 1st, SALDEF secured a formal apology from a Virginia restaurant that denied a turbaned Sikh American man entrance to their establishment due to his religious mandated dastaar (turban). Not only did the restaurant apologize, but they amended their “no hat’s” policy to allow for exemptions for religious head coverings and took appropriate steps to ensure employees are informed and well versed with the revised policy.
- SALDEF protected the Constitutional rights of Mr. Tarun Singh Kataria when he was denied entrance into a Georgia Courthouse due to his religiously mandated dastaar (turban). SALDEF obtained a formal apology and a written change to the court’s policy from the presiding Judge of the court.
- SALDEF secured an apology from the National Parks Service and trained over 120 security supervisors and screeners in response to inappropriate actions against a group of Sikh American tourists by the security staff at the Statue of Liberty .
True to our decade-long history, SALDEF will continue to build on these and past successes. SALDEF carries on its mission with a small full-time staff, dedicated volunteers and the financial support of members and donors like you throughout the nation. We are an organization of Sikh Americans serving Sikh Americans. Please click here to help develop these programs by making a year-end, tax-deductible gift to SALDEF. We need your continued support to expand these programs. Your generous contribution you will further enable SALDEF in:
- Defending more Sikh Americans from unlawful discrimination and harassment
- Educating more non-Sikhs about the beliefs of Sikhs
- Protecting more of our Sikh American youth from bullying and harassment
- Helping to expand empowerment initiatives like our Know Your Rights Forums, and the voter outreach efforts.
Click here to support SALDEF using our easy and convenient online system. While the Sikh American community has reached many milestones within the past 10 years, there are still many more to attain and more work to be done. Together, we can continue our pioneering efforts and strengthen the position of Sikh Americans all across this country. We hope you will take the time to make as generous a year-end gift as you can. Together we can ensure that the voice of Sikh Americans continues to be heard and our freedom and liberties are never taken away from us. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!