SALDEF’s SikhLEAD interns hosted another successful Langar on the Hill this July! This year marked the 6th consecutive year SikhLEAD interns have brought together the Sikh American community with congressmen, policy makers, congressional staffers and their fellow DC interns. Each year this event is organized in an effort to bring together diverse groups to practice collaboration and equality, all through the prism of Langar and Seva.
This year’s Langar on the Hill was sponsored by Senator Kamala Harris (CA) and the theme was “Sikhs. Solidarity. Service.” The theme reminds us of the Sikh’s practice of Seva which is the responsibility of Sikh’s to engage in selfless community service. The SikhLEAD interns integrated a Seva project into the event by creating and donating additional proceeds to DC Books to Prisons. The events speakers included, Congressman Brad Sherman (CA), Congressman TJ Cox (CA), Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL), and Congressman Jim Costa (CA).
“This year we have fourteen amazing students in the SikhLEAD Washington DC Internship Program and nine amazing students in the SikhLEAD New Jersey Internship Program. They have come together to put on this event Langar on the Hill. Langar, in the Sikh religion, is a community meal where everyone is welcome to sit and eat together regardless of religious or cultural background. It is a key aspect of the Sikh religion and it symbolizes equality and fellowship,” said Kiran Kaur Gill, SALDEF’s Executive Director.
We’d like to take the time to thank the sangats from Sikh Gurdwara DC, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Sikh Center of Virginia, Raj Khalsa Gurdwara, Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Guru Nanak Foundation of America, and Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, as well as our volunteers and all our supporters across the nation who donated to this event and contributed to its success! Additionally, we would like to recognize our SikhLEAD sponsors the Comcast Foundation for their continued support of this groundbreaking initiative.
VIEW: Pictures from the Langar