Ace of Hearts For Charity

Indo American Charity Foundation (IACF) has donated millions of dollars in the last 25 years solely focused on giving back to Houston. With the noble motto “We live here, we give here”, IACF is excited about their upcoming charity event Ace of Hearts for Charity for Indo American Charity Foundation to be held on August 2, 2014 at Aloft Hotel, Westheimer from 7-11pm. Lights Camera Action Houston Society News Host, Ruchi Mukherjee sat down with Ace Of Hearts For Charity event chair, Dr. Vanitha Pothuri to know know more about the organization and their upcoming events visions.

Ace of Hearts For Charity! Sounds like a very interesting and a fun event. Tell us more about it.

With the generous support of all the Board of Directors that have contributed with providing guidance and support we planned a fun casino style evening for a people of all ages and races to come and enjoy a Vegas Style night. We are focused on awarding 15+ deserving High School Senior candidates scholarship grants at the Ace of Hearts event, in addition to introducing IACF to a younger Indo-American professional demographic with an interactive charity night experience.

Tell us about the mission and vision of IACF.

Indo-American Charity Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that helps the underprivileged people with monetary and volunteer work contributions through established and emerging organizations [501(c)3] in the Greater Houston Area.

Our vision is to foster a local community whose basic needs are met and where everyone could lead enriched lives through better health, education and growth opportunities.

How long has the organization been established?

It was founded in 1988 by a group of Houstonians of Indian origin who were compelled with a desire to give back to their local community. Their mission to help the underprivileged originated with the effort to fight hunger, has now developed into a multi-faceted philanthropic endeavor to help those in need of health, education and human services in the Greater Houston Area.

What are the various types of agencies that IACF supports?

We are focused on 4 pillars of giving; Education, Family Welfare, General Needs and Healthcare. Some of the organizations we have supported include: Search Homeless Services, Houston Area Womens Center, Daya, IACAN, and Literacy Advance, to name a few.

How can people volunteer for IACF?

We have many volunteer opportunities. Earlier this year we provided hands on volunteering at Reach Unlimited. Supporters and volunteers can certainly help in many aspects at our events such as Ace of Hearts or our upcoming gala.

Do the students get credit certificates for their volunteer hours?

We can certainly accommodate a student if they need volunteer hours for a particular program that they are involved in.

Do you have student scholarship programs and if so tell us more about that and how people can get more information?

Yes, IACF certainly does have a scholarship program. This year we choose to focus on the less fortunate children of the Fort Bend ISD. The scholarship committee is comprised of three of board of directors who chose this years recipients based on the following 4 criteria; GPA, class rank, which college they are attending if any, and financial circumstances. Candidates were chosen based on recommendations by the Fort Bend ISD superintendent and some direct applicants. IACF is planning on awarding the scholarships at the upcoming Ace of Hearts For Charity event.