Karaoke Night and the next phase for Cambrian Indian Community

Hearty greetings to members of the CIC, old and new. There is a lot of stuff to share so please read on.

Over the past 6 years as a non-profit, the Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) has been bringing the community together through activities and events, big and small. From large events like Diwali and Mehendi night to mid-size and smaller events like Utsav and Discover India, CIC has been organizing events to foster Indian culture and bring members of the community together. But more importantly, beyond these events, CIC has been fostering community building by offering opportunities for members to pursue their passions- be it sports like volleyball or badminton, or micro-communities built around sharing financial ideas and career growth tips. There is something for everyone. Overall these years, CIC has been putting the building blocks to empower this vibrant and thriving community by getting people to know their neighbors and do things together. 

On one hand, the micro-communities are thriving like never before. On the other hand, the volunteering that drives the events is lacking the energy the community needs to continue to flourish. We would like to hear from you on how to proceed forward in that regard. We will use each of these events to talk to the community about new ideas and how to move forward.

Starting on February 22nd with a Karaoke night, we will move to a regular programming schedule with small and medium-size events, both new and events similar to what we have had in the past, to encourage more community participation on a much smaller and intimate scale. Think of events as being similar to a meetup or informal get together - folks aligned on common interests getting together. Our annual Discover India trivia event will follow in March. We would love to see new folks in the community help organize new events. Feel free to reach out if you are interested in organizing an event and we will be more than happy to provide guidance. 

Finally, one of the challenges we face is how to reach all of you and stay in touch. We will be using our blog and email as our primary means of contact. Additionally, we may periodically share details of new events on WhatsApp. If you are interested in staying in touch and have not attended our event(s) before, please consider sharing your email with us by attending/volunteering at the next event.

If you have feedback or ideas to share, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com

P.S: We will be reaching out to folks via email on participation for Karaoke Night. If you are interested and havent attended any of our earlier events, please email us.

CIC Events: Volunteering and Participation

In the past, one could choose to not volunteer at any CIC event and still get good participation opportunities for themselves and their kids. This was possible in part because we were a small community and invariably, most of the people who participated chose to also volunteer. In the past couple of years, we have seen a massive growth in the community but we have not seen a comparable jump in volunteering not much of new blood in event organization. It has become unsustainable to have the same 30 or so people jumping in for every event. We believe that many more of you want to be more involved in organizing events and in the long term, building a thriving community. So we are making some changes to how we organize our events and solicit participation.

You should volunteer, here is why!

Starting with the next CIC event, family volunteering hours in CIC events throughout the year will translate to priority in participation and tickets. We think it is only fair that families who spend hours helping us build a vibrant and connected community be offered priority for tickets and participation.
More specifically,

• Helping with cleanup or decoration or registration or food management or videography or photography is volunteering.

• Volunteers for an event get priority for buying tickets for their family and for participating in that event.

• Volunteers for past events in the same calendar year will be next in queue.

• Finally, folks who have not volunteered for any event that year will get a chance to buy tickets or sign themselves or their kids up for participation.

• Participating in an event does not constitute as volunteering and will come with no privileges.

• We will be building a roster of folks who are helping out every year and ensure they get the right opportunities whenever possible throughout the year. This volunteering will reset every calendar year so everyone has an opportunity to jump in and help out.

If you have questions, please let us know (cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com) or talk to one of the Board members or officers of CIC.

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Opportunities for Volunteering: 2019-20 CIC Events

Starting now, for our flagship events, we will be mapping volunteering to participation opportunities. This will initially apply to three of our largest events - Mehendi Night, Annual Day (erstwhile Diwali) and Utsav (early 2020).

We will have three of our flagship events coming in the next 7 months.

• Discover India in late July.

• Mehendi Night in Sept/Oct.

• Annual day (the erstwhile Diwali program): Performances based event similar to Diwali Mela of 2017.

Details on all three events will be coming in the next few months. So stay tuned. Utsav will be in early 2020. We are skipping Utsav for 2019. We have also pencilled a few experimental events for this year that we will have more to share as we finalize plans.  

Hope to see you all Volunteering & Participating at our events this year!

Results of 2018 CIC elections and your new Officers

We are happy to announce the new officers who will be joining the CIC organization. This was the result of the elections that were announced recently. We had three applicants for three different roles which made the need for an election moot. All three contestants were elected unopposed. These three officers will serve their roles for a period of 2 years (until March 2020) barring unforeseen circumstances.

So here are your new officers and their brief statement they provided as part of their application for the role.

President - Nekzad Shroff

"I strongly believe that being part of a community takes work and commitment. I consider myself lucky to be a member of a thriving, active and vibrant CIC, and as such, I have no hesitation in giving back to be a small part of its evolution and growth story. My focus in this role would be on 3 key areas: Outreach - to reach and grow the number of active participants and volunteers who proudly count themselves as part of our family, Engagement - to encourage free and open expression of diverse views and debate in our community and to build trusting relationships that propel our energy, Expression - to find avenues for our diverse community members to contribute in unique and creative activities and events which truly reflect the "unity in diversity" that is our biggest asset."

Vice President/Secretary - Rajesh Radhakrishnan

"I like to bring people together. Love it. Organized VB tournament with the help of our community. Getting things done on time, on budget, on schedule, being cognizant of the human elements, is part of my job. This role will require a similar skill set IMO."

Treasurer - Venkata Ramanan

"I am not big on declarations but I think I put others needs and needs ahead of me and will be a guide/help/fellow traveler for the community."

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the CIC Board will continue to stay to help guide the officers and ensure that the core charter of the organization is maintained. The Board consists of three members - Krithika Santhanam, Sachin Holla, and Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy.

We are very excited to welcome the new team. Please join us in congratulating them and providing them the support they need to continue our mission of building a wonderful community.

CIC Elections and Open House

Hello, Cambrian Indian Community. Hope 2018 is treating you well. As promised during last year’s Diwali event, the CIC Elections are here and we wanted to take this opportunity to explain the election process, roles up for election and the responsibilities that come with them. But before that, we want to also let you know there will be a CIC Open House this Sunday, 11-Feb-2018 at the Vineland Branch Library from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. 

Agenda for the meeting (in this order)

1. CIC Election Process and Logistics
2. Q&A on CIC Elections 2018
3. Feedback on CIC Diwali Mela 2017 (see this post for actual feedback we will be discussing)

Election Logistics
The Election process will happen over the next few weeks. Here is the timeline.
Feb 07: Announcement of Elections in the CIC Website.

Feb 07: Filing of Nomination starts (Contestant form: https://goo.gl/forms/lhgmm6ilvhbssxBk2)
Feb 11: Elections Open House (2:30-5:30 pm, Vineland Branch Library)
11:59 pm, Feb 12: Filing of Nominations close.

Feb 13: Voting Form available on the website.
Feb 17: Votes drop off at board members residence (location to be confirmed. In person only- no proxy)
Feb 18: Voting in person at Lone Hill Park (time to be confirmed)
Feb 20: Announcement of results
March (Date TBD at Discover India): Introduction of Cambrian Indian Community Officers to the community

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Roles and Responsibilities of the Officers
The Officers of CIC will hold office for a 2-year period starting March 2018 and ending in March 2020. The Officers are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization including but not restricted to
1. Event organization and management
2. Community Outreach
3. Volunteering and community participation
4. Event Sponsorships
5. Publicity and marketing
6. Balancing the books and keeping financial transactions accurate and consistent
7. Consult with Board when required.
8. Report to the board quarterly.
 

The CIC officer positions available for election will be:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President
The president shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation. Subject to the control of the board of directors, the president will define the activities of the organization, supervise and direct the affairs of CIC and of the officers. At all times, the president will be the face of the organization and will be responsible for setting direction according to the CIC charter and bylaws.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) - Vice President and General Secretary
In the absence of the president, the vice president will perform all the duties of the president. The general secretary shall certify and keep the original, or a copy of these bylaws as amended. Keep a book of minutes of all meetings of the directors, and, if applicable, meetings of other committees.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Treasurer
The treasurer shall have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the corporation.

• Receive, and give receipt for, monies due and payable to the corporation from any source whatsoever.
• Disburse, or cause to be disbursed, the funds of the corporation as may be directed by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements.
• Keep and maintain adequate and correct accounts of the corporation's properties and business transactions, including accounts of its assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, gains and losses.
• File annual tax returns.

Chief Marketing Officer
As the Chief Marketing Officer, you will be responsible for creating innovative marketing strategies that will aid in building the CIC community presence, leading to increased awareness, fundraising revenue, relevance and respect among our target customers, donors and of course, the larger CIC community. In addition, the CMO will have ownership, direct or indirect, of the CIC website, blog and other social media channels as may be appropriate.

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Requirements to Contest in Elections
1. Each contestant will have

• lived in the community for 2 years or longer and,
• attended no less than 4 CIC events and,
• volunteered in at least 2 events in a significant capacity, as determined by the board.

2. Each candidate can contest for only one role.
3. Each family can have only one family member file for nomination. If one of your family members is a part of the CIC board of directors, you are not eligible to participate.
 

Filing for Nomination
You can file your nomination with the form here (https://goo.gl/forms/lhgmm6ilvhbssxBk2). Please note the following:
1. Nominations will be closed at 11:59 pm on Monday, 12th Feb.
2. In the days leading up to the election, we will share each of the nominee’s “What would I do in my role to help build a better community” so voters have an opportunity to read and understand what the candidates are offering
3. In the event that a specific role has no contestants, the Board reserves the right to nominate someone of their choice for the role.

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CIC Mission

• Foster a tighter community among the Cambrian Indian community including adults, children, and senior citizens.
• Encourage local talent and businesses
• Promote Indian culture targeting the Indian diaspora but not restricted to Indian families. All are welcome!

CIC Long-term Vision

• Host flagship events to promote a deeper awareness, knowledge, and demonstration of Indian music, cultural traditions, and dance.

• Facilitate events to allow for atypical community members’ interest, for eg. quiz, karaoke, etc.

• Conduct events that are very directly targeted to foster deeper relationships between children living in the community.

• Play a significant role in charitable giving and encourage philanthropic activities within the community and also external to the community.

• Engage in active community organizing to lend a voice to the larger Cambrian, San Jose, and wider communities as well.

  • Interactions can be a purely social, political nature as long as it doesn’t conflict with the CIC charter of not being unduly favorable to any one particular person or organization

• Provide a physical location for entrepreneurs in the community to host classes/commerce for the larger community

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Some FAQS
1. What is this election for and how does it change the current structure of the CIC organization?

When the CIC was originally conceived and formalized in 2014, the community was much smaller than what it is today. At that time, it made sense to have fewer members involved in the day-to-day running of the organization. The members of the board (1 chairperson of the board, two voting Directors, 1 Vice President/General Secretary and 1 Treasurer) also doubled up in taking operational roles of the Officers of the CIC.

The community is much larger now and it makes sense to separate the Board from the Officers who will be responsible for the daily operations. The Board will mostly remain unchanged but will take on an advisory role to the Officers (see next FAQ). The Officers who will be elected through these elections will execute on the responsibilities as outlined above. 

2. What then is the role of the CIC Board?
The Board’s role is to ensure that all the actions of the CIC are consistent with the vision of the CIC as a community to bring like-minded people in the Cambrian area. The Board will be available to provide support and guidance to the Officers as they execute on their roles and responsibilities. The CIC Board’s role is not to be necessarily involved in the day-to-day affairs of the CIC. Having said that, the board will weigh in very directly if it is felt that the officers are proposing action that conflicts very directly with the mission, charter or goals of the Cambrian Indian Community.

3. What is Cambrian Indian Families (CIF)? How is it related to CIC?

The CIF Facebook group was started by a few families who live in the Cambrian Park neighborhood. This is to allow a social gathering and as such is a private facebook group with memberships managed by the administrators of the group. You can apply for membership with this group directly, but CIC has no relationship, direct or indirect, with CIF. Since some of the families also attend, participate and are active volunteers at CIC events, the information about CIC events may sometimes be cross-posted in the Facebook group for visibility.

4. Why do we need an organization? Isn’t it just folks getting together and doing stuff?

We have always been about bringing the community together. However, with time, we have grown as a community and hence our needs, interests, and events have grown as a result. Becoming an organization gives many benefits like getting liability insurance for our events, having a bank account and getting tax exemption for donations received in our events. We are now an officially certified 501c3 tax exemption organization.

5. How do I become a member of the CIC?

There is no formal membership for the CIC organization. When we formed the organization, we took a conscious decision to keep the focus on community building and not a lot of paperwork and formality around memberships and such. Hence, at this time, we have no formal membership model and no yearly membership fee as well. We will review this periodically as the community grows and interest and participation changes.

6. What are the benefits of being involved with CIC?

The CIC organization exists to create events, foster community and be the voice of the community as defined in the CIC Mission and Vision. This allows the member to have the knowledge that there is always a set of folks who are driving events and other activities with this goal in mind. Apart from occasional fundraisers (2 in the past 4 years) which are scheduled on an as-needed basis, the only support that we look from our community is to be an active participant/volunteer in our community events. Besides, the CIC events give the community members a great opportunity to meet other like-minded people in the area and provides a sense of community involvement.

7. How can I learn about new events and how do I sign up to volunteer or participate in CIC events?

The CIC blog is always the best reference to hear about our events and understand how to register as a participant or volunteer. In the past, some of our members have cross posted to private Facebook, WhatsApp groups that they are part of. However, these are unofficial and private shares. In the future, we may employ other social media channels in addition to or in lieu of existing mechanisms to communicate our events and other activity, but at this time, the only official communication channel is our CIC website. We will communicate any changes to our communication strategy in this blog.

Cambrian Indian Community - The story so far and the road ahead

A few years ago, when the Indian community in the Cambrian Park neighborhood was no more than a few families, there was a dream. A dream to build a home, away from home. To foster and keep alive our culture in this new land. But to also give back to this country for all that it had given them. These families celebrated their joys and shared their sorrows together. They became family. 

The community started to grow. More and more families saw this small neighborhood of San Jose as where they wanted to put their roots. The good schools and tree lined streets welcomed them. As the Indian community in Cambrian grew, there was a strong desire to bring families together on a more regular basis. To learn, cherish and to serve. Thus was born the Cambrian Indian Community (CIC).

In 2014, a few of these committed individuals got together to formalize this organization and registered as a California State Non-Profit. CIC was incorporated in July 2014. Since that time, the community has exploded. Our events have grown in magnitude. We meet often - we do mehendi and music and dance and Diwali and karaoke and trivia together. We have contributed for important causes. We have volunteered to build the larger community where we live. In the process, we have made and continue to make friends for life. 

Earlier this year, over piping hot chai and wonderful kachoris from a gentle Cambrian soul, we filed to become a 501(c)3 non-profit. This would allow us to expand our charter. To dream bigger and to do greater things. A few weeks ago, we were informed by the IRS that our application was approved to be a 501(c)3 organization.

For me, as one of the joint directors of CIC, this has been a 4-year journey. But for many others, it has been the culmination of a journey that started over 15 years ago. And we are all ready to take the next big step in this journey. 

As a 501(c)3 organization, we can take your donations, big and small and you can claim it for your tax deduction. This begs the question, do we really need money, if so how much and what for? To answer this question, I would like to explain how we have generated funds in the past years and how we have put it to use.

Nothing comes free. We all know that. And for the past 3 years since we incorporated, we have spent quite a bit of money to be able to do what we do. We started with getting ourselves this website (~$100/yr). We then added insurance to cover us in case of accidents during our events (~$650/year). We have also been paying the minimum taxes required (~$800-$1500/year).

We raise funds through sponsorships during our Diwali event and from the chais and samosas and chaat we vend at different events. And these funds add up. We then use that money to buy things for the community. From the audio mixer, mics and speakers we used at last week’s Utsav to the chai pot, we have built up our bhandaar, bit by bit.  We would like to grow this bhandaar. We would like to add a small tent, more utensils, additional electronics like a dedicated laptop and a small video camera, cloud storage for the thousands of photos and videos from our events,  and eventually rent a storage to hold all this. Right now, many kind souls in the community are accommodating all this in their garage. We would like to relieve them of this load soon.

In the past three years, we have raised money only once to help us incorporate in 2014. We have been fiscally responsible and frugal to avoid having to go back to raise more funds. As we expand, we need to grow our infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the community. 

We, the members of the CIC Board would like to invite you all to our next fundraiser - CIC Khana Khazana on the 14th of May at 10:15 am in Houge Park. The event will be an all-you-can-eat hand-cooked brunch for $30/family (upto 4 members). For larger families over 4 members, we recommend an additional $10/person. But I really want you to consider donating more to help us build our funds.  For all your donations over $30, you can receive your tax-exemption certificate from our Treasurer. You have seen our interview with a couple of chefs who will cook for the event with a couple more to come in the next week leading up to the event. 

If you have questions or ideas about how we can do more for the community, we would love to hear. Please reach out to one of the members of the board. We hope you consider contributing and helping us grow this community. We also hope you consider organizing events for us and volunteering to make a difference. See you all next week at Khana Khazana. 

CIC Marketplace

Something entirely new for the Cambrian Indian Community and long requested at that. The CIC Marketplace is coming soon. Doing good never looked so good. Look for more details in the coming weeks.

What is the Cambrian Indian Community?

It has been an eventful year with so many new people moving into the Cambrian Park neighborhood. We had a super successful Diwali and we are now ready to welcome 2017. But before that, we have had a ton on interest in what CIC really is and how people can be a part of it. So on behalf of the Board of the Cambrian Indian Community, I wanted to write a bit about who we are and what we do.

From our annual CIC Utsav 2016 event

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Inception

The idea for a formal non-profit organization that caters to the needs of the Indian community in the Cambrian Park neighborhood area was seeded quite a while back. The early settlers as we refer to them now did not have the strength in numbers to make one such vision a reality. About 3 years ago, the community started showing up in larger numbers in our events that prompted a real effort from a dozen or so people to formalize CIC. We had a fund raiser for the legal costs to seed an organization. As a result of these efforts, the Cambrian Indian Community was registered as a CA state non-profit organization on July 4, 2014. 

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What does CIC do?

The CIC’s mandate revolves around bringing the Camrian Indian community together through events that celebrate Indian culture and tradition and also contribute back to the society we live in and that has allowed us the freedom and independence to organize in the first place. As part of this, the CIC has the following annual events in its calendar.

• Discover India (Feb/Mar)
• Easter Celebrations (Apr/May)
• Utsav Cultural Festival (May/June)
• Mehendi Night (Sept/Oct)
• Diwali (Oct/Nov)

In addition to these annual events, we have members of the community step up and add new events to the calendar. Some examples are CIC Sports Day in Summer 2015, CIC Karaoke in Summer 2016 and more. Any member of the community can help organize new CIC events. For more details see this blog post and reach out.

Beyond these cultural milestones, the CIC family continues to periodically do Seva at local shelters to give back to the community. CIC also contributes to local schools and charities to foster a vibrant community.

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The CIC Board

The CIC Board currently has 5 members-

Latha Santhosh (President)

Krithika Santhanam (Vice President and Secretary)

Sachin Holla (Joint-Director)

Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy (Joint-Director)

Manish Sabu (Treasurer)

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How can you stay in touch?

This blog and website are the only official voices of the Cambrian Indian Community. At times, members of the community share details of local events in social networking groups like Facebook and WhatsApp. The best way for someone to stay in touch with community events is to periodically check this blog. 

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What next?

As an organization, we have some great ideas on how to grow and contribute to the community and the neighborhood we have embraced as home. But we are sure you have some wonderful ideas too. So please reach out via email or drop one of the Board members a note. 

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CIC Events 101

CIC - The spirit of community

Recently, we put out a request calling for inputs on events for 2015. We had a bunch of people ask us in private, what we were looking for. Here is a simple primer on CIC events and how you can be a part of it.

What is a CIC Event?

The Cambrian Indian Community organizes a set of events throughout the year for the local community. Some of these are regulars like Diwali and Mehendi night. Others are flexible- we have them for a few years and then based on interest and availability of a crew, skip them in favor of others. 

How can I participate?

There are multiple ways you can participate in a CIC Event. Here are a few simple ones.

1. I like to just attend and enjoy.

Here, you would look out for dates on our events, sign up in the designated manner and show up to enjoy the event and the company of friends in the community. This is a great way to get to know whats going on in the community and some of the folks behind the events. This is also a great introduction and a ringside view of what CIC is all about.

2. I like to participate but not organize.

Some parents prefer this approach for their kids who get to participate in CIC events like Raamnavami (music and dance), Diwali (Arts and cultural), Easter Egg Hunt, and so on. Parents themselves participate in some of the events but that is the extent of participation. This approach offers  way to know a few folks who are part of the same participating team, very well. This is a good way to see how CIC events come together from a 5000 ft view.

3. I like to volunteer, coordinate and maybe, organize an event.

This is the real deal. I say this because this is the shortest path approach to making a ton of friends in the community. Every CIC event is put together with a ridiculous amount of attention to detail and care for every attendee. It is an experience onto itself to be a volunteer, a coordinator or an event organizer. All it takes is enthusiasm to be a part of building and executing an event to perfection. It is a ton of fun and you make friends for life along the way. You can volunteer to help on event day or help coordinate one specific part of the event or well, organize it.

4. I am an ideas person.

Your ideas as very important to us. There is more about this in the following paragraphs. If you have a suggestion for an event, please speak up anytime.

I have ideas but I am not sure what to do with them. 

Every great event starts with the germ of an idea. Once you have an idea, speak up. Tell us about it on Facebook or by messaging one of the CIC board members or emailing us. Let us know if you just want to give us the idea or help make it a reality. Remember, we are all started as rookies at some point of time or the other. There are experts in every aspect of event management within CIC who can work with you in flushing the idea out and figuring out a way to make it happen. 

One thing to remember- as much as we can help execute the event, sometimes, you, the inventor has the original and the purest form of the vision. You might be the best person to do it. But let that not deter you from sharing your ideas. If you cant make it happen due to whatever reason, we can figure out ways around that.

What constitutes an idea? Give me an example.

Ideas can be one liners like - I want to have an event for Holi. 

Ideas can be a few sentences - I would like to do something for Holi. It could be an event with folks in Indian attire at the local park. We can play with colors and have a snack afterwards.

Or, if you are the detail oriented type, a one pager with everything you have in your head, poured out. You could also record it if you hate typing and email it to us. Or let us know you want to talk and one of us will sit down with you to work through it. 

You tell us what and we can work together in everything else. Really!

I want to organize but don't have experience putting an event together. 

Most if not, all of us had never done events for a community before. There is always a first time to everything. So don't let lack of experience deter you from pitching an idea or wanting to make it happen. 

Still hesitant. I have a job. Kids to take care of. I think it will be a time sink.

We understand completely. Guess what, we are all on the same boat. And that is exactly why, we want you to talk to us. Let us discuss and figure out something where your idea gets the right forum. And we can make it happen. Together as a team. You do not have to do all the heavy lifting. The sheer thrill of seeing your vision come true is well worth the effort of atleast pitching it to us. You never know :)

What do I get out of it?

For starters, you make a lot of friends. You earn a lot of goodwill. And all of that is worth a lot. From talking to folks who have done this- many have gotten the opportunity to learn so much about event organization, time management, people management, and hands-on experience doing things like decorations and what not. The amount of learning here in terms of life skills is a lot. You will be a better person for going through one such experience.

Mmmmm..

No more excuses. Jump in. There is a ton of fun to be had and a lot of friends to be made. Let the community participate in your wonderful ideas. Kindly include us in your grand visions.

2014 - A Year in Review

The 2014 CIC events are all done. In our recent Board meeting, we looked at our current financial state (healthy) and also reviewed the feedback from Diwali 2014. As we shift our focus to 2015, it is only fitting that we take a moment to look back at what we achieved as a group in 2014.

2014 was the biggest year for the Cambrian Indian Community by every measure. We had the most number of events, easily the largest number of attendees and every record has been shattered. The participation from the community has been beyond fantastic. The number of families who moved into the community and instantly started actively participating in events is heartwarming. So what is all this stuff I am talking about without real data? You asked, so here we go.

Major Events of 2014

• Easter Egg Hunt - May (50 attendees)
• Rama Navami Concert - April (75 attendees)
• Chaat Party -May (100 attendees)
• Seniors Day - June (14 Seniors)
• Camping Trip - August (60 attendees)
• Sport Day - August (75 attendees)
• Mehndi/Dandiya Night - October (90 attendees)
• Diwali - Nov (370 attendees)

Note that some events were organized prior to the formal creation of the CIC NPO and when we did not have a website to communicate with everyone. 

Ongoing Activities of the Community

• Cambrian Soccer on Saturday mornings at Lone Hill Park
• Ladies Hike on Saturday mornings
• Gents Hike on Sunday mornings
• Cambrian Volleyball on Sunday evenings at Lone Hill Park

Please drop us a note here if you are interested in any of our ongoing activities or Seva events. 

Milestones

Voting for first ever CIC Board

After months of discussion and meetings, we filed our paperwork to be a State recognized NPO. This was approved in July 2014. This was a huge milestone for the community as a whole as it allows us to formalize and streamline a lot of our efforts. This also allows us to serve not just the local Indian community but a broader audience around us through charitable efforts and other Seva like the one we are doing regularly at InnVision. 

Community Outreach and Seva

The Cambrian Indian Community believes strongly in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning "The world is one family." To this effect, we have been engaged throughout the year in contributing our time and money to local causes that are near and dear to us. Our biggest recipient this year was the Community shelter network InnVision. Cambrianites have cooked and served fresh homemade food at the San Jose InnVision center in addition to contributing a portion of our Diwali proceeds to the cause. CIC did Seva at Innvision in May, July, August, October, November and December and will continue these efforts into 2015.

In addition, CIC will contribute a portion of any money we collect as part of our events. This is our small way of giving back to the city that has brought us all together. 

Looking Ahead

Well, we cant reveal everything in this post, can we? Keep guessing. We will be back with a tentative lineup of events for 2015, sometime early next year. Until then, on behalf of the CIC, here is wishing all of you a peaceful and enjoyable holiday and a wonderful New Year ahead. 

The evolution of the new Cambrian logo

On Nov 16th, we formally unveiled our brand new logo for the CIC. This logo has been used unofficially on the Paypal reservation page for the event itself but this was the first time we showed it to the world proudly. A few folks asked me about the logo and its origins and I wanted to throw something together about that.

After we registered CIC as a CA state NPO, we realized that we would need a logo. We kept talking about what and how without really doing much about it. When we laid out a plan to get sponsors for the Diwali event, we realized that it was time to work on the logo. I set out asking folks for inputs on Facebook. 

First there was just silence. But then as time progressed, I started hearing back from folks. Santhosh sent a bunch of ideas. Veena sent me a few back of the napkin sketches. Srividya sent a few and Krithika dashed off some on the last day. Our Diwali grand sponsor Venkata chimed in with a bunch of entries on the last day. Before I knew, I had over 15 entries. This was a fantastic response for a logo design activity among adults. The entries were put to vote with the CIC board which after multiple rounds of voting finally settled with an entry from Venkata. It was a pretty challenging vote to say the least. We had multiple entries that had good feedback but we had to settle on one.

Here is the original entry from Venkata that was selected. 

It was simple, easy to replicate and conveyed what we were about - all important requirements for a good logo. But we had a problem. This logo was too simplistic and a pain to use with a black background. So we needed to tweak it just a little bit to make it web and print friendly and throw in some very basic flourishes. Enter our resident design expert, Veena Singh. 

Amidst her hectic schedule, Veena patiently worked with me over a few weeks to build a web and print friendly version of the logo that would also have that one touch to make it an enduring design. This is what she showed me when she was ready.

Veena had taken Venkata's core idea shown to the right with black background and made it standout. The text went from being on the side to being on a curve over the alphabets. And the "i" developed an attitude. It offers a lot of ideas to the free thinker- a parent and child, someone looking over a younger one, a smaller Cambrian (in orange) growing into a bigger community (in green) and so much more. More importantly, this was Cambrian in its simplest form. Veena had captured our spirit and vision in the best way possible.

Venkata had laid the foundation. An idea to start with. Veena polished it off. A team effort that brought forth an enduring image of our community.