BAPS Charities Volunteer Wins
Company Volunteer Accolade

Behind all of BAPS Charities’ worldwide projects lies the commitment and dedication of its thousands of volunteers. It is often forgotten, though, that many of these volunteers have professional careers of their own and make a special effort to take out time after their day jobs.

One such BAPS Charities volunteer was recognized recently by his company for doing precisely this – bringing his skills and knowledge to the service of the community outside of his immediate profession.

Devan Parekh, Engineer and Senior Manager at the international wireless technology firm, Qualcomm (headquartered at San Diego), works from Farnborough, UK. Earlier this year, he was nominated from the company’s eleven thousand employees from all over the world as one of “the company’s ten finest volunteers.”

Devan’s “outstanding work… for more than 18 years for this international nonprofit organization” helped him earn the accolade. He is currently Chair of the Children’s Welfare Wing for BAPS in the UK, which means he oversees all children’s activities there and manages 280 volunteers serving more than 2,000 children. He has organized fundraising events to promote healthy living for children and adults alike, and in addition liaises with government authorities in London to review policies regarding children’s social welfare. One such recent community initiative was when Devan and the team from BAPS recently embarked upon a huge finger painting during the Brent Respect Festival to promote community cohesion and eradicate anti-social behavior. Incidentally, the 16,400 sq. ft. painting broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest finger painting.

Devan explains that there is a “special reciprocity at play here. My work at Qualcomm brings professionalism to my charity work, and working with other wonderful BAPS volunteers has honed my people skills which are so valuable for my professional work. I believe I am a much better person – both in the office and at home – because of what BAPS has given me.”

One example Devan cites of his two roles meeting is when he was part of a team to produce an interactive learning CD-ROM for children based on moral values. It won the British Educational and Technology Award for 2004.

“He truly goes out of his way to help everyone,” commended a leading BAPS official in London. “Despite being in a senior position at a prestigious company, Devan still manages to find time to serve here on a purely voluntary basis… He is well-respected in the community, liked by the children he serves, and deeply appreciated by their parents.”

BAPS Charities would like to congratulate Devan and the many thousands like him who give their time and talents to better our world; working with them makes serving society all the more fulfilling and enjoyable.