Hindu Temple DE Volunteers
Get to know the dedicated volunteers!
“I want to do a lot of community service and help out.”
Mr. Thirumal Reddy grew up in Ballari, Karnataka. He came to the US in 1998 and currently lives in Newark, Delaware. He started volunteering in 2004 and initially helped in the kitchen every weekend. He also assists during various Festivals, annual Koti kumkum archana, temple organized Cultural events, etc. Mr. Reddy is also part of the Kalasam team, so he helps prepare the Kalasams for all the Religious events and delivers them to the devotees who come in to participate in the event. He volunteers and helps anywhere in the temple facility that is needed, including in the office. For the past 10 years, Mr. Reddy has also been helping count the money from the hundis every Sunday. During festivals, he helps with organizing cultural programs. In addition, whenever a new deity is installed, he helps get the ingredients for the homam so priests can perform poojas. Mr. Reddy volunteers because he wants to do community service and get involved. He looks forward to Koti kumkum archana every year. In his first few years of volunteering, he went to the temple for all 45 days. A memorable experience he had during this time was being able to serve food every day to all priests (including priests from India that came from India for this event). After the 45 days, Mr. Reddy used to take the visiting priests to visit places like New York City, Niagara Falls, etc. He likes getting to know people and making new friends. Mr. Reddy is passionate about helping others and is service oriented. Over the years he has learned how to balance his volunteer work with other aspects of his life, but he always tries to do as much as possible. Mr. Sarma Patibanda’s constant service to the temple motivates Mr. Reddy to keep volunteering.
“It is my duty to serve.”
Mrs. Lokeswari Yellanki grew up in South India and came to the United States in 1998. She currently lives in Newark, Delaware and has been volunteering in Sri Mahalakshmi temple since 2003. She used to help in the office by helping devotees, such as selling archanas and saris as well as offering various donation options to them. Mrs. Yellanki also assisted priests by preparing harati, flower decorations for gods/goddesses, or saris selection to offer to god if needed. She volunteers because she wants to god seva and help devotees. She loves all aspects of it and always helps with whatever is needed. The big festivals and occasions at the temple such as Vinayaka Chavithi, Sri SitaRamula Kalyanam, Ugadi, and Diwali are memorable for her. Mrs. Yellanki feels blessed that she has the opportunity to do seva for god. Over time, she has learned how to be patient and help everyone. She is inspired by Mr. Sarma Patibanda’s patience and service. Loke is so curious to understand the difference between vedic tradition and scientific reasons. Mrs. Yellanki appreciates the opportunity to serve devotees and god at the same time. She also loves the opportunity to learn Dharma types and scientific aspects of vedic knowledge from the priests. Loke always encourages friends and family to volunteer in various organizations. Mrs. Yellanki adopted helping nature from her grandma and parents.
“I’m trying to help as much as possible.”
Mr. Venkatesh Ivaturi grew up in Andhra Pradesh and came to the United States in 1996. He now lives in New Castle, Delaware. Mr. Ivaturi became a volunteer around 2016 after he retired because he had more time to help out during the day. He is an office manager, which includes answering calls, selling archana bags to devotees, booking the wedding hall for functions, and scheduling the priests’ services. In addition, Mr. Ivaturi helps organize the saris and notifies people when the sari they donated is put on Mahalakshmi. He volunteers because he enjoys being able to sit in front of god. It is memorable to meet a lot of different types of people at the temple and he loves sharing a good laugh with them. For Mr. Ivaturi, every day is a good day when he is volunteering.
“I do what I love and give it my 100% effort.”
Mrs. Sridevi Gangadhar grew up in Hyderabad and came to America in 1997. She now lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Volunteering in the office for her includes billing for poojas, explaining upcoming events, and explaining about donations to the devotees who want to offer to the temple. In addition, she answers phone calls and the queries regarding various poojas like house warming, satyanarayan pooja, etc. Mrs. Sridevi also takes care of the lakshmi boutique items. She has been a volunteer for over 20 years. She is willing to help out wherever she is needed, whether that is with the dance programs, the kitchen, or with abhishekams. Mrs. Sridevi loves it because she gets to meet many people and is extremely dedicated. She treats volunteering as a job and always gives her full effort. She is a devoted and dedicated person, always making sure to stay positive.
“I always love volunteering.”
Mrs. Sharda Lashkari grew up in Rajasthan and came to the US in 1966. She now lives close to the temple in Wilmington, Delaware. Mrs. Lashkari is a religious coordinator, so she organizes religious activities and communicates with the priests, which includes noting their availability for poojas. She also helps plan services and big events for holidays. In addition, she orders flowers and picks them up through the garland community to make sure there are enough saris and archana bags. Mrs. Lashkari has been a volunteer at the temple since the beginning. She volunteers because she loves to and it is a great hobby that gives her something to do. She enjoys all of the responsibilities and tasks she takes on. Mrs. Lashkari is easygoing, social, and takes care of everything that is assigned to her.