Sankara Nethralaya filled a lot of mind space and took off for a great launch at Houston, the city so familiar with space crafts and rocket launches. Members of the Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust, ever exploring new avenues to raise funds and reach out to the Indian Diaspora in the US and enlighten them on the philosophy of Sankara Nethralaya were quick to realize that the Tamil Nadu Foundation’s Annual Convention being held for the first time, during the Memorial Day holidays on the 20th and 21st of May 2012 at Houston presented a wonderful opportunity to spread awareness about their cause and mobilize funds, which they simply could not afford to miss. Their premise was proved right and the SN OM Trust booth put up at the Tamil Nadu Foundation meeting registered brisk footfall on both the days, with the visitors eagerly picking up brochures and listening with great interest to the briefing by OM Trust members and volunteers. A significant amount was collected by way of on the spot donations, contributions made through purchase of “Insight”- the recently launched biography on Sankara Nethralaya and music CD’s, a good number of people also pledged monetary help, promising to send in their cheques soon and spread the good word in their circle. The highlight of the event was the surprise visit by celebrities Ms Suhasini Maniratnam and Shri SP.Muthuraman, both spending good time at the booth and exchanging memories of their old and very special relationship with Sankara Nethralaya with members and volunteers at the booth.

We take this opportunity to express our most sincere thanks for the contribution and team work of every member of the SN OM Trust team for the success of the booth in terms of awareness creation and the handsome donations collected, we wish to make a special mention about Shri Sam Sockalingam Kannappan’s role in identifying this huge opportunity, foreseeing the potential of putting up a booth at the venue of the Tamil Nadu Foundation meeting, both in terms of spreading awareness and mobilizing funds and booking the stall himself. Our special thanks also go to Ms. Leela Krishnamurthy who through her proactive involvement played a key role for the success of the event right from the time the idea was mooted. We would also like to express our gratitude to the volunteers namely Mrs. Sakuntala Aiyer, Mrs. Anita Balaji, Mrs. Nimmi Vasan, Mr. & Mrs. Kohur & Anuradha Subramanian, Mr&Mrs. P.S.Raju, Mrs. Bhavani Iyer, and Mrs. Mahalakshmi Krishnan who supported us whole heartedly in the midst of their busy engagements by taking turns to man the booth and keep the visitors engaged and involved, with their warm interaction.