Shefali Kalyani Desai is the founder and Executive Director of We Care Charity, Inc. She came to this country at the age of 12 and has lived in Lowell and Southern NH. She received her degree in Computer Science from UMASS Lowell.  She is married to Vinay Kalyani and had raised two children, Anisha & Sahil, in Salem, NH along with her delightful 3-year-old Golden Retriever Zoey. 

 

 

We Care Charity is a 501C3 a non-profit organization based out of Salem, NH. It is made up of people who share the advocacy of compassion. It’s mission is to provide food and empowering children, individuals, and families in crisis in New England and beyond. Our organization is a fine example of how grassroots efforts can grow and lend a hand to even more people. WCC is powered by donations. We provide food for 18 shelters, 4 soup kitchens, and 2 group homes in NH & MA. We cook and serve an average of 3000 people each month. During COVID-19 we are making sandwich bags for 7 shelters and have fed over 4500 in just one month. We cannot do what we do without our volunteers.

 

Growing up I saw my aunt and my grandmother do so much charity work. They had over 7 shelters for women and children. When I grew up, I saw the need to help. Both Vinay and I love to cook so we decided to feed the hungry.  After doing this a few times, I realized this was my calling and ever since 2012, we have continued to feed those in need.

 

A shelter in Lawrence closed so we had more demands. Many in our community needed support, so we rolled up our sleeves got to work. Our pantry is also experiencing similar demands. We ended up helping 7 shelters and made over 4500 sandwich bags in one month. This month, the numbers are even higher.

 

4.     Where do you see the greatest need?

The greatest need in the community right now is for non-perishable foods in food pantries and sandwich bags for the shelters.

 

5. How is the Indian American community helping your cause? Most of our donors and volunteers are Indian however, WCC is blessed to have people outside the Indian community help us in all areas.

 

6. Were there surprises you encountered during these COVID times? Bread of Roses one of the largest soup kitchen in Lawrence closed and  WCC had overwhelming support from our volunteers. Within a few minutes of sending out a message for help, there were ten to fifteen volunteers ready to step in and supply the shelter with sandwiches. At that moment, we felt very blessed.

 

7. What do you think We Care Charities will look in the Post COVID world?

Our mission to feed those in need will still continue. While there is an even greater urgency right now, there will always be those in need. We also need to look out for those who may lose employment in the near future.

 

8 Any special message for the community?

We would like to thank those who are donating food to our pantry, preparing meals for the shelters we support, and for those who fundraise for us. Many more individuals and businesses have been donating to us due to COVID -19, which has been extremely helpful for us to keep up with the need in our community at the moment. Our volunteers are what drive this charity and allow us to serve our community, so thank you to them. Thank you