By Anushka Patel & Youth Volunteer
SAIVA stands for South Asians International Volunteer Association that promotes the well-being, belonging, and fulfillment through volunteering for intergenerations.
Through our senior focused program and wanting to get involved, Nrityawave reached out. Nrityawave was founded in February of 2022 and promotes Indian classical dance.
The purpose with which Anushka initially started the club was to spread the Indian classical dance culture through Bharatnatyam to diversify the VRHS community.
However, throughout their journey, she realized how they could help serve the world outside VRHS better through the art of dancing.
After researching about the positive health effects of dancing on the audience, it suddenly seemed like a great idea to bring smiles on the elderly faces around us.
Along with performing in the school’s fall and spring shows, Nrityawave strives to serve the elderly community—a group that is almost never reached out to by young volunteers.
After visiting living facilities and reaching out to event directors at nursing homes, Nrityawave has finalized a few performances at different venues, a prime example being Brookdale Senior Living.
Nrityawave realized SAIVA promotes well-being for older South Asian adults and was eager for this opportunity to connect and interact with these elders.
As a kickstart, the 2022-23 officer team conducted an online interactive session with a few elders over Zoom. In the session, they
taught the elders some basic and easy-to-do dance moves, keeping in mind the minor health benefits from the same.
After realizing how much SAIVA appreciated the small interaction with Nrityawave, we can not wait to have them again.
Nrityawave, plans on continuing to help the community through our talent and passion, looking forward to many more opportunities in the coming future.
Other similar, impactful projects through SAIVA include therapy dolls and making pillows for cancer patients.
Such projects help to stimulate the senior citizens’ mental and motor skills while simultaneously empowering them with the knowledge that they are making a difference in the community.
To get involved in volunteering, please contact info@saiva.org or visit www.saiva.org