The South Asian Student Alliance (SASA) was busy this summer hosting a Father’s Day BBQ for all to enjoy. The event took place on June 15 and served a mix of food with an emphasis on Indian cuisine. Senior Adhvika Veerapaneni helped plan this event from her position as secretary.

“We met up frequently, typically at the park where we were hosting it, and we discussed the details and planned it out from there,” Veerapaneni said. “For food, we asked restaurants for donations, and since it was a charity event, most restaurants were willing to give us some free food.”

The Fathers’ Day BBQ was hosted in order to fundraise for the Kidney Federation of Indian and the downtown KC Hope Lodge.

“The Hope Lodge helps homeless people and the Kidney Federation helps people with medical issues in India,” Veerapaneni said. The event went pretty well; a lot of people showed up, and I think we raised around $2,000.”

The event was co-hosted with other local SASA chapters including Olathe North, Blue Valley Southwest and Blue Valley Northwest. For Veerapaneni, the collaboration between SASA clubs is key.

“The idea actually started [with] Southwest,” she said. “I’m excited about the collaborations with other schools and all the fun events we have planned [for the future].”

Veerapaneni’s favorite event was another joint celebration.

“My favorite event was the mock mehendi we collaborated with some other schools on,” she said. “It was really fun. It was a fake mehndi, which is sort of like a South Asian wedding ceremony.”

This summer BBQ along with any other function serves a joint purpose to build community and educate on South-Asian culture.

“SASA, to me, is like a way to spread south Asian culture,” Veerapaneni said. “It would be great if anyone came and supported [our future plans], they would have a really great time.”