As Neeta reflects on her very first Vibha experience she says “Growing up, I was surrounded by both sets of grandparents running schools, where they were constantly supporting youth that were eager to complete their undergraduate education by either providing financial or housing aid. It was ingrained in me that education is the 4th key element after roti, kapda and makan (food, clothes, and shelter). My first interaction with Vibha was in 2006 where I learned about Vibha’s mission and it struck a chord with what I had seen growing up with my grandparents’
Neeta then got involved to play cricket for Vibha’s Women Cricket tournament. This made Neeta a regular at Cricket and Kite Flying Festival volunteer for years. Neeta was then roped into representing Vibha at large multi-cultural events such as Asia Fest of Plano leading flashmobs, fashion shows, and cultural performances for years.
Around 2014, Neeta was asked to lead the youth group with Rohini Sheeba. While other Vibha events like Cricket and DreamMile were trailing down in Dallas, the youth team flourished under their leadership.
In 2018, Neeta took on the role of Executive Director for Dallas Action Center with Rohini. They started with hosting Volcon, Vibha’s National Volunteer Conference & Gala in early 2019, channelizing like-minded and motivated people to the conference to experience Vibha first-hand, galvanizing enthusiasm in the existing volunteer base and bringing in many new supporters for Vibha.
As an Executive Director of the Action Center, her key role was to ensure that the action center had an empowered and unfettering executive team to support the growth the action center was poised for.
By September of 2019, they had an executive committee with well-defined roles and responsibilities. By late 2019, the team decided to plan one of the most challenging fundraising events, Vibe – Dancing for a Cause. In this event passionate and enthusiastic people from the community would pair up with professional choreographers and participate in a dance off, while raising funds and awareness for Vibha’s mission. Though Vibe was a very ambitious initiative for a relatively new team, under the guidance and support of volunteers like Neeta, the team successfully raised $90,000. Neeta as an executive director stood with the team as a pillar of support during this event.
Anyone who has met her can feel her infectious positivity and zeal to get things done. Neeta will be stepping down from the Executive Director role but will continue to support the Dallas action center with her can-do attitude and humility.
A huge thank you to Neeta Dave for her fantastic services to Vibha Dallas.