Some of the best emails we receive are from families who come back. This week we heard from Hetvi Patel, whose group has now earned the National Service Honor two years in a row, and her note made our morning.
Hetvi shared that earning the award last year didn’t feel like a finish line. Instead, it motivated the group to set higher goals and deepen their commitment to their community. Looking at what they’ve accomplished since, that’s an understatement.
Ansha Patel and Anshu Patel took on a major leadership role this year, helping lead an organized BAPS community event from start to finish. They wrote the script, handled the recording, and coordinated more than 60 volunteers, and their work drew an audience of more than 600 people.
Param Patel has also been volunteering as a part of the BAPS National Volunteer team. He volunteers more than eight hours a week (attending virtual and local meetings, writing scripts, and helping plan) for a 2027 BAPS event in Atlanta.
Alongside these big projects, the group kept up a steady rhythm of hands-on service. Around a living-room floor covered in colored pencils, they designed and sent more than 600 handmade get-well cards to Texas Children’s Hospital, each one with its own drawing and message. They served at the Houston Food Bank and visited a patient with disabilities.
They also volunteered at a children’s museum in Houston, Books between Kids organization and at the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center in Sugar Land, where, in their blue volunteer aprons, they staffed exhibits and helped younger kids work through hands-on challenges like building a freestanding arch. They also supported BAPS Charities walkathon and healthcare professionals conference events.
Hetvi signed her email with a phrase that captures this group perfectly: “In the joy of others.” It’s a reminder that service isn’t only about the hours logged or the awards earned. It’s about the people on the other end: the child in a hospital bed opening a card, the family receiving groceries, the young museum visitor who finally gets the keystone to hold.
Congratulations to this remarkable group on their second National Service Honor. We can’t wait to see what they do next.
