The Kerala Samajam of Greater New York, a Malayalee organization was one of the initial organizations that brought the Malayalee community together in the New York area. It was officially established in 1972 with a group of intellectuals who were committed to the betterment of the Keralite community. Since the inception of this non-political, non-profit organization, it was working for the betterment of our community, always stretching a helping hand to lift up the needy, in many ways.

Following are some of the activities:

Malayalam Class
One of the focuses of Kerala Samajam of Greater New York is to teach Malayalam which is the language of Keralite Indians. Samajam has been conducting language classes for school aged children and youths very successfully. Members with proficiency in language volunteered to teach Malayalam.

OCI Card Drive
Kerala Samajam was instrumental to serving the Indian community in the tri-state area by conducting an OCI card drive, in collaboration with the Indian consulate. This is a travelling document that is like a visa for life time to travel to India. Samajam is planning to conduct more OCI card drives in the future.

Annual Food Drive
In 2011, during Thanks Giving, Samajam volunteers collected food and distributed at facilities in Manhattan. Some members along with the members of the Seventh Day Adventist church members helped at a Soup Kitchen in Harlem, New York to cater Thanks Giving Dinner to homeless people.

Seminars:
During the years of its existence, the Organization has conducted several education seminars in various topics of relevance. People with expertise in subject matters were brought in to do presentations, conduct workshops and assist the attendees in taking advantage of the information provided. Some of the topics on seminars conducted are:

1. Seminar on Living Will
2. Seminar on retirement
3. Seminar on health - leading health issues
4. Seminar on social security and unemployment benefits

Samajam officials and volunteers were acted as liaisons between the presenters and attendees to get follow up information.

Annual Picnic
Kerala Smajam has been conducting annual picnic every year. Various outdoor activities, such as, sports, games and other entertainments are part of the picnics. This communal activities and barbecue helped the community to get motivated and get involved in the public activities.

Celebration of Cultural Festivals
Festival celebrations were used as an opportunity to gather and share talents of the individuals in the community. Cultural competitions were conducted and trophies and certificates were distributed to the winners at public events. Kerala Samajam has been giving unto importance in providing opportunity to the youngsters in the community to develop and improve their artistic talents. This will motivate the young people to stay close to their family and communities that can make them stay away from the areas distractions.

There are a few festivities that the Samajam schedule in a yearly basis. They are

Onam - The Harvest Festival of Kerala
Christmas -
New Year Celebration
Vishu - Kerala New Year Celebration
Easter - Religious Festival of Malayalees and Samajam members
Annual Dinner Celebrations - A family re-union with fun and actvities celebrated every year.

Your comments and suggestions will help us to improve. For more information on any of the actvities please contact our president via email: