Golf 2002 – Karuna, which means compassion in Sanskrit, is the heart and soul of Karuna Charities. It is a grass-roots organization that makes a difference in the lives of the needy and disadvantaged in the United States, India, and other countries.

Karuna Charities’ Fourth Annual Golf Tournament was held at the Reston National Golf Club, Reston, Virginia on Sunday, May 19, 2002.

The players were very enthusiastic despite a very cold and windy day. It was evident that supporting a worthy cause had put them in great spirits. Net proceeds benefit two battered women under Crisis, Income, and Victims Services, Health and Human Services, Montgomery County, MD. Assistance is being continued for their transition towards independent living.

At 12:00 p.m. the 48 golfers were flagged off to a cheery start by Reeti Bedi, the golf coordinator and Charan Ahluwalia.

The well-deserving winners were as follows:

Nearest to the Pin – Front Nine	Mr. Jeff Wycliff
Nearest to the Pin – Back Nine	Mr. Surin Choda
Longest Drive – Front Nine	Mr. Ed Rushing
Longest Drive – Back Nine	Mr. Pradeep Ganguly
Lowest Score	Hughes Network Team led by Mr. Ed Rushing

Later, Karuna Charities hosted a delicious barbecue dinner at the covered shelter at the golf club for 80 Karuna members, their friends, and the golfers. The prizes were distributed to the winners by Ms. Reeti Bedi. A thank you speech was delivered by the president, Amrit Kalotra.

The golf fundraiser would not have been possible without the golf coordinators, Reeti Bedi and Amrit Kalotra and the golf committee members, Trishna Dey, Arathi Krishna, Pushpa Mittal, Veena Oberoi, Pushpa Raje, Sathya Roy, and Sushila Simhan.

Karuna Charities thanks its sponsors and you for supporting its worthy cause. Grand sponsors were Indus Corporation (Meena and Shiv Krishnan), Hughes Network Sysems (Pradhman Kaul), and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhardt, McPherson and Hand. Sponsors were Provincial Real Estate (Sujata Avasthi) and I.B.T.C.I (Jayant Kalotra). Donors were Archtech, Inc. (Madhu and Daman Walia), Veena Oberoi, Meeta and Darshan Singh Saluja, and Bombay Tandoor (Rani Verma).

Karuna Charities’ members look forward to your participation in the next annual event, the Gala Diwali Dinner.