Out of 62 community libraries of Queens 47 libraries now have the books on Sikhism. For more information on Sikhism ,
contact Jagir Singh Bains at 212-380-8571
In the Photo Sitting L to R: Joginder Singh, Dhan Singh, Darbara Singh, Bill Schule , Marc Haken, Jagir Singh Bains, Thomas Galante Director Queens Libraries, Hon Eric Ulrich Council Member, Satwinder Singh, State Senator Shirley Huntley, & Mohan Singh.

Sikhs community in Queens continue their
ongoing project of  spreading public and
goodwill via generous multimedia donations
to   local libraries.

In the Photo Sitting L to R: Thomas Galante Director of Queens
Libraries,Hon Eric Ulrich,Hon Shirley Huntley,Darbara Singh.
Standing L to R :Jagir Singh Bains, Satwinder Singh Sandhar,,
Joginder Singh, Mohan Singh Sandhu,,Dhan Singh,,Marc Haken
and ??

Donation of Books to Steinway Library 10/16/2009

Standing L to R Marc Haken;Tunpa Begum;Farhana Rouf ;Subeg Singh Virk;
 Jagir Singh Bains Presenting the book (COMMUNITY KITCHEN OF THE SIKHS ) to Library Manager Inna Yangarber; Laurel Hicklin Asst Manager;Parminder Singh Dhaliwal;
Dhan Singh;Pritpal Singh Sandhu; and John Senig.

Jagir Singh Bains addresses the Meeting:
There was a celebration of head coverage event from around the world in
Queens Museum of Arts NYC building,  Flushing Meadows Corona Park , on
Thursday April 23rd 2009
 
Jagir Singh Bains alumni delegate of Borough President,s General Assembly and Member of Community Board 8 , Dhan Sigh member democrats Queens County Committee and Mohan Singh Sandhu President Sikh heritage mission participated in this event.
 
Jagir Singh Bains explained ( Why Sikhs wear a turban and what does it mean) and said Turban is one of the article of faith in Sikhism and is a symbol of  sovereignty, dedication, dignity, self respect, courage, love and obedience of the wishes of the guru. A Sikh must tie his turban daily by wrapping the fabric around his head, It ceases just to be a cloth once it is used as a turban and becomes the article of faith. A Sikh is not suppose to wear any Hat, Cap ,or any prefabricated head gear.

Another picture from South Hollis Library with Assembly Women, Councilman, School Principal, Library Manager and Sikh Community Leaders:
From L to R  :
Satwinder Singh Sandhar, Pritpal Singh Sandhu, Paramjit Singh Khurana, Irene Chang Library Manager, Rattan Singh Matharu, Parminder Singh Dhaliwal, Harriett Diaz Principal  I S 192 St Albans, Leroy Comrie Councilman holding a book (Creation of Khalsa), Jagir Singh Bains, Barbra Clark Assembly Women, Mohan Singh Sandhu
 

At the  Laurelton Library Queens NY
on 8/5/2009

BOOKS DONATION FOR SIKH AWARENESS

From L to R: Marc Haken,,Gurbhej Singh Sandhu,Kuldip Singh Puar,Bhupinder Singh Boparai,Sumintra Nandial. Jagir Singh Bains presenting the book "COMMUNITY KITCHEN OF THE SIKHS " Satwinder Singh Sandhar,Darbara Singh, and Dhan Singh.

Sikh Awareness through Libraries

 Continuing their on going efforts of spreading Public awareness and goodwill of and by the Sikhs via generous multi media donation to local libraries , when on Tuesday June30th, 2009 Sikh Community lead by Jagir Singh Bains donated books on History , culture , Heritage of Sikh religion including  DVD  and pamphlets (WHO ARE THE SIKHS ) at Astoria Library 14-01 Astoria Blvd L.I.C  NY 11102.

 The awareness  campaign was launched by the Sikhs because of confusion and mistaken identity about them after 9/11.

This project will improve the availability of information on the history , culture and heritage of Sikh religion  . I am confident that awareness will reach to the general population  faster through books at libraries .

 This is also to promote the Sikh identity and to communicate the collective interest of Sikhs to civic society.

 Out of 62 libraries of Queens  30  libraries have collection of books on Sikhism . The goal is to make donations to the remaining libraries around the borough . Each library receives 25-30 books including a set of bed time stories for children in English and Punjabi.
For further information contact Jagir Singh Bains at 212-380-8571.

standing from L to R G S Narula,Dhan Singh , Bob Schnell Library manager accepting the book Who are the Sikhs,Jagir singh Bains, S SSandhar , P S Khurana  and Kuldip Singh Puar.

Sikh Awareness Team continuing to donate books on Sikhism to Libraries in Queens.

Sikh community gathered at Broadway library 40-20 Broadway, L I C.  11103 (718-721-2462 and donated the books on the history culture and heritage of Sikhs on 7/28/2009.

Out of 62 libraries in Queens this is the 31st library which has been  donated the books.

Standing front row Lto R are: Pritpal Singh Sandhu ' Satwinder Singh Sandhar , Jagir Singh Bains presenting the book( Let us know Sikhism) to Library manager Nagazinnik Palyana , Kuldip Singh Puar , Dhan Singh , Mohan Singh Sandhu.

Back row L to R : Rattan Singh Matharu , Marc Haken.

Letter of Thanks from Thomas Glante Director Queens Public Libraries and James Van Bramer Chief External Affairs Officer Queens Libraries was presented to Jagir Singh Bains for his Team Project of Sikh Awareness Campaign.

Standing from L to R First Row are: Dhan Singh , Thomas Glante , Jagir Singh Bains , James Van Bramer , Nagazinnik Palyana Library Manager , Mohan Singh Sandhu , Pritpal Singh Sandhu ,

Standing L to R back row: Rattan Singh Matharu , Satwinder Singh Sandhar , Kuldip Singh Puar , Marc Haken Chair of Queens Community Board 8 Library Committee.

Sikhs Donate Materials to Two Queens Libraries

AWARENESS CAMPAIGN BY SIKHS CONTINUES AT QUEENS LIBRARIES IN MASPETH,
LEFRAK CITY

JAMAICA, NY, June 25, 2009 - The Sikh community has generously donated
books, DVDs and pamphlets to two more Queens Library locations to
increase awareness of Sikh culture, history, human rights, religion and
the Diaspora of the Sikh people. They are Queens Library at Maspeth and
Queens Library at Lefrak City. Out of 62 community libraries of Queens,
29 libraries now have Sikh collections. According to the group's leader,
Jagir Singh Bains, the goal is to make donations to the remaining
libraries in the Queens system.

Community activist Jagir Singh Bains was raised and educated in Punjab,
India, served 20 years in the Indian army and 6 years in the Zambian
army before coming to the U.S. in 1974. He currently is a member of his
local community board. He notes that at times, Sikhs have been the
target of hate crimes.  "It became very important to educate the local
community. Sikhs are honest, hard-working people who believe in service
to the community. We hope these donations will acquaint more New Yorkers
and more Americans with Sikhs."   
There are 25 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the 5th largest
religion. In India, Sikhs are about 2% of the population, mostly from
Punjab; today they can be found living around the world.

For further information on Sikhism, contact:  Jagir Singh Bains at
212-380-8571.

Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not
affiliated with any other library system. Queens Library serves a
population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the
U.S. With a record 22.8 million items in circulation for FY 2008, the
Library has the highest circulation of any public library system in the
U.S. and one of highest circulations in the world. For more information
about Library programs, services, locations, events and news, visit the
Web site at www.queenslibrary.org or call 718-990-0700. 

Thanks : Joanne King, Associate Director - Communications Queens Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11432 718-990-0704; fax
718-291-2695

CAPTION-Lefrak City: (L to R) Community Activist Marc A. Haken; Kuldip Singh Puar; Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Balbir Singh; Community Library Manager Jiang Liu; Jagir Singh Bains; Paramjit Singh Khurana; Pritpal Singh.


Principal Balbir Singh and Satwinder Singh Sandhar at the Lefrak City Library

Principal Balbir Singh addressing group of young children in the Lefrak City Library

Libraries receive Sikh donations to combat hate

BY CESAR R. BUSTAMANTE JR.

Photo Courtesy of the Queens Library
Members of the Sikh community donated books, DVDs and pamphlets to the Woodside Library as part of an effort to raise awareness and reduce hate crimes.

The project started in March 2006, and Bains hopes to donate more resources until all 67 Queens library branches have materials on Sikhism.

“This project is to improve the availability of information on the Sikh culture, history and religion via multimedia resource,” said Bains.

The donations cover Sikh culture, history, human rights and religion of the Sikh people. They include the books, The Excellence of Sikhism, Who are the Sikhs? and Community Kitchen of the Sikhs.

Some of the Queens libraries that have previously received donations from the Sikh community are Bellerose, Briarwood, and the Central Library in Jamaica. Later this month, Bains plans to donate to the library in LeFrak City.

“Queens Library is appreciative of the donation of these books and multi-media materials. They add to the diversity of our library collections and support information to the multi-cultural mosaic of Queens,” said Thomas W. Galante, CEO of Queens Library.

Bains was inspired to donate educational material on Sikhism after the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers led to members of the Sikh community being misidentified as terrorists and attacked by non-Sikhs.

“Many innocent people have become victims of misplaced anger and hate because of their appearance. This has been mostly due to ignorance,” said Bains.

Bains mentioned recent instances when a Sikh man’s turban was burned and a Sikh woman’s hair was cut, as only two examples of hate crimes against members of the Sikh faith.

“I hope non-Sikh Americans read these books and acquaint themselves with Sikh history and culture, so we do not have any mishaps as we have had recently in New York,” said Bains.

AWARENESS CAMPAIGN BY SIKHS CONTINUES AT
QUEENS LIBRARIES IN DOUGLASTON, RIDGEWOOD, WOODSIDE

JAMAICA, NY, June 1, 2009 - The Sikh community has generously donated books, DVDs and pamphlets to three more Queens Library locations to increase awareness of Sikh culture, history, human rights, religion and the Diaspora of the Sikh people. They are Queens Library at Douglaston, Queens Library at Ridgewood and Queens Library at Woodside.
Out of 62 community libraries of Queens, 27 libraries now have Sikh collections. According to the group's leader, Jagir Singh Bains, the goal is to make donations to the remaining libraries in the Queens system.

Community activist Jagir Singh Bains was raised and educated in Punjab, India, served 20 years in the Indian army and 6 years in the Zambian army before coming to the U.S. in 1974. He currently is a member of his local community board. He notes that at times, Sikhs have been the
target of hate crimes.  "It became very important to educate the local community. Sikhs are honest, hard-working people who believe in service to the community. We hope these donations will acquaint more New Yorkers and more Americans with Sikhs."
There are 25 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the 5th largest religion. In India, Sikhs are about 2% of the population, mostly from Punjab; today they can be found living around the world.

For further information on Sikhism, contact:  Jagir Singh Bains at
212-380-8571.

Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not
affiliated with any other library system. Queens Library serves a
population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the
U.S. With a record 22.8 million items in circulation for FY 2008, the
Library has the highest circulation of any public library system in the
U.S. and one of highest circulations in the world. For more information
about Library programs, services, locations, events and news, visit the
Web site at www.queenslibrary.org or call 718-990-0700. Queens Library
Enrich Your Life(r).
#  #  #

CAPTION-Ridgewood:  L To R- Community activist Marc Haken; Rattan Singh
Matharu; Jagir Singh Bains; children's librarian Lauren Moran; community
library manager Vesna Simonovic; library activity assistant Loyda
Ragazzo
Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Kuldip Singh Puar

CAPTION-Woodside: L to R Kuldip Singh Puar; Satwinder Singh Sandhar;
Mohan Singh Sandhu; Community Library Manager Jingru Pei;Jagir Singh
Bains; Subeg Singh Virk; Community Activist Marc Haken

CAPTION-Douglaston: L to R Kuldip Singh Puar; Bhupinder Singh Boparai;
Marc Haken; Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Community Library Manager Elizabeth
Shinouda; Jagir Singh Bains presenting the book, "The Excellence of
Sikhism";  Dhan Singh; Pritpal Singh Sandhu; Paramjit Singh Khurana;
Rattan Singh Matharu


CAPTION-Ridgewood:  L To R- Community activist Marc Haken; Rattan Singh
Matharu; Jagir Singh Bains; children's librarian Lauren Moran; community library manager Vesna Simonovic; library activity assistant Loyda Ragazzo, Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Kuldip Singh Puar

CAPTION-Woodside: L to R Kuldip Singh Puar; Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Mohan Singh Sandhu; Community Library Manager Jingru Pei;Jagir Singh Bains; Subeg Singh Virk; Community Activist Marc Haken

CAPTION-Douglaston: L to R Kuldip Singh Puar; Bhupinder Singh Boparai; Marc Haken; Satwinder Singh Sandhar; Community Library Manager Elizabeth Shinouda; Jagir Singh Bains presenting the book, "The Excellence of Sikhism";  Dhan Singh; Pritpal Singh Sandhu; Paramjit Singh Khurana; Rattan Singh Matharu

Picture #1 Woodside Library taken on 5/11/2009
standing L to R Kuldip Singh Puar;Christopher McKee;Marianna Vertsman;Ellen Fain;Madeline Monagham;
Satwinder Singh Sandhar;Jingru Pei library Manager;Jagir Singh Bains Member Community Board 8 Presenting 
( THE GLIMPSES OF HARMANDAR ) Dr Subeg Singh Virk;Mohan Singh Sandhu president sikh heritage mission.