Alumnus Receives Humanitarian Award for Storm Relief Effort

Left to right: Chuck and Jai Patel receive the IDA Humanitarian Award of the Year. Photo courtesy Overhead Door Company.
Left to right: Chuck and Jai Patel receive the IDA Humanitarian Award of the Year. Photo courtesy Overhead Door Company.

Remember our feature about Jai Patel, GWSB BBA ’06?  In case you missed it, Patel and his family lead a relief effort in Little Ferry, NJ following Superstorm Sandy last year.

The Basket Brigade Team in 2012. Photo courtesy Jai Patel.
The Basket Brigade Team in 2012. Photo courtesy Jai Patel.

Through their family business, the Overhead Door Company of the Meadowlands & NYC, the Patels (including Jai’s sister, Ranee Patel, CCAS BA ’08) created the Meadowlands Basket Brigade, a food delivery service for families affected by Sandy.

In 2012, the Basket Brigade brought Thanksgiving dinner baskets to 370 families in need. The effort was so successful that another round of baskets was delievered on New Year’s Day last year.

Ranee Patel, CCAS BA '08, is pictured in The Record during a recent food delivery. Photo courtesy Jai Patel (Amy Newman for The Record)
Ranee Patel, CCAS BA ’08 and Aisha Russell, CCAS BA ’08, are pictured in the NJ newspaper, “The Record”, during a recent basket delivery. Photo courtesy Jai Patel (Amy Newman/The Record).

Since forming the Brigade, Patel and his family have been hard at work with the movement—and people have noticed.

Recently, the Overhead Door Company of The Meadowlands & NYC received the International Door Association’s (IDA) 2013 Humanitarian Award, which recognizes an individual or company that has contributed significantly to a humanitarian need.

When they received the award at the 2013 IDA Expo, the Patels received a standing ovation.

Congratulations to Jai Patel and his family on this well-deserved honor!

Want to know more? Follow the Overhead Door Company on Facebook for news and updates (like this NY1 feature), and hear from Patel himself in this IDA Expo video:

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