Page 3 - SLAWDC_Souvenir_2017

SRI LANKA ASSOCIATION EVENTS 2017 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Annual General Meeting Friends:

I wish to welcome you to the 2017 Children’s Christmas party and the Holiday Dinner dance which is

being re-introduced at the request of our members and the community. It’s been a long tradition of
the Association to host a children’s Christmas party for the benefit of all children in early December
followed by a New Year’s Eve Dinner dance to welcome in the New Year. As of late, we have
experimented with a few alternate combinations of the Children’s Christmas party and a Holiday

Dinner dance, and I am pleased with the overwhelming demand it has created.

Avurudu Celebrations The Sri Lanka Association of Washington, DC (SLAWDC) is the oldest Sri Lankan community
organizations in the Washington DC metro area. Established in 1975, with a mission to “promote
social, cultural, educational, recreational and philosophical activities, and to support charitable and
other non-political endeavors to benefit Sri Lankans and friends of Sri Lanka living in the United

States of America”, SLAWDC has been successful in organizing events to bring all communities
together. The Sinhala-Tamil New Year celebrations and Sri Lanka Day are two such activities that we
provide free of charge for the community, with the Holiday Dinner dance being the only ticketed

event.

Sri Lanka Day The charitable arm, The Sri Lanka Association of Greater Washington, Inc. (SLAGW), has been raising
funds to assist charities in Sri Lanka. The tax exempt, 501 (c) (3) organization raised funds this year to

assist flood victims in Sri lanka and also made a donation to the Deaf and Blind School in Ratmalana.
We hope you will consider becoming a member of SLAWDC, so that we can continue to provide the
community service expected of us, and that you will make your tax-exempt donations to SLAGW so

that we can continue to assist the much needed charities in our motherland.

The Board of Directors has worked tirelessly to make this year’s Children’s Christmas party and the
Holiday Dinner dance an enjoyable one for all. My sincere thanks to all the Board members for their

Young Professionals’ Network efforts, and on behalf of the Board, I wish you all a happy holiday season and a happy and peaceful
New Year!

RASHIKA WEERASENA
President 2016-2017

2 3