Sponsors

What is SAS?

The Rice University South Asian Society (SAS) is a non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to spreading awareness of the cultures of South Asia. Membership is open to the entire student body, and the club holds various events and programs to share the South Asian experience with Rice University and the city of Houston. SAS is the largest cultural organization at Rice University.

What do we do?

  • Host three large-scale theatrical productions of song, dance, and drama educating people about South Asian culture with 1350+ attendance
  • Hold an end-of-the-year formal banquet
  • Produce SAS T-shirts for members
  • Publish an annual newsletter: SAS Slate
  • Participate in community service:
    • Clean-up projects at Hermann Park
    • Project Pumpkin and Spring Fling (campus-wide volunteer events that cater to disadvantaged inner-city kids)
    • Habitat for Humanity
  • Send representatives to national and state conventions
    • National conferences run by the national South Asian Student Association
    • Participation in statewide dance competition, Festival of India 2003
  • Organize community discussions/conferences
    • Upcoming Conference on South Asian American Sexuality involves invited authors and speakers from across the world
  • Reach out to the non-South Asian community.
    • Host South Asian dance nights where we teach traditional dance steps to Rice student population and community.
    • Organize many social events in cooperation with other organizations at Rice University such as the Chinese Student Association, the Vietnamese Student Association, the Korean Student Association, etc.

Why Donate?

Without the generosity of sponsors like you, the Rice South Asian Society would have great difficulty in its mission.

Your donation will be used as productively as possible. SAS sponsors a variety of activities that bring the culture of South Asia to Rice, including garbas, Bollywood movie nights, and bhangra dances. We encourage all Rice students to attend such events, and a portion of your donation would be put toward holding more of such events, as well as publicizing these events extensively throughout the Rice campus.

The most significant impact of your donation will be in the South Asian Society's hallmark event: SAS Dhamaka. This semiannual, culturally rich affair consists of a dance, music, and skit program followed by a sumptuous Indian meal. The event has exploded in popularity across campus in recent years, requiring SAS to hold it on two consecutive days in order to accommodate rising interest. It attracts over a thousand people each semester and is highly regarded across campus. The bulk of your donation will go toward maintaining the high standards people expect of the event while keeping the costs to students low enough to encourage them to experience the culture of South Asia.

Since your generosity is necessary for the success of the Rice South Asian Society, your support will not go by unnoticed. Donors for SAS Dhamaka will be recognized through prominent advertisements in the program, given to everyone in attendance. You can be assured any contribution will be greatly appreciated and dutifully allocated. Donations to the Rice South Asian Society are also tax deductible.

How to Become a Sponsor

If your corporation would like to sponsor SAS, please download our sponsor information packet for more information.

If you would like to donate online, you may do so through this secure donation form. In order to specify that your donation is to go to SAS, please select Other under Designation and enter in SAS G82125-GR03 under Special Instructions.

The Rice South Asian Society hopes you will be as enthusiastic as we are in spreading the culture of South Asia through Rice University. We look forward to having you join us for another year of celebration and learning.