Author: Tanya Dev, Crestron 2021 Summer Intern

From its founding days, Crestron has taken pride in helping communities in need and promoting a culture of giving among its employees. This past April Crestron supported four high school students in their quest to help the people of India during the country's resurgence of COVID-19. It was thought India had overcome the worst of the pandemic when suddenly conditions drastically deteriorated and hospitals faced severe medical supply shortages.

Public health experts and government officials felt helpless as they witnessed the country reeling under the perils of a second wave. Millions were admitted to overcrowded and poorly equipped hospitals. Natasha Dhanrajani, a teenager from New York and current Crestron intern, watched in shock as news outlets reported patients perishing in ICUs due to a lack of oxygen. Reports revealed that India needed more than 21,000 metric tons of oxygen per day just to stabilize patients. Natasha explains, “Seeing my relatives’ struggle there, I felt a strong sense of responsibility to do whatever I could to help.”

Natasha explored avenues to alleviate the shortage of oxygen. After hours of research she learned about oxygen concentrators, which are lighter and more portable than oxygen tanks and don’t need to be refilled. Oxygen concentrators extract air from the atmosphere and then deliver the oxygen-rich air continuously to patients.

Natasha Dhanrajani with ready to ship oxygen concentrators Set on raising funds for concentrators, Natasha discussed the idea with her father, Hemant Dhanrajani, Vice President of Engineering at Crestron. Natasha concluded it was best to have a team of peers raise funds through friends and family to purchase and ship concentrators to India. Hemant shared the idea with fellow team members at Crestron and soon three of their teenaged kids stepped up to the task.

Shreya Vunnava and Anay Gupta joined “Team O2 for India” and Tanya Dev, a current Crestron intern, joined after hearing about the initiative from a relative at Crestron. The group set up an online GoFundMe campaign with a lofty goal of raising $100,000 by the beginning of May to supply India with up to 65 concentrators. To promote the fundraiser, the group posted on social media, wrote letters to their local communities and called on friends and family.

Within the first week, the group raised $15K from over 70 donors. As word spread, multiple Crestron community members got involved, sharing the GoFundMe on their social profiles and in their communities. The fundraiser gained further momentum after WABC-NY Eyewitness News and News 12 aired interviews with the group organizers. In no time at all, $15K grew to more than $20K from more than 110 donors!

What started as a one-person call to action was now a broad initiative garnering attention and followers nationwide. With fundraising and outreach at full speed, Team O2 for India turned their attention to obtaining concentrators, meeting with manufacturers and distributors. After several phone calls, the team faced quite the predicament, as every company informed them that they were either out of stock or required a prescription. Luckily, Anay’s father Surendra Gupta, a Crestron quality engineer, was able to identify a manufacturer in Texas who could fulfill the order. While the team’s initial goal wasn’t met, $24K was enough to secure ten top-of-the-line concentrators.  An anonymous donor further boosted the team's efforts with six additional concentrators.

As Team O2 for India secured orders for concentrators they found themselves hitting another bump in the road. Friends and family had warned the team about shipping and customs clearance delays, so the team had to find an alternate solution. After learning about the team’s initiative, Crestron offered to ship the concentrators with their shipments. Global logistics and distribution director, Rico Singh, generously organized and oversaw the shipment and customs clearance. Rico says, “Crestron is always concerned about the health and welfare of their employees, friends, and their family.” Creston’s streamlined shipping process with swift customs clearance came as a relief to the team and brought them one step closer to delivering medical aid to India. With funds set aside for shipping, the team placed an order for 85 pulse oximeters with the remaining funds to aid in patient oxygen monitoring.

Mid-June saw the arrival of the 16 oxygen concentrators and oximeters  to Crestron’s shipping facility in Orangeburg, NY where they boarded a plane to Bangalore, India. Anil Prabhandam, a firmware engineer at Crestron India, and Gagan Verma, Executive Director of Sales at Crestron India, graciously volunteered to help research non-government organizations (NGOs) in need and oversee the distribution of the equipment. The concentrators and oximeters were donated to the Sood Charity Foundation and the All-India Women’s Conference. The NGOs were chosen because they are actively involved in pandemic relief and were credited with great grassroots work across communities.

Dan Feldstein, Chairman and COO of Crestron said, “I applaud the initiative and the determination of these high school students for coming up with a way to make a difference and to save lives during the crisis in India. I was happy to support their efforts.”

The team is grateful to Crestron and the Crestron community for their generous donations and unwavering support through every step of their journey. Tanya says, “I am happy to work for a company that is just as passionate about helping others as I am.”