Fishers Organization Seeks to Empower, Enhance & Uplift Others
Photography Provided by America’s Role Models
Everyone needs a role model in life but not everyone has one. Fishers resident, Yogesh “Yogi” Sethi is changing that with the new organization he founded, America’s Role Models, Inc. Yogi and his wife, Hina, founded the organization in 2017, a project several years in the making.
The husband and wife team were born and raised in India. When Hina’s family relocated to the United States in Carmel, the two lost touch. But years later, Hina never forgot Yogi. She kept in touch with a friend back home in India who promised to get a letter to Yogi through his brother. Yogi eventually got the letter, and the two reconnected. Yogi relocated to Indiana, they planned their future shortly after and married in 2002.
In the United States, both had their fair share of challenges assimilating to a new culture. Ironically, it wasn’t the differences in the culture that stood out to them, it was something present in both cultures that left them questioning how they could make a change.
“We noticed women in both cultures were affected by inequality,” Sethi says. “We both realized we need to find a platform that promotes empowerment.”
Yogi and Hina also noticed another faction besides women that needed help with empowerment. People of diverse ethnic backgrounds, youth, people in need of professional development or individuals and families in a crisis all need help with empowerment.
“Many adults, like veterans, need help with professional development if they have to make a career change and reinvent themselves,” Sethi says.
So, they set about creating America’s Role Models. The organization’s mission is threefold. Through mentoring and education, the organization wants to empower people with confidence and knowledge, enhance their lifestyles with mental health initiatives and uplift families who need financial support.
The Sethis took a broader look and discovered some shocking statistics.
“We looked at the numbers and we realized inequality affects even more people than we thought,” Sethi says. “That’s what gave me the fire to fight.”
Eager to get started, Yogi established the America’s Role Models Foundation. He connected with Sheryl Matthys, a successful broadcaster, life coach and founder of the organization Successful Women Made Here. Matthys connected Yogi with a group of women involved in beauty pageants.
“We met some women who’d been through some rough patches in their lives and overcame them,” Sethi says. That’s where he got the idea to put on a Gala, a beauty pageant. “All twelve women wanted to be a part of it.”
The ARM foundation secured sponsorship, and the first annual Gala, Bellezza Gala, was held Friday, August 31, 2018. The dinner was followed by music and dance performances, an empowerment-themed fashion show and several inspirational speakers promoting empowerment.
The Gala was just the beginning. Hina is the owner of Ambiance Medical Day Spa in Fishers. She has spent years empowering women through beauty.
“At the spa, Hina’s mission is always to treat all customers as equal,” Sethi says. “We had an already existing business to spread our platform.”
The ARM platform for the empowerment of women, youth and families in need works to provide education and awareness about gender equality and ethnic diversity. But it goes deeper.
“We’re all humans, and we all need help in creating balance in our lives,” Sethi says. “I see how much stress and anxiety is in our daily lives, which goes for youth and adults. The youth of today have tremendous pressure to achieve good grades. I earned medals for my academic achievement and I want to motivate youth to get that too.
“Adults are under fire, too. They’re under enormous pressure to achieve company goals and they work long hours, which creates a lack of life balance. We want to work to promote awareness of how to achieve a balance and not become burned out. Not having that balance puts people at risk for mental health issues, the type of mental health issues that result in homicides or suicides.”
The ARM Foundation plans to spread its message through presentations to schools and corporations. The organization is also establishing a network of life coaches available to help people in need of academic support, career support or support through a crisis. Several events are in the works, and the organization’s website will be updated with details.
Be a part of the ARM mission of empowerment. Visit americasrolemodels.vip to learn more about the organization, become a sponsor, donate or volunteer your time. If you are someone you know is in need of a life coach for education or career empowerment, fill out the request form on the website, and you will be paired with a role model. America’s Role Models is located at 9845 E 116th St. Suite 300 in Fishers or you can give them a call at 317-348-7533.
