Mr. Harish Kotecha, EC4A Founder, Receives Perseverance Award From FirstTee Austin
By Sonia Vadlamani, Vishakhapatnam, India
First Tee Austin, a youth development organization based in Austin, and the Amarillo National Bank recently honored Mr. Harish Kotecha, Founder and President of EC4A, with their Perseverance Award.
FirstTee enables young, underserved people build character strength to help them overcome life’s challenges.
The award was presented at the organization’s 14th annual 9 Core Values Awards Luncheon on October 14, 2022.
This award was bestowed in recognition of Mr. Kotecha’s relentless efforts to combat homelessness and poverty in Austin by providing scholarships for education and vocational training for the economically challenged students and young adults.
Mr. Kotecha arrived at in the US several decades ago from Uganda with an engineering degree and less than $200. and He believes he was able to live the American Dream thanks to his education and support from others in his community.
He has worked at IBM from “chips to system” and holds more than 20 US Patents. here to this date.
Mr. Kotecha noted the dire problems associated with poverty and low-income households prevalent in Unites States, and particularly in Austin.
Upon his retirement, he decided to make a difference with through his endeavor, namely Hindu Charities for America, now known as Education and Careers for America (EC4A).
EC4A is a is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports young people in homeless situations and those living below the poverty line with educational aid and vocational support.
Mr. Harish Kotecha has also been honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, and the 2020 Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY).
First Tee Executive Director Ms. Jennifer MacCurrach congratulated Mr. Kotecha, and remarked, “We are very excited about honoring you and all that you have done for the community!”
The whole of the EC4A community joins in Ms. MacCurrach’s excitement and offers heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Harish Kotecha for the extraordinary impact he has made on the lives of hundreds of students.
