Departure of a devotee: Shyama Priya of ISKCON Prison Ministries

Another Stalwart Devotee Passes Away

As many of you may already know, Mother Shyama Priya left her body April 16, 2009 at 9:27pm in Gainesville, Florida. She was a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and was well known for her extensive service with ISKCON Prison Ministries (IPM). Devotees within the San Diego, Tucson, and Alachua communities, in particular, as well as countless inmates, are familiar with her selfless service attitude. She had been struggling with pancreatic cancer for many months. She spent her last few days surrounded by loving devotees, including her son, daughters and daughter-in-law. Many devotees from around the world, hearing of her imminent death, sent affectionate messages. She departed in an atmosphere saturated with auspicious articles and spiritual sound vibrations.

As a single mom, mother Shyama Priya's dedication to her family and her service with ISKCON Prison Ministries (IPM) left her very little time for economic development. IPM is therefore currently raising funds to assist Shyama Priya's family with the funeral and other expenses. All together, we would like to raise $6,000 to $7,000 as a token of appreciation for the remarkable service she's rendered for many years.

Donations will be used toward the following purposes:

1- Funeral expenses: $3,000

2- Mother Shyama Priya's greatest concern is that her 14 year-old daughter can transition smoothly to her new out-of-state location, living with family members. The money collected would pay for basic traveling expenses and a monthly allowance for an easier re-location (covering the next 6 months). There are also some additional costs related to shipping her daughter's belongings to the new distant location. In total, this is expected to cost at least $3,000.

3- If we collect sufficient funds, there may also be some fees assigned to send Shyama Priya's ashes to India.

If you would like to help, please send a donation to ISKCON Prison Ministry and mail to:

ISKCON Prison Ministry
PO BOX 2676
Alachua FL, 32616

All donations are tax deductable.

When sending a donation, please note on a separate piece of paper that the funds being donated are to assist Shyama Priya's family.

Additionally, a PAYPAL account is being opened for ISKCON Prison Ministry so that you can send funds electronically from your bank account or credit card, even if you do not have a PAYPAL account yourself. This account should be activated in a few days. If you would like to send your donation using this method, send us an email at bhakti888@gmail.com. We will send you an invoice with a link to PAYPAL.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact either Bhakti-lata dasi or Mukunda das. They will see to the proper distribution of these funds and are happy to prepare a financial statement for anyone to review.

Home Phone: (386) 418-3828
Home office: (386) 418-0578
Cell phone: (352) 871-1153
Emails: (Mukunda das) coachmarc108@gmail.com or (Bhakti-lata dasi) bhakti888@gmail.com

Once we reach the target amount of $6,000-$7000 we will inform the devotee community. You can contact Bhakti-lata or Mukunda das at any time to see how close we are from reaching our target amount.

Please consider donating to this worthy cause. It would be a wonderful way to show our appreciation to Shyama Priya and to carry out some of her final wishes. I thank all the exalted Vaisnavas for their prayers these past few weeks; Shyama Priya's family is greatly appreciative. Hare Krishna.