Sunita Agarwal said she and her husband, Brij Agarwal, prefer to keep their charitable work out of the spotlight.
Sunita Agarwal and her husband Brij Agarwal do not like to advertise their charitable work. After the Indian-American couple’s $5.5 million donation to St. Luke’s Foundation in Texas put them in the spotlight, Sunita Agarwal said they were uncomfortable with the publicity.
In the past too, they have made many such donations, but they believe that philanthropy is less about publicity and more about creating a legacy of giving. ““My husband and I have made many donations, but we prefer not to talk about it or announce it,” Sunita said in an interview with New India Abroad. “This time, St. Luke’s Church posted the details on their website, and that’s how everyone found out.”“For my husband and I, education and health are the most important areas to focus on in our philanthropy.
But we don’t like to discuss details even with our children.”Brij Agarwal is a Texas-based Indian-American entrepreneur and CEO and President of VKC Group, a restaurant management and franchise company that operates dozens of restaurant locations in the greater Houston area.Their pledge of $5.5 million to Sugar Land Hospital came at a time when Indians were being hated in Texas due to what was referred to as the “Indian Takeover of Texas.”
As many American influencers take to the streets in Houston to meet H-1B visa holders, Indians and many social media users have wondered why hate mongers are so blind to what people of Indian origin like Agarwal are doing for Texas.
Who is Brij Agarwal?
Brij Agarwal was born in India and came to Houston in 1979 when he was 17 years old. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Houston in 1988 and began his engineering career. He was the chief engineer of MW Kellogg Company, and CEO of ABM Industries. In 1988, he founded the VKC Group with just one store. As he expanded his business, he focused on philanthropy as well. He established a Presidential Endowment at the Cullen College of Engineering for students at his alma mater, the University of Houston, which awards numerous scholarships.In 2022, they donated $1 million to the University of Houston’s Sugar Land Campus to support manufacturing education and research facilities. The university named the Brij and Sunita Agrawal Hall in their honour.
