President’s Message

President’s Message:

July 15, 2026

Center for Indian Cultural Education, Bal Vihar of St. Louis, a nonprofit, 501(c) 3 organization was founded 34 years ago to instill and foster East Indian Cultural in the children of ages 5 through 18. Bal Vihar has been providing this service to the St. Louis community since August 1992 and has been growing in number of students ever since then. Sincere thanks to all professional volunteers who invest their valuable time in preserving Our Indian culture. Normally, this independent organization has been active in diversity program where Bal Vihar youth children had been active in projects at St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis arts Museum, Magic House and more projects where children of different faiths such as Christians, Muslims, Jews and other faiths work together in projects such as can-structure through the St. Louis based Interfaith organization. Our children also carry out activities in Churches, Mosques and Synagogue to appreciate diversity and learn about other faiths. Bal Vihar organizes various cultural and community events such as Diwali, Holi, CANstruction, Food for Needy and more in the Greater St. Louis area.

Our students are taught discipline, diversity, respect and devotion in their daily routine. The ultimate goal is "to throw the light of cultural knowledge on every child, to make every child an outstanding citizen and to spread the song of peace and harmony around the world."

Center for Indian Cultural Education- Bal Vihar of St. Louis has been holding its classes at the Hindu Temple Cultural Center (HTCC) since 2019. The proximity to Hindu Temple of St. Louis provides additional exposure towards their heritage and culture for our students.

Last school year (2025-26), Bal Vihar had an enrollment of over 350 students. We continue to deliver the engagement and cultural richness that parents are looking to provide for their children. We also create increased volunteering opportunities for our youth. Our educational and event teams are conceptualizing and implementing effective ways to engage the young students while evolving the curriculum to meet the needs of future generations. I sincerely appreciate all 60+ volunteer teachers and 30+ administration staff who are professional and taking time to join our school to achieve our vision and mission. In this voluntary services Bal Vihar volunteers are spending more than 5000 hours per school year. Bal Vihar Executive committee sincerely appreciates their hard work for our future generation.

Many thanks to the Bal Vihar parents for their active role in meeting our vision and mission. Likewise, we appreciate local Indian organizations, businesses, local Universities, political groups and many nonprofit organizations such as Science Center, Arts Museum, Children hospital, Interfaith Organization, the Bach Society, Magic House and more for their collaboration with the cultural school.

The Center cultural school is very proud of being partner with the Rockwood school district. Our Bal Vihar school received recognition of partnership in Education from Rockwood School District Partners in Education Facilitators on May 4, 2026, and in 2025, 2024 and more,

School year 2025-2026 was another exciting year where students performed a variety of exciting activities as follows: >On September 28,2025, Bal Vihar children visited St. Louis Buddha temple in Augusta, MO. It was an exciting event. During the visit, students participated in a congregational prayer service, observed Buddhist customs and listened to a lecture on the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 

Registration for the 2026-2027 Bal Vihar school year is open. Registration is limited to capacity at each grade level so register before July 31. Thank you very much for being part of Bal Vihar family. We are now entering our 35th year of serving Greater St. Louis Community.

Our improved curriculum, hands-on practices for our children, and celebrating Hindu Festivals and Interfaith events have been hallmark of our program. I sincerely appreciate the hard work that our volunteers carry out by relentlessly delivering the best they can. Bal Vihar is able to realize its vision and goal through these volunteers. We also appreciate the parents, who are setting examples of community services for their children. We still need many dedicated volunteers and teachers in particular. Please contact us and be an example for your children by volunteering.

Best Regards,

Sudhir Brahmbhatt