Sunita Agarwal and her husband Brij Agarwal do not like to advertise their philanthropic work. After an Indian-American couple made headlines for their $5.5 million donation to St. Luke’s Foundation in Texas, Sunita Agarwal said she is uncomfortable with the publicity. In the past too, he has made many such donations, but he believes 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 them or advertise them,” Sunita said in an interview with New India Abroad. “This time, St. Luke’s published the details on their website, letting everyone know.”“For my husband and I, education and health are the most important areas to focus on in our philanthropic work. But we don’t like to discuss this in detail even with our children.”Brij Agarwal is a Texas-based Indian-American entrepreneur and the CEO and President of VKC Group, a restaurant management and franchise company that operates dozens of restaurant locations in the Greater Houston area.His pledge of $5.5 million to Sugar Land Hospital comes at a time when Indians are facing hatred in Texas for what is being called the ‘Takeover of Texas’ by Indians. As many American influencers are on the streets in Houston to interview H-1B visa holders, Indians, many social media users questioned why these haters are unaware of what people of Indian origin like Agarwal are doing for Texas.
Who is Brij Aggarwal?
Brij Agarwal was born in India and came to Houston in 1979 at the age of 17. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Houston and began his engineering career in 1988. He was a chief engineer for MW Kellogg and CEO of ABM Industries. In 1988 he founded VKC Group with just one store. As he grew his business, he also focused on philanthropy. He established a Presidential Endowment for students at his alma mater, the University of Houston, in the Cullen College for Engineering, which provides several scholarships.In 2022, he donated $1 million to the Sugar Land campus of the University of Houston to support manufacturing education and research facilities. The university named the Brij and Sunita Agarwal Auditorium in their honour.