Brij and Sunita Agrawal / Courtesy photo

Recently, Indian American couple Brij and Sunita Agrawal, longtime residents of Sugar Land, Texas, made headlines for a generous $5.5 million donation to the St. Luke’s Foundation in Houston. The contribution is being celebrated as the largest gift ever received by St Luke's Health-Sugar Land Hospital.

However, Sunita Agrawal admits she feels somewhat uncomfortable with the spotlight. “My husband and I have made several donations, but we prefer not to talk about or advertise them," she shares. "This time, St. Luke’s published the details on their website, which is how everyone found out.” For her, philanthropy is less about publicity and more about creating a legacy of giving for the next generation to follow.

And it’s not just St Luke’s Foundation. The couple has also made a significant gift to create an excellence fund endowment for the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, which serves Fort Bend County in Texas, and established a Graduate Medical Education Fund to provide seed money to support family medicine residents and sports medicine fellows there.

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“For my husband and me education and health are the most important areas to focus on for our philanthropic work. But we don’t like to discuss the details even with our children,” Agrawal says. She recollects an incident when her children went to India House, an organisation in Greater Houston that offers free programmes and services to address hunger, health and family issues; for a party, and were surprised to find their father’s name as a significant donor.

In 2022, the Agrawals pledged $1 million to the University of Houston College of Technology—from which Brij is a distinguished alumnus—to fund manufacturing laboratory equipment at the UH Sugar Land building. In recognition of their generosity, the building’s ground-floor auditorium was named the Brij and Sunita Agrawal Auditorium.

Brij, who graduated from UH’s Cullen College of Engineering in 1988 with a degree in mechanical engineering, directed the gift toward purchasing 3D printers, machine tools, and measuring test equipment. It also funded an advanced manufacturing design center focused on small- and medium-scale industries.

“I am grateful to Brij and Sunita Agrawal, whose generosity will enhance the educational experience for our students and researchers, helping create the next generation of technology innovators,” said UH President Renu Khator upon accepting the gift.

The Agrawals have, in fact, supported the University of Houston for decades, also offering financial support for the construction of the first building at UH at Sugar Land. In addition, they established a presidential endowment to fund scholarships for UH engineering students. 

“We have lived here in Sugar Land for over 40 years and raised our family here and built successful businesses. The community has given us so much. It is now time for us to give back,” Sunita says. She recollects that her husband went to Houston from India in 1979 while she followed in 1983 after they were married. “That was a time of recession with the oil industry in Houston impacted. We faced tough times with my husband attending engineering college at night and working full-time during the day to support the family. He even delivered newspapers,” she says. She has herself worked in the family business off and on having to take time off to raise her children. 

Brij Agrawal moved to Houston when he was just 17 years old, eventually establishing himself as one of the city's prominent entrepreneurs. As the founder of several successful companies spanning manufacturing, fabrication, and fast-casual dining, he has built a diverse business empire. Today, he serves as the president and CEO of VKC Group, which operates more than 150 restaurants across Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. The Agrawals’ gifts to Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital and St. Luke’s Health-Sugar Land Hospital will significantly benefit healthcare in the rapidly-growing community. 

Sunita Agrawal looks at the philanthropic efforts by her husband and her as rooted in the Indian concept of Sewa or giving. “There are many other Indian Americans who are also serving the community in different ways including voluntary service. In India we have the concept of tan-man-dhan –  or serving with body, mind and wealth - that is what we believe in. We don’t think that we are doing anything extraordinary.”

Discover more at New India Abroad.