PAST EVENT

During the month of July, VT - Seva Bay Area conducted its monthly street cleanup activity, youth volunteers picked up a wide variety of trash in order to keep our cities clean! For more pictures check us out on instagram - @vtsbayarea!

PAST EVENT

What a great evening spent volunteering outdoors from 6pm to 8 pm sweating, toiling and getting hands dirty by 12 of our wonderful youth and adult VT Seva Detroit Volunteers at the Crossroads Community Garden, owned by the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Walled Lake, MI. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲; 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀, 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱 & 𝗽𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 ; 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀; 𝗥𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. It was quite an enriching experience to all our youth & adult volunteers and everyone enjoyed working as a group outdoors. Bobbie and her associates were full of praise about our awesome YOUTH and amazing adult volunteers for their efforts. These are our wonderful volunteers who came and helped today. Youth volunteers Anand, Hrudya, Hiba, Srihari H, Rohan, Abhinav, Yug. Adult volunteers Savita ji, Asha ji, Bhanu ji, Kishore ji, Vanitha Zahara ji & Phani ji were gracious enough to stop by for few minutes and encourage all our youth volunteers during the event. 🙏👍

PAST EVENT

For the month of July, youth volunteers wrote creative and engaging letters to the elderly. These letters were funny, happy, and informative, making a seniors’ day great!

PAST EVENT

For the month of July youth volunteers from VT - Seva Bay Area came together and made 50 sandwiches for homeless shelters. There were 25 Peanut Butter and Jelly and 25 veggie burgers that youth volunteers put together. These were served alongside some fruit and snacks, packaged together by our volunteers and served as a wholesome meal for those in need!

PAST EVENT

During the month of July five youth volunteers participated in an Our City forest activity on July 24th. The volunteers each performed activities to help keep their environment clean. For example, youth volunteers planted in pots, mixed soil, plucked weeds, and did much more!

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VT Seva Bay Area had its monthly compost gardening activity during the month of July. Our volunteers composted things like apple cores, Lettuce, Cardboard, paper bags and much more! Towards the end of the month volunteers sent pictures of how their compost had been going, through this, volunteers also learned the environmental benefit and impact of composting!

PAST EVENT

Brilliant Detroit is dedicated to building kid success families and neighborhoods where families with children 0-8 have what they need to be school ready, healthy and stable. During the COVID-19 pandemic BD created a program called "Virtual Story Reader" where the volunteers will record the story book and send the videos to BD and these videos will go on a playlist that can only be exclusively accessed by families who live and participate in the Brilliant Detroit kid success neighborhoods. There are 11 Brilliant Detroit community centers located throughout neighborhoods in Detroit full of families who benefit from programming aimed to increase the literacy rate of these children.This helps the children who are learning from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VT Seva Detroit YouthBoard partnered with Brilliant Detroit and created 87 videos. Youth Board Member Abhinav coordinated with Brilliant Detroit to make it happen. This was a great summer project for all of the youths who particpated to give back to community by supporting the kids education. 27 Youth Board members created 87 videos.🎉 YB Members Participated in this project are: Aarshea, Abhinav, Sanjana, Amogh, Eashan, Eesha, Nikhil, Nirvan, Rohan, Sravya, Tarun, Udhayaa, Anand, Deeptha, Neha, Srihari H, Rishi, Siddharth T, Harish, Hiba, Kaavya, Oviya, Rashmitha, Sahasra, Sai Sriram, Shruthi Please visit tinyurl.com/brilliantstorytime to see the published videos.

PAST EVENT

We had a very successful 1st VT Seva Detroit Soccer Tournament back in 2019. But 2020 proved to be a real disappointment with the extended hiatus. Nevertheless, it was time to dust off the cleats and get onto the field once again in 2021!! VT Seva Detroit organized a boarded indoor fundraising soccer tournament at Total Sports Novi (East), MI on July 18th 2021 to benefit the blind and visually challenged children in India. Like past years we had 3 different groups: - Group 1: 6 to 9 years’ old - Group 2: 10 to 13 years’ old - Group 3: 14 and above We had around 40 registrants until a week before the event and the organizing team was still struggling to make up teams. Then in the last week, we had 2 Adult teams registering and several more eagerly registered to complete 67 registrations in total During the run-up to the event, VT Seva Detroit Team members were ‘all guns blazing’ in all departments. To list a few: Promotions – Our Youth & Adult Volunteers did an amazing job in promoting the event. Apart from reaching out to the past participants via email, phone, and voicemails and new participants via distribution list and MIindia, we had several outreach sessions at Total Sports Novi, Vani Foods, India Grocers, Sai Grocers – Farmington and Novi and also pasted Flyers at different important locations throughout. You can view more pictures from the Event Promotions here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mUVeM4mFh3V3V7Tp9 Event Sponsors – Sudhakar ji, our own VT Seva Senior Adviser/Mentor & Vidhya ji of Vani Foods were so kind enough to Sponsor the Venue, Medals and Trophies. Sudhakar ji has always blessed our VT Seva Detroit team with their constant support & encouragement by physically volunteering in-person & financially Sponsoring several events regularly throughout the years. Vijitha ji of Vani Foods came forward to Sponsor after listening to the great cause this event was being conducted for. She also graciously offered us her Storefront Parking Lot for any future VT Seva Events. Thank you so much Vijitha ji! Venue - Total Sports – It would be an injustice if we don’t mention Bryan Bartig, Total Sports Facilities Manager, and his associate Michelle. They were simply amazing and without their help and support, it would not have been possible. Right from when we decided to go for our 1st in-person sports event after the long break, Bryan and the team were so appreciative of the cause and promised to go all the way to help us organize this. The earlier managers were no longer working at TS hence we had to work with the new team all over again. They not only subsidized the Venue fees for us but went above & beyond to help us so easily organize the logistics Food Sponsors/Coordinators – What more could have one asked for during the break time at the Food Stall with mouth-watering delicacies: - Mint Rice, BisibelaBath, Chocolate Cake, Samosas, Pizzas, Mango Lassi, Masala Chai, Ice Cream, etc. beckoned the participants, visitors and volunteers to have lunch, snack & dessert at a very nominal price. Thank you so much to Nandhini ji, Asha ji, Veena ji, Jyoti ji, Vanitha ji & all the food stall volunteers who provided us with amazing food and beverages. All the proceeds from the food stall also went to Nethra Vidyalaya Schools. Event Volunteers - We had over 35 Youth & Adult Volunteers working enthusiastically in different departments during the event. Right from the setting up of desks & chairs for check-in, arranging the food items, coolers, putting up banners, Café price tags, setting up soccer cones/nets for the younger kid’s games, ensuring the players are on the right teams, Photography and clean up. Referees - Our in-house referees Darshan ji and Abhinav are the coolest!! We can always depend on them to referee the games every year and they both oblige us without even a second thought. Special thank you to both of you! Teams & Winners – We had an amazing Game Roster and Schedule this year with several first time youth players, two new High School Teams, and two new Adult League Teams from Utica. Group 1 (6 to 9 years’ old): Had 10 players that were placed in 2 different teams Yellow & Green to verse against each other in there 10 min. games. The kids had super fun time playing and scoring against each other in a friendly competitive kids Soccer game. Group 2 (10 to 13 years’ old): Twelve players were matched up against each other depending on their different skill levels in Red vs Blue teams. Superb demonstration of soccer skills amongst the players made up for an interesting three 15 min. sections of the game. All players from Group 1 & 2 received Medals and Trophies for their fantastic performance on the field. Group 3 (14 and above): The second half of the day became more intense with the Group 3 games. 2 Adults team, 2 High School Teams and 2 League Teams faced off against each other in the group matches. All the games were high energy games with friendly competition between each other. Special Mention – We had one energetic person who stood out and acted as an inspiration to forming All Women Soccer team for next year’s event. It was none other than Zahara ji. She was the only Adult Female Player who took part in the Soccer Games and what an amazing Defender she was!!! Special Surprise Guest – We had a super surprise special Guest during our 2nd Soccer Event. It was none other than Ford Motors CEO – Mr. Jim Farley, who happened to be there. He was gracious enough to talk to us regarding our Organization, Cause and the Event. He congratulated all of us and gave a Photo opportunity as well!! Guest of Honor – Our guest of honor Sudhakar ji, was kind enough to stay for the entire event and present the Trophies and Medals to the participants. He has always been our mentor, core volunteer and key adviser for all the events. Treasurer, National Secretary & Detroit Director – Our driving force have always been Anand ji, Sudheer ji and Srinath ji who have become the three pillars of VT Seva Detroit branch without whom any event will not be a success and so was Soccer. Right from idea initiation to clean-up and wrap-up, these three individuals have been a constant force of strength and support. WAY TO GO & THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Volunteering Coordinator/Game & Event Coordinators – Vanitha - Volunteering coordinator & Venkat & Suresh - Game & Event Coordinators – like in 2019, the coordinators met frequently during the run-up to the event, burnt the mid-night oil, extreme planning and execution till the end. Detroit Communications team – Nandini for her continuous support in publishing content provided by event leads in all our Social media channels ( Youtube, Whatsapp, Facebook, VTSworld Blogs, and Event logs) from start to the completion of the event. In the end, it turned out to be a fruitful success for the hours of preparation that was put in. CONSOLIDATED PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EVENT ARE AVAILABLE AT: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E9mmK263B7Wo1fHGA

PAST EVENT

During the month of July, youth volunteers joined an interactive webinar about being Red Cross Ready. The guest instructor for this event was Kylie Hammond. Throughout this webinar youth volunteers learned about simple steps they can take to weather a crisis safely. There are any emergencies that can abruptly come up and learning to be ready for them was the mission of this session!

PAST EVENT

Penrickton Center is a private non-profit organization that provides care and support to blind, multi-disabled children and their families.Penrickton Center for Blind Children provides services to families at no charge, and relies entirely on donations from the community. Throughout the year Penrickton Center sends out requests for donations, and invitations to raise funds. VT Seva Detroit volunteers got this opportunity to help them assemble their Mailing Supplies items in envelopes as per their directions for their fund raising purposes. After completion of our FIRST Batch Mailing Supplies Project, we reached out to the Penrickton Center if they can give us more supplies for our volunteers who are eager to do . Penrickton Center were kind enough to provide us with more Mailing Supplies for VT Seva Detroit. There were 18 youth volunteers who participated in this remote volunteering project. The mailing supplies were picked up from the Penrickton Center, sorted and organized as 15 kits with 200 plus of each items. The kits were later distributed to volunteers to do at their homes and then to be dropped off before July 2nd, 2021. On the whole we delivered around 4000 envelopes in this Second batch of our Mailing Supplies Project to Penrickton Center for Blind Children. We received lots of appreciations from the Penrickton Center coordinators for this great help by our volunteers since it saves a lot of their time in doing this task before proceeding to their next step of sending these mails to all their donors. Youth volunteers who participated: 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐑, 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐚 ,𝐘𝐮𝐠, 𝐇𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐚 , 𝐀𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐚𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐢, 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐇, 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐀, 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐯 𝐌, 𝐏𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧, 𝐀𝐫𝐲𝐚, 𝐄𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚, 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐚, 𝐓𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐬, 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐯 𝐉, 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐯 𝐓, 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐒, 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢 Great job youth volunteers for such an awesome job. Thank you very much parents for coordinating with to pick up their kits and drop-off on time. Thank you so much for all your time & amazing help AS ALWAYS YOUR SUPPORT IS OUR STRENGTH TO SERVE!!

PAST EVENT

VT Seva Cary conducted virtual summer camp in the month of JULY for elementary & middle school kids. Camp offered from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm . Below tutors did awesome job with their great teaching skills. They showed a lot patience in handling the kids especially with different grades of kids. Mahathi Mallela, Parnika Dandepally, Siddharth Malireddi,Sribhaavita Nekkalapudi,Neeraja Boppana,Suchir Madap,Aneesh Yarlagadda,Akhil Dammalapati, Rohitha Sanka,Thanuj Desu,Nithya Janapati,Ashrith Desu,Saran Chittela,Rahul Solleti,Anish Voota,Ishani Dasyam, Sarayu Buchireddygari KUDOS to all you for your patience & talents!! Parents were very happy and appreciated with great feed back about tutors in handling this camp We appreciate each tutor to support for taking the ownership and supporting the younger kids in this summer and raising funds to help our visually challenged kids.

PAST EVENT

Four youth volunteers from Dallas - learnt about the hardships people are going through in India during COVID-19 second wave and extend their support for the relief aid. Krishna Charugundla (7th grade), Samanvita Meka (7th grade), Devayani Nagabhushan (7th grade), and Ram Bonthala (9th grade) live in Frisco and Plano, Texas. They have worked together and formed a bake sale to raise money for VT SEVA. They were able to donate $ 1000+ Taking them as an inspiration, younger siblings and friends Dhanwin,Tulsai and Abhiram hosted a lemonade stand and raised $ 150 towards COVID-19 Relief Aid. Its the intention fo them helping out and the encouragement of their parents no doubt is making a team of stronger volunteers for a better tomorrow.

PAST EVENT

Many ATL VT Seva youth and children felt reconnected to their communities and to their environment after participating in our April Cool project to raise funds for India’s COVID relief aid. In order to encourage their new-found interest in planting and sustainability, we took them to volunteer at the Vallem Vaari Farms! Our 12 young, passionate volunteers learnt about the importance and virtue of farming during their service and gained an insight on the hard work, dedication, and compassion it takes to farm and nurture the saplings of life. You don’t need a Green Thumb to grow plants- it’s a simple science behind the art of planting and nurturing!

PAST EVENT

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Aditi, Eesha, Kaavya, Niharika, Nikita, Oviya, and Tarun 𝐀𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Vani Ji, Srinath Ji, and Priya ji. In May, VTS Detroit YB members wrote Mother's Day and Father's Day cards for three different senior centers, including Manoogian Manor. Manoogian Manor was impressed with the cards and opened the volunteer opportunities for VTS DET YB members. Volunteers spent their time there setting up seats on the patio, handing out pop and popsicles to the residents, socializing with the residents, pushing the wheelchairs, and cleaning up the area. The seniors in Manoogian Manor thanked the Youth Board members for their time and asked for them to come back in the future. They enjoyed talking with both the youth and adult volunteers, many of them shared their life stories and their experiences at the Manoogian Manor. The volunteers all said they had a good time and it was fun to do something they've never done before. Kudos to all the volunteers who signed up in a short period of time and helped out the seniors so compassionately.

PAST EVENT

The second session for Education and career exploration series took place on July 9th 2021. The goal of having these sessions is for providing awareness about different career options to our wonderful youth volunteers. The second session was about investment banking. Our very own VTSeva youth volunteer Rohith Kolluri was the main guest who provided insight into the field of Investment banking. He is an extremely enterprising young professional and a budding entrepreneur. He also offered guidance on how to manage with high school and college. He also shared about different clubs that he was part of that helped him shape a great career in investment banking. Most importantly, he motivated and inspired the youth to take risks and be go getters. The youth really enjoyed learning about investment banking.