PAST EVENT

From December 19 to December 23, 2022, we had our second Read to Succeed Camp during the Winter holiday break! Led by a member of Girl Scouts Troop 883 in association with VT Seva Houston, this camp was geared towards closing the gap in reading and writing that can occur during school breaks. This camp, designed for first and second graders, addressed different reading/writing concepts daily with overlying themes of kindness, teamwork and other positive community-oriented concepts. With exceptional and relatable teaching from the camp leader, students were engaged in learning through stories, crafts, and the ever-so-popular word of the day. The camp was very well received by the students. Here are some testimonials from parents! “Thank you . . . will love to attend more programs like this if you have any in the future.” “Thank you . . . for this program and for giving your time and seva. Please keep us posted as well with new programs for the kids.” “Thank you for the program this week. My son really enjoyed it. Happy Holidays.” Thank you . . . you were so good with your leadership, patience and delivering the information. Thank you VT Seva and team for arranging such a great class. . . (student) was looking forward for the class.”

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some of our VT Seva Detroit Youth Board member participated in the Salvation Army Bell Ringing Event at Laurel Park Place. They rang bells next to the Salvation Army stand to raise money.

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On December 17th, 2022, VT Seva Houston conducted an activity for Kids’ Meals - decorating lunch bags. About 15 youth volunteers participated in coloring 100+ bags. These were then supplied to the Kids Vikas program at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple for Kids’ Meals. The volunteer youth thoroughly enjoyed this activity, and it was great to see the talent and effort put into these drawings for an amazing purpose!

PAST EVENT

According to Helen Keller, “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.” VT Seva Atlanta emulates the example of Helen Keller and cheerfully packed goodie bags and made Happy Holiday cards to spread Holiday cheers to the underserved children of Georgia through our 'Blessings in the Backpack' program on December 17th, 2022. Atlanta VT Seva Youth was able to spread much holiday cheer this season for these kids and spread smiles to the youth volunteers as well.

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VT Seva Alliance Academy Youth Club members made ‘Thank You’ cards and gave small gifts to the custodial and kitchen staff members of Alliance today to appreciate their sincere efforts in keeping the school clean and providing healthy lunch. This initiative is from Kate Chirapornsuk, the Secretary of the club. This club promotes diversity & inclusion and many Americans are youth members of this club. It’s a gratifying experience for all the club members of Alliance Academy For Innovation on December 15th, 2022.

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VTSEVA Seattle chapter worked with two other local organizations to support local Issaquah Food Bank with canned food drive. We were able to collect and donate ~ 2100lbs of canned food which will go to support local homeless shelters. Local council members were also present to encourage and show their appreciation for the work youth volunteers are doing in the community.

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VTSEVA Youth volunteers cleaned local streets and parks of trash or litter, working to keep our cities clean! Before Covid, volunteers used to go together and adopt a street. Now guidelines have changed to minimize the spread of COVID-19. It is now an individual activity. Each member provides a date and time they plan to do the activity. Then after they finish their trash picking they collect the following information. Time, date, location of the activity, how much distance they covered and names of the streets/how much trash was collected

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VT Seva Detroit Youth Board Operation Gratitude Project Project Lead: Harish Jaisankar VTS Detroit Youth Board Member VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members, Troy IAE School Club members, Troy High School Club members wrote thank you letters to express their gratitude and appreciation to the soldiers who are deployed overseas.

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With Swamiji blessings, SUBHA 2nd annual event was a success in terms of maximum youth participation, richness in the cultural program, funds raised for the Nethra Jewels, and promoting diversity and inclusion. We are able to accomplish our goal of raising funds for approximately 125 Nethra kids with your immense Grace and generous support of our donors. The SUBHA annual event was organized on Dec 3rd, 2022, in which Atlanta youths presented a cultural program consisting of melodious songs, magnificent dances, and meaningful messages. Our Chief Guests were Sargent Seamore from Johns Creek Police Department, Dana Reynolds and Donaldson from Laurel Heights Hospital Business Development Team, and Dr. Praveen Gudipati from Cumming Dental. The program commenced by lighting an auspicious lamp and prayer recitation. Next, were the American and Indian National Anthems by our youths. Subsequently, was a welcome speech by Madhu Nemani. Thereafter, was a stellar presentation ‘Alone we can’t Together we CAN’ by Hithesh Gazzalaji and Anuradha Gazzalaji in which they presented the highlights of Atlanta’s year-round volunteer works. Next, was an Indian Kucchipudi dance by Prajna children which was followed by ‘Unity in Diversity’ our star performance in which 5 VT Seva Youth Club members participated - Lambert high school, Denmark high school, Northview high school, Alliance academy, and Alpharetta high school. They exhibited the real unity in diversity by portraying a beautiful action song on ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’. Thereafter Atlanta youths presented Bollywood dances, Indian classical songs, and Instrumental music performances which created an aura of celebration and commemoration for all. Afterwards, our Chief guests rendered their inspirational speeches in which they highly praised the exemplary volunteer works that our VT Seva youths have done this year, their selfless service, its positive impact on the Atlanta community, donations raised, and stellar cultural program. Later, momentous were given to the Chief guests, sponsors, VT Seva children, and volunteers. In the end, VT Seva Director appreciated the hard work, dedication, and selfless service of the entire Atlanta team. She also sincerely thanked all the donors for their generous contributions for the noble cause. Overall, Subha 2022 was a very rewarding and gratifying experience for us. The delightful dances, the meaningful messages, and the soulful songs together created a memorable and treasured afternoon for all.

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As a part of Environmental Sustainability effort and Climate Change Action , Volunteers took part in the Green Initiative by taking shorter showers, conserving energy, etc. one volunteer wrote “During the green initiative activity, I take measures to reduce my carbon footprint and save as much of our resources as possible. Some ways I do this is by using natural light instead of turning on the lights in my room when daylight is still there, using the bus to go to and from school everyday rather than using personal transportation, and buying locally sourced food from stores such as Lucky's and Safeway rather than other food. Although these measures taken are small, they eventually add up in the long-term and end up reducing the amount of waste I produce in regards to the resources I have access to. I find these actions really important for our environment and our future so I do them gladly.”

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), organic waste makes up more than 28% of landfills. Unfortunately, landfills lack the necessary conditions for ample decomposition. Rather than adding to landfills, composting is a much better solution. By composting we are able to reduce the amount of waste that ends up at landfills, and instead, we let the nutrients return back to Earth so it can be recycled naturally. This event focuses on having volunteers make compost in their own gardens. Volunteers will take pictures each weekend on how the compost is coming along.

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VT Seva Denmark Youth Club made special ‘Thank You’ cards for the Thomas Eye group staff members from November 20 - 28, 2022. They delivered these cards on November 28th. All Doctors and staff members were incredibly happy and grateful to see loving-caring cards by our VT youths. Our youths have created an everlasting impression on them and they took VT Seva website address to see how they can support this volunteer organization in future.

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VT Seva youth volunteers participate in “Letters to sign” every month. Volunteers sign up every month to write up to 4 letters and mail them to the specified address which then reach the seniors. Volunteers write a letter or make cards following guidelines provided on their website.VT Seva has been participating in this activity since 2021 and seeing increased participation from youth volunteers every month. This activity is about providing support and making elders happy by writing letters to them. In this activity, volunteers take a few minutes, sit down and write a letter. They tell them a joke, share a riddle, share how their day went and let them know they are loved. It brings a connection to the person where the letter gets mailed and makes someone feel good when they receive it.

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RAFT’s mission is to help educators transform a child’s learning experience through hands-on education to one that inspires the joy and discovery of learning. Its vision is to inspire the next generation of innovators, by providing educators with stem based resources. Volunteers will help sort and package materials for use by teachers for hands-on teaching purposes. By volunteering with RAFT, organization skills, communication skills, and social skills are gained.

PAST EVENT

VTSEVA Youth volunteers cleaned local streets and parks of trash or litter, working to keep our cities clean! Before Covid, volunteers used to go together and adopt a street. Now guidelines have changed to minimize the spread of COVID-19. It is now an individual activity. Each member provides a date and time they plan to do the activity. Then after they finish their trash picking they collect the following information. Time, date, location of the activity, how much distance they covered and names of the streets/how much trash was collected