Happy thanksgiving 2023! This year the AAI VT Seva team has a lot to be thankful for. Especially all of our members and supporters who have made this all possible

VT Seva Atlanta appreciates the selfless services of the Police officers on 2023 Thanksgiving - Highlights of today’s event on Nov 18th, 2023 - 1. Tour of the Police Dept 2. Interactive session with the police officers to learn & understand defensive driving, ticket handling, dos and don’ts of driving, how to handle citations, police encounters etc 3. Thank you cards and appreciation lunch for the police officers. Police officers were highly appreciative of the VT Seva services and announced that Johns Creek Police Department will organize a ‘Young Driver Workshop’ soon for the VT Seva youths to provide hands-on training to them. Overall, it was a grafting event for us to thank our front-line hero’s to keep our community & country safe!

On November 16th 2023, Alliance Academy VT Seva, AAI HOSA, ICA, and Student Diversity hosted a Bollywood Night sponsored my Suvidha International Market. Students were able to participate in Bollywood dances, cheer on their friends performing, and enjoy the night with Samosas, Vada Pav, Bread Pakora, Malai Jamun, and Thumbs Up brought to us by Suvidha. Students had a great time learning more about the Bollywood Culture. Big thank you to Suvidha International Market for making this happen!

VT Seva Atlanta youths did a special Halloween candy drive project this year to render a gift of gratitude to the US troops on the borders. VT Seva youths carried Halloween flyer printouts for Trick & Treating. They represented themselves as VT Seva Ambassadors and informed everyone that they are collecting candies for the cause - Donating it to the US troops on the borders who keep our nation safe. VT Seva youths have collected more than 1000 lbs of Candy which we donated to the Cumming Dental Dentist. Cummings Dental will ship all the candies to the US troops on the border. It’s a great way to share things & spread the holiday cheers with the US troops. Cumming Dental has donated $1000 which we donated to the blind / visually challenged kids of Nethra Vidyalaya in India.

VT Seva Atlanta team of youth and Adults collected 1500 lbs of non perishable vegetarian food items consisting of baked beans, corn, cranberry, yams, jelly, canned vegetables, pasta, rice, nuts, flour, cereals, snack bars etc. All the food items were donated to the Atlanta Food Bank on the occasion of Deepawali and PRADA:N 2023 for the homeless people of Atlanta. It’s a blessing to serve the underprivileged and spread the light of Volunteerism on this great day of Deepawali day, Nov 12, 2023.

Atlanta VT Seva youths made 100 Thank you cards for the front-like hero’s to thsnk them on 2023 Thanksgiving. Youth appreciated the hard work and support of Police officers, Doctors, Senior Citizen’s. Healthcare workers, and Fire fighters. They thanked them for their selfless services to the community. It’s a gratifying event for our Atlanta youths!

Brannon Road - October 29th The youths of VT Seva had gathered together to help clean up Brannon Rd. Gathering early in the morning, all youths put on vests, and gloves and grabbed both trash bags and grabbers. After getting ready to go youths started walking down from the traffic light for around 1 mile (1.7 kilometers) .They covered this distance in 3 hours. During the walk youths gathered up all sorts of plastics, paper, metals and other discarded items. One even found a leaf blower! In all, around 10 bags were filled up fully. Halfway through the walk the bags were picked up and volunteers received new and empty ones to fill up with trash. The youths talked, told stories, and made jokes during the event. High spirits were kept up throughout the whole clean up! About 35 volunteers showed up to help. We live on this earth and we need to work together to keep our home clean. That is how we can live in harmony with the environment.

Alliance academy VTSEVA youth club had 1st chapter meeting in October where they talked about the upcoming projects.110 kids signed up to join the club at this meeting. Kate Chirapornsuk - Aliance academy VT Seva youth club Vice President traveled with her family in Summer 2023 to Bangkok to volunteer and give back to an organization-The Pakkred Babies Home. We were able to support the cause by donating 7000 Baht to the organization to support children’s education, medical bills, and food costs.

October 22nd On October 22nd, 50 of our youth attended another meals by grace event. This event is so close to our youths as it shows their direct impact on the community. The volunteers They sort, pack, and deliver fruits, breads, veggies, deserts, juices, etc to families in the North Georgia area. We had a huge increase in volunteers since the last event, as the word spread quickly through the students. The food is then distributed to schools near the area for students to eat during breakfast and lunch, provided by the school. This is a great initiative taken by the government to fight child hunger within the community. This represents the small steps being taken to reduce child hunger around the world. Another reason why our youth religiously likes to attend the Meals by Grace event! Great Job youth!!

Amongst many services that VT Seva Atlanta volunteers believe that Women Health is one of the key focus area. After all, ‘When a woman is healthy and happy, her family can rise up to meet its purpose’. Thus, VT Seva team collaborated with Telangana Team on Bathukamma event on Oct 21st and launched ‘Women Empowerment’ initiative to assist our young women for physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Both teams came forward and organized Cancer awareness workshops, Walkathons, Health clinics, etc for the well-being of Atlanta women! VT Seva booth had face painting and Henna done at the event. 45 volunteers helped the booth and helped present VT Seva to over 300 people attending the event! VT Seva also sold plants during the event to help education for disabled kids in India. Volunteers walked around selling plants and putting out word for VT Seva. Back at the booth plants were also being sold, face painting was offered as well, volunteers painted whatever the kids asked for. Not only was face painting offered, but also henna was offered for everyone. Making beautiful and intricate designs was an attention grabber. The proceeds were also donated for a cause. In all this was an empowering event for VT Seva and the cause!

On October 15th 2023, Alliance Academy VT Seva youths serviced their community by participating in a Trunk or Treat! They were able to interact with young children and have fun with their community. At the October Chapter meeting, youths made meaningful connections with one another by playing Halloween games and learned about the core values of VT Seva.

Director's note: Dr.Madhu Nemani We, the Atlanta VT Seva team, empower ourselves by empowering others. The joy is ours to see others in joy and happiness. We enjoy and cherish this volunteering journey the most and stay focused to our cause - “Serve All Beings As Service To God”. We give our best to all beings without expecting anything in return or worrying about the result of giving. All beings include animals, plants, humans, both animate and inanimate objects, water, air, earth, and our entire ecological system. We are ONE in thought, word, and action and embrace compassion, equality, diversity, and benevolence in volunteerism. We uphold the principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, the World is One VT SEVA Family. Explore VT Seva Atlanta, Your One Stop Hub for Everything at @https://linktr.ee/vtseva_atlanta Link to the Atlanta 2023 Newsletter: https://drive.google.com/.../1HnBRBWl7J0gIL4GV3sPqJA.../view

According to Bhagavad Gita, “You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become”, VT Seva Atlanta team strongly beliefs in ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ the world is one family and we all play an important role to keep our family robust, strong, and safe. The joy is ours to see others in joy and we are spreading this joy and happiness with all through our Subha Annual event on Oct 7th, 2023. The word 'Subha' represents the first ray of light in the horizon, the light that transforms the lives of visually challenged / blind students into cadre compassionate leaders of tomorrow. The VT Seva Atlanta team aimed to spread this light into the lives of 175 visually challenged children of Nethra Vidyalaya in India, with our Subha program. The preparations for SUBHA 2023 began well in advance and with Swamiji blessings, SUBHA 3rd annual event was a monumental blast in terms of youth participation, richness in the cultural program, funds raised for the Nethra jewels, and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in our thought, word, and action. We are able to not just meet but rather exceed our goal and raised funds for 200 Nethra students with your Blessings and generous support of our donors and sponsors. The program started with lighting of the lamp and rendering prayer. Later, our emcee, Kate Chiraponsuk welcomed everyone to Subha program with an inspirational and motivational message. Thereafter, our youths rendered US and India national anthems, setting the tone for a special evening. Afterwards, VT Seva Director, Dr. Madhu Nemani welcomed the Chief guests, Judge Carnesale, Seshu Puranam, Sergeant Dmitri, Police Officer Ann, and all the VT Seva volunteers and sponsors. She shared the story of Lalitha Killaka, a Nethra Vidyalaya student who had a humble beginning and now a super star by winning National Championship at IBSA 2022 (International Blind Sports Federation) and many other accolades in the field of sports. Next, was a presentation by Anuradha Gazzala, VT Seva Treasurer on acknowledging and appreciating the support of our sponsors. The Subha evening was filled with magnificent dances, soul-stirring instrumentals, profound messages, remarkable emceeing, a captivating skit that resonated perfectly and created an aura of celebration and commemoration for all. Our Chief guest, Judge Caresale delivered an insightful message that left everyone in awe. Later, momentous were given to the Chief guests, sponsors, VT Seva children, and volunteers. In the end, VT Seva Youth Director, Hithesh Gazzala appreciated the hard work, dedication, and selfless service of the entire Atlanta team. He also sincerely thanked all the volunteers who worked round the clock to make this event successful. The program ended on a soothing note with a melodious Carnatic orchestra, leaving the audience with a sense of peace and contentment. In Subha event, all youths and adults joined hands and worked as a team to support the cause and at present we have more than 800 plus volunteers in our Atlanta VT Seva Team. The highlight of our program is the presentations from All 10 VT Seva Youth Clubs - 9 High schools and 1 Middle school participated and demonstrated their club volunteering activities and its impact on the community. There are youths from all ethnic backgrounds in the clubs and this is a paradigm of embracing equality, diversity and inclusion and inspiring young hearts for the selfless service to all beings. We were thrilled to announce the recipient of the SUBHA 2023 Youth Club Award for the highest youth attendance, goes to Alliance Academy youths. They were honored with a Special Subha trophy and two Starbucks gift cards. In the runner-up positions, we had two outstanding high school clubs: Alpharetta High School and South Forsyth. They each received two Starbucks gift cards. Overall, it was an exceptional Subha, a true testament to outstanding teamwork and the meticulous event preparations that went into making it a success. The outstanding decorations and warm welcome gave a festive look and the excellent Tech support ensured that everything ran seamlessly. Fantastic photography and videography captured every moment, and inspiring volunteers played a crucial role in facilitating registrations, managing backstage affairs, and ensuring impeccable food arrangements and plant sales. This year's event marked the best Subha ever, with an exemplary program that drew more than 350 enthusiastic participants who gathered to celebrate the ‘Spirit of Volunteerism’. All of this was made possible because of sincere efforts, unwavering dedication, passion for serving, humble attitudes, and compassionate giving. We stand together as one big VT Seva family, united by the motto of 'Serve All Beings as Service to God.' We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors, donors, and all the VT Seva and Jet volunteers who made this event successful. Donate For A Cause SUBHA 2023 KICKOFF HH Shri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji gave His Blessings for Subha Annual Event 2023 Atlanta VT team embodies action-oriented approach with service mindset and humble attitude to inspire and empower our youths to be the servant leaders of tomorrow through our Subha Annual event! The word 'Subha' represents the first ray of light in the horizon, the light that slowly transforms even the darkest of nights into a bright, beautiful sunrise. It symbolizes hope, light, and happiness even in the most obscure and difficult times. The SUBHA annual event is going to be on October 7th, 2023, in which Atlanta youths are planning to present a cultural program comprising of melodious songs, magnificent dances, and meaningful messages. Our goal for this year is to raise funds for the education of 175 visually challenged/blind kids of Nethra Vidhyalaya, India. Lets join hands and support the cause! Donate For A Cause

Hello, I am Shreyas Paladi, president of Desana Middle School VT Seva club. VT Seva is an organization that helps people in need. We are happy to let you all know we have just started this club! It started by talking to my teacher like I do everyday in class. Then we had to collaborate between the vice principal, Madhu aunty, and Ms.Weis to make this happen, and we finally pulled through! Thanks to school authorities and VT Seva leaders Madhu Aunty and Harsh Gulati. I also want to thank our team member Samvar Jain. Now the next step is to get more people to join us and we will have great meetings and have more people help the world, it is going to be a blast. -The Desana Middle School VT Seva club

In the month of September 2023, Lambert VT Seva held the CHOA meal drive. In this drive initiated by Srimayi Kukkadapu, Lambert students donated a variety of items such as mac and cheese, fruit bowls, breakfast bars, and crackers so that the children at the hospital and their families could have nutritious meals during their hospital stay. On October 1st, Srimayi organized an event to pack the meal bags. Together, the group of students packed 108 meal bags for the hospital! On October 6th, these bags were dropped off at the CHOA Scottish Rite hospital. The hospital workers were incredibly grateful for the contribution and thanked us tremendously! We are sure our donations have made many children's days!