On May 17th, volunteers from VT Seva partnered with SRACLC for an exciting afternoon filled with outdoor games, laughter, and community connection. The collaboration between VT Seva and SRACLC highlighted the power of inclusion, teamwork, and service. Huge thanks to all the volunteers who brought smiles, encouragement, and positivity to everyone involved! Support this wonderful initiative by liking, sharing, and checking out the posts below!

Celebrating Mother’s Day In celebration of this special day, VT SEVA Chicago youth board members visited Lake County Haven, a local women’s shelter, to spread joy and appreciation. We delivered beautifully handmade flowers to the incredible women and mothers at the shelter, along with essential items from their wishlist, including bath towels and lotion. These items were purchased using the $200 we raised—with the generous support of Libertyville High School and their club, SASA. Together, we were able to brighten the day of these inspiring women and make a meaningful impact in our community.

Adopt-a-highway cleanup volunteers, 
Thanks to your efforts, we were able to make a meaningful impact on our local environment. Your commitment to seva (selfless service) continues to make a difference. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated!! Kudos to you all!!

On Sunday, April 13, 2025, a group of dedicated volunteers came together to craft beautiful pipe cleaner flowers in honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day in May. With everyone’s enthusiasm and teamwork, we were able to create a total of 20 vibrant and cheerful flowers! We would like to thank Ananya C, Akshith, Lakshmi, Ashita, Sudheeshna, Ishani, Veda, Kiva, Sahithi, Mohisha, Aashrith, Ananya D, and Ranjitha for your time, creativity, and effort. Your contributions truly made this event special. These handcrafted flowers will be donated to the Lake County Haven shelter, on Mother’s Day. Thank you all for helping make a difference!

On April 6th , 2025, a group of volunteers gathered to create heartfelt birthday cards for underprivileged children for Cake4Kids! Thank you to, Ananya, Kiva, Sahithi, Ashita and Tanmai for joining us for this opportunity. We were able to make 26 beautiful cards, each filled with positivity, and heartfelt messages!

On Saturday, March 29,2025, VTSeva Chicago volunteers went to a Northern Illinois Food Bank session and helped pack food! Thank you to Sahithi , Sruthi, Veda , Ishani , Kiva, Ananya, Nishanth , Aditya and other adult volunteers that participated and helped make a positive impact today!

On Saturday, March 22,2025, VTSeva Chicago volunteers packed food for those in need at a volunteering session with Feed My Starving Children! Together, we packed a total of 177 boxes! Thank you to Kiva, Veda , Sahithi and Sruthi for making a meaningful and positive impact on community!

On Saturday, February 22, 2025 VTSeva Chicago volunteers packed food for those in need at Feed My Starving Children! Together, with many other volunteers, we packed a total of 174 boxes (our group 24 boxes ) which will be sent to Cuba! We also had few of the volunteers helping out with ware house activities. Thank you to Mohisha, Lakshmi, Kiva, Ishani, Ananya, Sahithi, Veda, Avani, Anvitha, Mrigank, Anish, Charlotte, Mahilini, Karthikeyan and other adult volunteers for volunteering with us!

On Saturday, February 22, 2025 VTSeva Chicago volunteers packed food for those in need at Feed My Starving Children! Together, with many other volunteers, we packed a total of 174 boxes (our group 24 boxes ) which will be sent to Cuba! We also had few of the volunteers helping out with ware house activities. Thank you to Mohisha, Lakshmi, Kiva, Ishani, Ananya, Sahithi, Veda, Avani, Anvitha, Mrigank, Anish, Charlotte, Mahilini, Karthikeyan and other adult volunteers for volunteering with us!

On February 17, a compassionate team of volunteers gathered to craft DIY dog and cat toys, each one made with love to bring a spark of joy to the shelter pets at Orphans of the Storm. A special thanks to: Inara, Ashita, Ishani, Sahithi, Mohisha, Lakshmi, Ananya, Veda, and Saadhya for their incredible efforts. With caring hands and creative hearts, they crafted 36 dog toys and 55 cat toys, each one a small but powerful gesture of kindness for the animals waiting in shelters. Every knot tied, every fabric cut, and every toy created carried a message of hope and warmth for the animals waiting for their forever homes. (Youth Lead – Kiva)

On February 8th, 2025, a group of volunteers gathered to create heartfelt Valentine’s Day cards for cancer patients, hoping to bring smiles and encouragement. With the dedication and generosity of Ananya, Sudheeshna, Akshith, Tanvi, Kiva, Veda, Sahithi, Sruthi, Samhita, and Ishani, we were able to make 29 beautiful cards, each filled with positivity, and heartfelt messages. Every card was crafted with care, reflecting the compassion and dedication of our amazing team, as we were able to make a meaningful impact. Youth Leads: Sudheeshna and Ananya

On Saturday, February 1, VTSeva Chicago volunteers packed food for those in need at a volunteering session with Feed My Starving Children! Together, with many other volunteers, we packed a total of 141 boxes! Thank you to Mohisha, Lakshmi, Kiva, Ishani, Ashita, Sahithi, Anika, Avani and other adult volunteers for volunteering with us!

On January 12th, VTSeva Chicago volunteers manned informational & fundraising booth at a Goda Kalyanam in association with JET Illinois chapter. Thanks to all adult & youth volunteers from VT Seva for manning the booth & helping JET team with event preparation, setup, photography, cleaning etc tasks. we were able to raise funds for feeding Tribal schools for one day.

On Dec 21st afternoon, from 2:30 to 5:30, a group of youth volunteers created holiday appreciation cards for the local Buffalo Grove Police Officers. The youth volunteers described the time working as “fun team bonding while also being productive”. The cards were aimed to show gratitude and honor the brave individuals who serve and protect our community with passion. This event was sponsored by local businesses - Culvers and Crumbl Cookies, who provided delicious burgers, salad and frozen custard for the officers and amazing cookies for the volunteers. Our youth team’s special thanks go out to these two local businesses for their sponsorship. Around 5:30PM, after completing the cards, our group drove to the Buffalo Grove police station to personally deliver the handmade cards and a tasty dinner to the police officers. Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Sergeant Verduzco, who introduced us to each of the police officers that were in the building at the time. Sergeant Verduzco was then asked to hand out “Volunteer Appreciation Certificates” to the youth volunteers participated in 2024 activities and the “Presidential Volunteer Service Awards” recognizing the youth for their contributions in 2023. As the cards were handed out, the volunteers witnessed the officers’ smiles shine through their tough faces. Akshith Challuri and Veda Sivakumar took the opportunity to engage with the officers, asking thoughtful questions and showing their interest in their job and experiences. Overall, it was a great learning experience for all of us. It was an amazing day which truly highlighted our gratitude along with the impact of simple gestures.

Thank you all for joining us at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville on Saturday, December 7th. Your time, energy, and dedication to helping others are truly appreciated. Together, we made a meaningful impact in the fight against hunger, and it was wonderful to see everyone working as a team for such an important cause. Food we packed will be shipped to organizations in Kenya!!