VT Seva Detroit , in collaboration with Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh , SVTCC , and DTF , celebrated 𝐑𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐧 at the 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐢 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 on 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠 𝟗𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 , as part of 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲. This heartfelt initiative expressed gratitude and unity, as our youth and adult volunteers tied Rakhis to Novi’s police and fire personnel, honoring their dedication to safeguarding our community.

𝐕𝐓 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝟒 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 & 𝐆𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐞 & 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐲𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: With our help, Fleece & Thank you could quality check over 77 blankets! We got this great remote volunteering activity from Fleece & Thank you whereby our youth took the blankets kit bags home & did a thorough Quality check based on the guidelines given by the Fleece and Thank you. During this 2 weeks Project , our VT Seva Detroit youth volunteers engaged in various quality inspection tasks . Special thanks to all the youth parents who helped the youth to pickup & dropoff these blankets at dropoff locations on time.! These are our youth volunteers who participated

𝗩𝗧 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐣𝐢 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝟐𝟎 Impact: We sorted through 1,536 pounds of food donations that will be delivered to families in need, supporting the fight against hunger in our own community! We all worked hard quality checking perishable items to be sent out to over 150 partner organizations as well as maintaining a clean sorting environment. We are incredibly grateful to Food Gatherers, a Washtenaw County nonprofit that rescues over 10 million pounds of food annually, for giving us the opportunity to help out. With 1 in 7 people facing food insecurity, and that rate rising, every pound of food sorted makes a huge difference.

We had our 2nd visit of the summer to Manoogian Manor Senior Center on Monday, July 21! Yet again, the weather did not cooperate with us and it was far too hot to host the bonfire outside. Despite the rough start, we still wanted to make sure we spent our time there entertaining the seniors and making this an evening they won't forget! We started playing games like cornhole, ladder toss, connect 4, and protect the penguin with the seniors, and as time went on, we even moved onto some bowling 🎳. The seniors loved all the games and were so happy to see us again! Overall, this was yet another wonderful evening spent with the seniors, and we can't wait to come back in August! Project Lead- Oviya Jaisankar

On July 20th, VT SEVA Detroit along with JET MI had the amazing opportunity to host an informational & promotional stall at the ISKCON Ratha Yatra Festival. It was a record turnout for the festival this year with over 15000 people coming to the event. Our VT Seva youth & adult volunteers walked around the event with posters and flyers, spreading the word about VT Seva Detroit’s 10th Annual RAAS 2025, an event celebrating the resilience, independence and achievements of the visually challenged students of Nethra Vidyalaya & tribal school students in India.

𝐕𝐓 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐌𝐢𝐡𝐢𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝟏𝟓 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: Our volunteers were able to 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝟖𝟐𝟓 𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲! . All of our volunteers worked hard in various areas such as: • Packing & sorting various items into each box • Removing food from various packaging • Helping maintain a clean sorting environment We are incredibly grateful to Focus: HOPE, a Michigan-based nonprofit that battles food insecurity for senior citizens all over Michigan.

VT Seva Detroit proudly hosted its 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡-𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 on 7/12/2025 – a day filled with energy, compassion, and community spirit! 31 Team Leads, 37 days, 177 Participants, 8985 Miles, $4270 raised, helped families impacted by cancer by partnering with Angels of Hope, Michigan

Volunteers from IAE and Troy High went to read books to children at Troy Preschool. 5 different days our students went to the school to read the books. Little kids in the school enjoyed the reading time with our club volunteers.

Troy High VTS Club we volunteered as camp counselors for their summer study camp!

Troy High VTS Club packaged backpacks for children containing snacks and food for them for the week!

𝐕𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐓 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐨, 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐃𝐀𝐕 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓: Our volunteers made over 1000 forget me not flowers to give to our veterans. Forget Me Not National Day is on November 10th in the USA & it is a special day that reminds us to honor and support veterans who have returned from service with injuries and disabilities. During this activity, our youth volunteers exhibited great team work & it was a fun team building experience as well.

outh Lead: Advithi Kothapalli ; Impact: Our volunteers were able to sort through 1,232 pounds of rescued food donations that will be delivered to families in need by Monday, supporting the fight against hunger in our own community!We are incredibly grateful to Food Gatherers, a Washtenaw County nonprofit that rescues over 10 million pounds of food annually, for giving us the opportunity to serve. With 1 in 7 people facing food insecurity, every pound of food sorted makes a huge difference.

Troy High VTSEVA volunteered at United Community Family Services, where we packaged and labeled over 1,000 envelopes containing donation forms and flyers for community outreach. UCFS works diligently to provide programs that guide, support, and empower individuals. We are grateful for the chance to support a great cause behind the scenes!

Troy High VTS club volunteers labeled over 1,000 envelopes containing donation forms and flyers.

On Monday, June 23, VTS Detroit youth board had a wonderful time at the Manoogian Manor Senior Center spending time with the residents during their Monday night gathering. During the event, all the volunteers spent time talking to the seniors about their days and learning about their lives 💬, helping the seniors play lawn games like cornhole and ladder toss 🏐, and passing out some delicious, refreshing drinks that were perfect for the hot summer day 🥤. In addition, we also got to listen to some beautiful music played by Sanyog Iyengar on a keyboard that was in the facility 🎹. By the end of the event, we hadn't realized how much time has passed and the residents didn't want us to leave, but we assured them that we would be back soon enough and that we couldn't wait to spend time with them once again. Overall, we all had such a fun time at the event and can't wait for the next one! If you were not able to make it this time, hopefully we will see you at our future visits this summer!