2024
April
April Cool 2024 Kick off is here again with with more than 60 youths signed up to participate in this amazing journey of sowing, growing, caring, and selling the plant seedlings to support the education of blind / visually challenged Netra Vidyalaya students of Bharath. Let’s make April 2024 the best April Cooooool ever so far ✌️✌️
Atlanta VT Seva youths are enthusiastically participating in April Cool Seedling project. More than 40 youths are nurturing the plants and learning the science and the art of plant care, soil health, and nutritive values of various vegetable, fruits, and herbs. Our first plant sale will be in front of Patel Brothers on April 20 & 21st, 2024.
2023
May
April
Round 1
Atlanta VT Seva April cool plant project was a grand success for the third year in a row. Vt seva youth successfully raised funds for the education of blind children/visually challenged children in India. The sale event took place in front of the Indian grocery store, Patel Brothers on 15th and 16th April from 10am to 2pm. Around 60 VT youth volunteers and 40 adult volunteers participated. Youth explained the cause and sold various vegetable saplings, herbs, fruits, flower plants and seeds to the customers. The vegetable saplings were grown by the youth for 4-6 weeks.The vegetable saplings included tomato, eggplant, peppers, gourds (bottle, ridge, bitter, and snake) green chillies, cucumber, zucchini, chikkudu/papdi beans, long beans, ash gourd, chukka kura, dosakaya, and bathua etc. Fruit plants like strawberry and blackberry were sold. Different kinds of herbs like ajwain, mint, curryleaf, lemon grass, betel leaf, tulsi and basil were sold by the youth. Flower plants like canna lillies, hybiscus, other lillies, and chrysanthemums were also sold. Youth also sold some ornamental plants like pothos, monstera and tradescantia. Some vegetable seeds were sold in this sale event too. Several sponsors came forward and donated this year. It was really exciting to see community actively participate in this event and donate for the cause, raising money for the education of visually challenged/blind children in India.
2022
ROUND 1
April Cool Plant and Pot Sale on 23rd, 24th 2022
The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The second-best time to plant is today! Atlanta VT Seva youth believed in the second option and did exemplary work by planting more than 1000 plants under APRIL COOL 2022 initiative. More than 50 Atlanta youths and adults were involved in APRIL COOL 2022 project in which they sew more than 1000 plus seeds of various vegetables, fruits, and herbs in the month of March. They planted a variety of veggies, fruits, and herbs. Their plant list shows their commitment to service and their enthusiasm to support Mother Nature. They sew various seeds such as Cherry Tomato, Plumb Tomato, Regular Tomato, Eggplant Back Beauty, Kale, Malabar Spinach, Sweet Basil, Green Bell Peppers, Lettuce, Chikkudu Green, Chikkudu Purple, Bottle gourd, Long Beans, Ridge Gourd, Bitter Gourd, Dosakaya, Wax Gourd, Luffa Sponge Gourd, Curry leaf, Lemongrass, Pothos, Snake Plant, Ajwain, Chrysanthemum Yellow, Spider Plants, Brahmakamalam, India Kanakambaram, Rose, Strawberry, Daisy, Cucumber, Sastra Daisy, Chemanthi. Yellow one, Sudan Pink, Mint, Marigold, Strawberry, Batua, Tindora, and many more types of plants.
Atlanta youths’ energy, synergy, and enthusiasm was outstanding in sowing the seeds, watering it every day, taking plants out for sunlight, and nurturing it well with care and love. They exhibited the empathy in several ways and donated $4000 proceeds for the education of the blind / visually challenged children of Nethra Vidyalaya. In the words of George Washington, ‘True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation”. Atlanta youths are committed to build true relationship with Mother Nature by planting more and nurturing it well through adverse conditions with love, care, and empathy.
ROUND 2
VT seva youth had a successful second round plant sale for raising funds for education of blind children/visually challenged children in India. The sale event took place in front of Patel Brothers on 21st and 22nd May 2022 from 10am to 2pm. Around 25 youth volunteers and 15 adult volunteers participated. Various vegetable saplings, herbs and flower plants were sold. The vegetable saplings were grown by the youth for 4-6 weeks.The vegetable saplings included tomato, eggplant, different types of chillies, peppers, tomatillos, cucumber, zucchini, bottlegourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, bitter gourd, chikkudu/papdi beans, long beans etc. Different kinds of herbs like ajwain, mint, basil and chocolate mint were also sold. Flower plants like canna lillies, hybiscus, rose, lillies, chrysanthemums, and marigold were also sold. Some house plants like pothos and crotons were sold. Youth also sold other plants like banana, curryleaf, lemon grass, betel leaf, tulsi and other ornamental plants. It was a huge success. We raised $6000 from the plant sale and It is evident from the community response that people are generous and willing to be part of this wonderful cause of education of blind kids/visually challenged in India.
