The VT Seva Seva Detroit branch had an amazing third quarter with a wide variety of events and initiatives to give back to those around us. From activities to help the environment to successful fundraisers, our volunteers have shown countless amounts of dedication and passion. These experiences has allowed for volunteers to grow and gain new knowledge to help the world. Here is a list of activities that VT Seva Detroit has done from July to September:
Youth Board Events:
Manoogian Senior Center
Community Family Life Center
Tribute to Bharath
Essential Workers Appreciation
Adopt a Road
High School Club Events:
IAE Back to School Luau
NFHS Fleece and Thank You
Detroit Events:
Paint a Bag
Forgotten Harvest Volunteering
Destined for Greatness Volunteering
Founder’s Day and Back to School Giveaway
CPR Training
Detroit Fundraisers:
Walkathon
Basketball Tournament
Volleyball Tournament
Dance Fitness
Here is the video of all 3rd quarter events.
Youth Board Events:
07/08/2024 - Manoogian Senior Center
The VT Seva Youth Board hosted a bonfire for the residents of the Manoogian Senior Center. Volunteers participated in a variety of activities with the residents, including serving lemonade and popsicles, dancing, talking with them, and more! Everyone had a great time and it was a memorable experience.
Youth Volunteers - Swara, Avni, Sai, Teja, Shraya, Arya & Oviya
Adult Volunteers - Sreenivas, Srinath, Nandhini & Priya
08/03/2024 - Community Family Life Center
On August 3, VT Seva volunteered at the Community Family Life Center, an organization that focuses on helping those in the Ypsilanti area. Volunteers helped pack produce, canned goods, toiletries, and dairy. These items were then loaded into the cars of those in need. This effort helped around 130 households. It was a very insightful experience that allowed for us to have a new perspective on the necessities that we can afford.
Youth Volunteers - Arya, Amogh, Mihir, Rishabh, Tarun, Teja
Adult Volunteers - Nalini, Nivedita, Sreenivas
08/13/2024 - Manoogian Senior Center
This was the third and final senior bonfire event for the summer. Volunteers served popsicles and drinks to residents and played backyard games with the residents. The seniors had an especially great time playing bean bag toss with each other. Many of the residents mentioned how they were so happy to see VT Seva come back for every bonfire, and when it was nearing the end of the event, they didn’t want to leave. This event was a great way to end off the summer, and VT Seva is very excited to enjoy the bonfires with the seniors next year!
Youth Volunteers - Shreya Shetty, Oviya Jaisankar, Teja Cheemalamarri, Arya Cheemalamarri, Nithin Ramkumar, Sai Sri Ram Karnati
Adult Volunteers - Sreenivas Cheemalamarri, Priya Jaisankar, Srinath Babu Karnati
08/15/2024 - Tribute to Bharath
In honor of Indian Independence Day, 31 volunteers made beautiful posters regarding past Indian Prime Ministers and Presidents. This was a fun and creative way to allow for many of the VT Seva volunteers to learn more about their cultural backgrounds.
Youth Volunteers - Advithi Kothapalli, Akshita Mylavarapu, Amogh Mavatoor, Anvika Perumalla, Avni Patel, Hiba Zyna, Kalki Anand, Kavi Anand, Kushal Durga, Kushi Kanumuri, Oviya Jaisankar, Rachana Raghunathan, Rishabh Mavatoor, Riya Bagri, Sai Sri Ram Karnati, Shraya Ved, Shreya Shetty, Shruthi Adduri, Shruthika Pallapothu, Sudiksha Machavaram, Supraja Pattangi, Swara Rege, Udhayaa Arul, Veena Karthik, and Yashasen Jagtap.
09/01/2024 - Essential Workers Appreciation
Essential workers are some of the most overlooked but necessary professions. This labor day, VTS volunteers showed appreciation to these workers and put a big smile on their face through giving cards and gifts to nurses, postal workers, grocery store employees, school lunch ladies, and more.
Youth Volunteers - Aanya, Advithi, Akshitha, Amogh, Hiba, Kushi, Oviya, Rachana, Rishabh, Sai Ram, Sathvik, Shraya, Shreya, Swara
09/22/2024 - Adopt A Road
VT Seva Detroit Youth Board volunteers recently demonstrated the power of collective action through cleaning the stretch of road between 8 mile and Haggerty. They picked up cigar butts, golf balls, plastic bottles, pop cans, and cardboard/paper. The inspiring sight of volunteers working together to protect the environment led many who were driving by to honk in appreciation of these efforts. Through community-driven efforts, we can work to make the world cleaner and greener.
Youth Volunteers - Avni Patel, Shraya Ved, Kushi Kanumuri, Hrduya Kishore, Cordelia Laframboise, Izyan Zunair, Shivani Nimmagadda, Akshitha Narla, and Rathneeshwar Balamurugan
Adult Volunteers - Praveen Kanumuri, Balamurugan Janarthanam, Srinivas Narla, Jaisankar Kannan, and Priya Jaisankar
High School Club Events:
9/14/2024 - IAE - back to school luau
With the new school year starting, IAE hosted a Back to School Luau in collaboration with Brilliant Detroit. Volunteers sorted and packed school supplies, placing a folder, a book, and some other basic school supplies within a backpack. In total, volunteers successfully packed 250 backpacks. Overall, it was a great experience where we could give back to the community around us.
Youth Volunteers - Sreenika Perumalla, Arya Patel, Jeeva Maridass, Om Patel, ifrat ifti
Adult Volunteer - Vijay Perumalla
9/28/2024 - NFHS - Fleece and Thank you
North Farmington High School partnered with Fleece and Thank you to fold and pack blankets. These blankets will be sent to comfort kids in hospitals.
Detroit Events:
07/20/2024 - Paint a Bag
VT Seva and Sewa Detroit’s collaboration for this green initiative was a definite success, leaving volunteers feeling inspired to make a change. Our volunteers helped promote reusable cloth bags instead of one time use plastic bags through painting cloth bags. This was a great project that helped promote small things we can do to save our planet.
Youth Volunteers - Shraya Ved, Avni Patel, Sathvik Surapaneni, Aarush Kollu, Tarun Senthilkumar, Mihir inamdar, Siddarth Ram, Akshara, Saahas Atluri, Yagnya Gopalam, Rohan Bolla, Aanya Das,Rohan Patil, Shiv Ramamurthy, Shruthi Adduri, Varun Aerabati, Akshith Shrivatsava, and Rakshan Samynathan
Adult Volunteers - Neha Ved, Vaishanavi Aerabati, Vijaya Datla, Sridevi Bolla , Suresh Rajan , Shobhana B, Sridevi Gopalan, Shalini surapaneni, Durga Nalini, Priya Jaishankar, Suresh Rajan, and Vanitha Gopalan
07/27/2024 - Forgotten Harvest volunteering
VT Seva volunteers worked together at Forgotten Harvest facilities to pack 9744 lb of food. This food is delivered to food pantries and other similar organizations to be distributed out to families. Each pound helps feed a family, meaning our volunteers left a huge impact in helping their local community fight food insecurity.
Youth Volunteers - Swara Rege, Advithi Kothapalli, Tarun Senthilkumar, Siddarth Ram, Kethana Vunyala, Ishaan Jaseen, Amogh Mavatoor, Rishabh Mavatoor, Avni Patel, and Akshit Shrivatsava
Adult Volunteers - Vanitha Gopalan, Suresh Rajan, Rachana Rege, Niveditha Mavatoor, Madhuri Vunyala, and Alka Shrivatsava
08/11/2024 - Destined for Greatness volunteering
During this event, VT Seva’s volunteering team worked together to transport, unpack, and set up materials for the Founder’s Day and Back to School Giveaway event. These events will provide essential supplies to underprivileged families. Through their efforts, volunteers helped over 300 families.
Youth Volunteers - Teja Cheemalamarri, Arya Cheemalamarri, Ritvik Harsha, Advithi Kothapalli, Diya Harsha, and Rohan Patil
Adult Volunteers - Suresh Rajan, Sreenivas Cheemalamarri, Nandini Cheemalamarri, Lavanya Kothapalli, Harsha Kumar, and Raj Patil
8/25/2024 - Founder’s Day and Back to School Giveaway
This wonderful event was spearheaded by Ms. Shadora Ford in honor of Founder’s Day. VT Seva distributed cloth bags which were part of our Say No to Plastics awareness campaign. These beautiful bags were painted with inspiring messages by over 20 volunteers. Volunteers also helped set up for this event, and they gave away gently used clothing, books, and toys. VT Seva is honored to be part of such noble efforts and looks forward to many more events in the future.
09/05/2024 - CPR training
On September 5, our volunteers had the unique opportunity to undergo a Basic Life Support and CPR Training session hosted by the Novi Fire Department and conducted through the support of the American Heart Association. This hands-on experience involved practice with mannequins, allowing volunteers to master techniques like chest compressions and valve mask breath support—key components of resuscitation when someone collapses due to a medical emergency like cardiac arrest or choking. After the training, volunteers went through a 1:1 test, where if they passed, they received a 2 year certification from the American Heart Association.
Youth Volunteers - Hajanthan Muhinthan, Varshan Muhinthan, Medhas Kollu, Ritvik Harsha, and Abisrishti Ram
Adult Volunteers - Durga Sangita , Architha Kramadhati, Suresh Rajan, and Vanitha Gopalan
Detroit Fundraiser Events:
07/13/2024 - Walkathon
VT Seva Detroit’s 4th annual Walkathon event was a smashing success. 235 participants walked 14,081 miles and raised $7000+ for Angels of Hope, Michigan, an organization that supports families impacted by cancer. Furthermore, a well-known philanthropist Mr. Sunny Reddy, and his wife Dr. Sirisha Nemallapudi, MD from Smile Centers PC – Farmington were impressed by these efforts and matched the donations by giving $3500, allowing for us to double our impact. Additionally, the youth got the opportunity to learn more about 42 Michigan State Parks throughout the Walkathon. For the final event, there was also a yoga stretching session by Ms. Aruna from Art of Living. This walkathon wouldn't be possible without our young team leads, parents, supporters, donors, and volunteers! Thank you to everyone who was involved!
Team Leads - Avni Patel, Swara Rege, Abisrishti Ram, Kushi Kanumuri, Oviya Jaisankar, Anvika Perumalla, Hajanthan Muhinthan, Varshan Muhinthan, Abhiram Mudeganti, Sai Sriram Karnati, Advithi Kothapalli, Akshitha Mylavarapu,Rishi Chowdhury, Sreenika Perumalla, Aanya Das, Aarthi Ravikumar, Abhimanyu Kommareddi, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Akshith Ashwanth, Akul Madhamshetty, Ansh Patil, Anuraag Balaji, Arya Cheemalamari, Cordelia Laframboise, Harsh Ahire, Kaustubh Dingari, Sathvik Tirumala Kanduri, Shalini Srinivas, Shivani Nimmagadda, Shreya Shetty, Shruthi Adduri, Shruthika Pallapothu, Sriraam Hebbar, Teja Cheemalamari, Veena Karthik and Yathi Shekar Debbata
Youth Volunteers - Arya, Teja, Sai, Kushi, Advithi, Oviya, and Swara
Adult Volunteers - Rachana, Veena, Praveen, Vidhya, Sarat, Sreenivas, Nandhini, Jaisankar, Srinath, Jyothi, Anand, Nalini, Vanitha, and Suresh
08/10/2024 - VTSEVA Detroit 1st Basketball tournament
This year, VT Seva Detroit hosted its 1st ever basketball tournament! There were two categories of competition, 10-13 years old and 14+ years. The first category had two teams registered and the second had ten teams. BSB emerged victorious at the end of the tournament, winning with a score of 11 - 6 against Max Relax, claiming the trophy! Additionally, Lisa Jackson from Florida Blue, Jacksonville, and Rajesh Raja from Michigan, each sponsored the education of one student. Overall, this event allowed us to support 3 Nethra Vidyalaya students for a year, making it a great success!
Game Leads - Tejas, Venkat, Rajesh, and Suresh
Core Volunteers - Srinath, Sudheer, Priya, Jaisankar, Nandini, Srinivas, Nalini Durga, and Anand
09/14/2024 - VTSEVA Detroit 11th Annual Volleyball and Throwball tournament
This September, VT Seva Detroit had its 11th annual volleyball and throwball tournament! It was an event to remember with great sportsmanship, seamless coordination, and great game management. Congrats to KHM, Detroit Champs, and Team 2 on being winners within the three categories! Additionally, we would like to extend a special thank you to those from Chanakya Financial who generously sponsored this event!
Link: https://www.vtsworld.org/post/2024-vt-seva-detroit-11th-annual-volleyball-throwball-tournament
09/21/2024 - Dance Fitness Fundraiser event
Partnered with Ms. Arpitha from Happy Feet Dance Academy, VT Seva hosted its first ever Dance Fitness event. 60 participants joined this fun dance session, helping support the education of 7 Nethra Vidyalaya students. Along with that, we had three generous sponsors - Zen Body, Hima, and Chandrasekhar.
Youth Volunteers - Khushi, Sai Karnati, Advithi, Kaustubh, Siddhani, Swara, Shreya, Cordelia, Shraya, Avni, Shruti, Hiba, Sahasra, and Rohan
Blog compiled: Shreya Shetty
Video created: Rathneesh Bala
Amazing VT SEVA volunteers. 16 projecta for community in 12 weekends. 👏 Good Job 👏