Our VT SEVA Detroit Youth Board kicked off the beginning of the 2023 volunteering season with the closing of the 1st quarter! Every project was a great initiative and a way to help out our community and gratefulness extends to all the youth and adult volunteers that extend their time to such a noble cause! Here are the projects we have covered from January to March this quarter:
Youth Board Projects:
Rescue Animal Towel Drive
Plastic Grocery Bag Drive
CASS Community Services
Word Teen Mental Wellness Day
Brilliant Detroit Book Sort
Detroit Projects:
MLK Day- Destined for Greatness Center
Gleaners Community Food Bank- Mercado Food Hub
Forgotten Harvest
World Medical Relief Volunteering
Kroger Solicitation Stores Event
Events:
VTS Detroit 6th Annual Public Speaking Workshop
1/16/23 MLK Day- Destined for Greatness Center:
This volunteering event was aimed at impacting over 200 families on MLK Day & volunteering at the Destined For Greatness Mentoring & Community Resource Center. MLK Day events give away to more than 200 Detroit families in need of clothing and hygiene kits. One group worked on painting a new space while the other group organized and cleaned donation items, and we were able to clear over 8-10 rooms and paint the entire hallway.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 Volunteers:
Yana Panchal, Sai Karnati, Rishi Chowdhury, Kaustubh Dingari, Nithya Kannan, Veena Karthik, Shriya Kannan, Aditi Jethri, Jishnu Kandalam, Akshitha Narla, Amogh Mavatoor, Rishabh Mavatoor, Shraya Ved, Sriraam Hebbar.
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 Volunteers:
Niveditha Mavatoor, Mythili Kandalam, Mandira Chowdhury, Srivardhan Dingari, Srinivas Narla, Suresh Rajan, Vanitha Gopalan.
1/23/23- Mercado Food Hub:
Most of the volunteers that were at Mercado today were first-timers but learned fast, and everything went seamlessly. The volunteers packed produce, loaded cars with food, stocked pantry shelves and freezers, arranged and collected food boxes, bagged food for senior citizens and cleaned up the entire space. Together, the volunteers were able to serve 101 families and pack 8,525 boxes.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Jishnu Kandalam, Rishabh Mavatoor, Shraya Ved, Sai Sahasra Namaduri, Siva Suravarapu, Nikhil Aerabati, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Leo Schmidt.
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Vanitha Gopalan, Raghunath Namaduri, Raghunath Aerabati, Vandana Durga
1/27/23- Rescue Animal Towel Donation:
Project Lead: Oviya Jaisankar
We all love pet animals, but unfortunately not all animals have a loving home. Animal shelters and foster volunteers help in bathing them, feed them, treating sick and injured animals. Last Day Dog Rescue volunteers are doing an amazing job in helping with the foster animals, and we are assisting by collecting towels for these animals. 46 Youth Board members did their part to reduce the waste in earth by donating the towels to reuse by animal shelter.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Abisrishti, Akshay, Akshith, Ankita, Adhip, Amogh M, Anishya, Anuraag, Eashan, Hajanthan, Hasini, Harsh, Jayanth, Jishnu, Kirupali, Kushal, Nikhil, Nirvan, Nithin, Nitya, Oviya, Pelon, Pravin, Rachana, Rashmitha, Rishabh, Rishi A, Rishi C, Rishma, SaiSahasra, SaiSriram, Saisha, Sanjana, Sathvik, Shivani, Sravya, Shruthi A, Shreya, Sneha, Sriram, Varshan, Veena, Vibhavi, Yana, Yathi & Yug
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Nalini, Lavanya, Srinath, Komathy & Priya
1/27/23 - Plastic Grocery Bag Donation:
Project Lead: Supraja Pattangi
For the month of January, 51 Youth Board members collected 5000+ bags. Each bag was carefully inspected to make sure they were clean and dry with no holes in them and neatly folded prior to donating them to the Open-Door Ministry, a local food bank. These bags will be used by the Open Door Ministry to distribute groceries.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Abisrishti, Adhip, Akshay, Akshith,Amogh, Ankita, Anishya, Anuraag, Eashan, Hajanthan, Hasini, Harsh, Jayanth, Jishnu, Kaustubh, Kirupali, Kushal, Lalitaditya, Nikhil, Nirvan, Nithin, Nitya, Oviya, Pelon, Pranav, Pravin, Rachana, Rashmitha, Rishabh, Rishi A, Rishi C, Rishma, SaiSahasra, SaiSriram, Saisha, Samhith, Sathvik, Shivani, Sravya, Shravya Ved, Shreya, Shruthi A, Sneha, Sriram, Srivibha, Udhayaa, Varshan, Veena, Yana, Yathi & Yug.
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Lavanya, Komathy, Srinath, Nalini, Priya & Giri.
FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/pfbid02S7Jf3CEWicssuiAyLr9XAdZAdBKrhsxsnFJWiP46ShuWzgMdrc99nAThawTTUZGRl
2/6/23- CASS Community Services:
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱: Oviya Jaisankar
The Warming Center by CASS Community Services provides temporary shelter during the fall and winter. Women, children and families stays here. For the winter season they serve 200 meals a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or 600 meals a day in total. VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members helped them in the kitchen. They cleaned and organized the whole kitchen, cut more than 50 pounds of onions, and cleaned, and organized the whole pantry. VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members were so grateful for this opportunity.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Jishnu, Leo, Oviya, Sai Sahasra, Siva, Sneha, Soumya & Yathi
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Raghunath, Mythili, Chandrasekhar, Deepthi, Srilatha, Jaisankar & Priya
2/18/23 - Forgotten Harvest:
Volunteers helped Forgotten Harvest in their fight against hunger and food insecurities by packing 4,166 pounds of frozen pasta to serve the Warren community, The team helped transport heavy loads to smaller bins, packed frozen pasta into bags, labeled the bags, and cleaned, sanitized, and scrubbed the floors and the area.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Jishnu Kandalam, Akshith Ashwanth, Nikhil Aerabati, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Anishya Madala, Rishma Madala, Jayanth Batti, Kaustubh Dingari, Hajanthan Muhinathan, Sathvik Thirumalakanduri, Deekshita Ravu
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Vanitha Gopalan, Vaishnavi Aerabati, Srivardhan Dingari, Komathy Muhinathan, Ranga Rao Ravu, Vandana Durga
2/26/23 - 3/5/23 - VTS Detroit 6th Annual Public Speaking Workshop:
Public speakers motivate their listeners to make a change. It could be to stop or start something, try something new, or reach their goals. Public speaking is important because the speaker can motivate others to go in the direction they wish, and the speaker can motivate others to be their best selves.
This year's Public Speaking workshop went wonderfully and excellently organized by Priya, Srinath, Architha and Sudheer! We were so excited to see Mr. Brahmandhabheri back and eager to teach a new group of students his passion. Both the online and in-person sessions were very fun and insightful and overall a great experience for the 50+ students!
Thanks to Mr. Chandrasekhar for sponsoring the competition!
Youth Volunteers: Harish, Oviya & Amogh
Adult Volunteers: Priya, Aarthi, Architha, Srinath, Venkat & Jaisankar
3/2/23 - Teen Mental Wellness Event
World Teen Mental Wellness Day is observed across the globe on March 2 every year. It is a day that aims to raise awareness about the mental health issues that teenagers deal with. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. To celebrate this day, our Youth Board used Kudoboard to send uplifting and positive messages to their peers and thank them for their service. Way to go volunteers!
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Rishabh M, Amogh M, Nikhil A, Oviya J, Rishi A, Rishi C, Veena K, Supraja P, Harsh A, Shruthi A, Kushal D, Haji M, Varshan M, Shraya V, Sathvik T, Saisriram K, Shivani N, Anvika P, Sairaaga P, Nusrat Rahman, Haresh A & Nithin R
Adult Volunteers: Priya & Nalini
3/11/23- World Medical Relief Volunteering:
The VTSEVA Detroit volunteers assisted World Medical Relief by sorting expired medical supplies and categorizing the rest of the remaining ones, putting them into kits, which will be distributed worldwide.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Kushal Durga, Sai Sahasra Namaduri, Yathi Shekhar Debbata, Akshith Ashwanth, Rishabh Mavatoor, Ishaan Jaseen, Ritvik Janardhan, Diya Janardhan, Siya Sandeep, Yana Panchal
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Vandana Durga, Raghunath Namaduri, Vanitha Gopalan, Swathi Debbata
3/13/23 - Brilliant Detroit Book Sort:
Project Lead: Amogh Mavatoor
Brilliant Detroit is an organization dedicated to building kids' future with the main goal to help kids learn to read. It focuses on family, health, and education to make learning more accessible to the families in the neighborhoods where families with children ages from 0 to 8 can have what they need to be healthy and stable. VTSEVA Youth Board helped them pack 60 boxes( 5000 books) at this event.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Amogh M, Deekshitha R, Hajanthan M, Jishnu K, Nitya K, Rishabh M, Rishi A, Shriya K, Shruthi A, Varshan M
𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Kannan, Muhinthan, Nalini, Niveditha, Priya, Ranga Rao
FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=vtseva.detroit&set=a.578817447615097
3/25/23 - Food Drive Kroger Solicitation:
Volunteers helped out the Forgotten Harvest Pantry and CARES Organization in Farmington by asking Koger shoppers for donations. Overall, they were able to collect 26 boxes of food, and over 570 dollars worth of cash, despite it initially being a difficult day.
Youth Volunteers:
Yathi Debbata, Leo Schmidt, Diya Harsha, Ritvik Harsha, Anishya Madala, Rishma Madala, Supraja Pattangi, Siva Suravarapu, Sai Karnati, Lalitaditya Akkaraju, Akshitha Narla
Adult Volunteers:
Priya Jaisankar, Suresh Rajan, Srinathbabu Karnati, Giri Varadhan, Vanitha Gopalan, Swathi Debbata, Raghunath Namuduri
Blog Consolidated By: Veena Karthik
Blog Video By: Lalit Aditya Akkaraju
Blog Published By: Priya Jaisankar