"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
A group of 28 youth volunteers had one collective message to help the students of Nethra Vidyalaya. The VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members continued their tradition of creating awareness about VT Seva and its causes for the 2nd year in a row. Student-4-Student is an outreach project thought of by Harish, a youth board member, last year where our Youth Board members reached out to their friends, families, teachers, coaches, dance schools, and many more people who weren’t aware of VT Seva to explain one of VT Seva’s amazing causes: supporting Nethra Vidyalaya students and raising money through a GoFundMe campaign.
28 youths, 56 days, 168 new donors raised $10,050 which supports 27+ students.
Every member who committed to this project made sure they reached their personal goal. However, they didn’t just stop there; they went above and beyond to help the Nethra Vidyalaya students and raised over $10,050, which supports the education of over 27 students for one year. They reached out to donors through social media, phone calls, door-to-door campaigning, and much more.
The teachers of NethraVidyalaya and Jeeyar Gurukulam were the inspiration for our Outreach campaigners. Our volunteers were amazed by the love, dedication, and commitment that these teachers had for their students. Seeing those teachers going to their students’ homes and taking classes under trees and in sheds during the COVID-19 period to make sure these students are learning continuously without any hurdles showed their love for their students. The youths were committed to helping the teachers and the students in any way possible.
Each day the statistics were sent out to all the participants with motivational quotes. The parents encouraged and motivated their children to reach out to people as much as they can. Kudos to all the parents who were helping their children be a voice for underprivileged students.
This awareness project didn’t only help Nethra Vidyalaya students; it helped all these 28 youths with their communication skills. We had lots of new members who joined this project this year. Initially, they were shy about talking to people. However, after a couple of times, they were able to explain the cause to friends and relatives without diffidence. By participating in this project, all these 28 youths were training one of the basic qualities of a leader: “Speak up for others”
Without any doubt, our future is in good hands with all these compassionate youths who have a desire to serve a purpose greater than themselves.
There is a proverb in Tamil, ‘Oor koodi ther izhu’, that implies the strength of community (outreach team) participation in matters of societal importance (Nethravidyalaya students). This is what happened in our team.
We had youth volunteers who are as young as 9 year old Adhip and Vihaan to high school seniors.
Thank you so much to every one of the youth board members who participated and supported Nethra Vidyalaya students Hiba, Oviya, Saisha, Siddharth, Rishi, Shruthi, Sai Sri Ram, Amogh, Harish, Kaavya, Akshay, Niharka, Advaith, Vihaan, Adhip, SaiSahasra, Ananya B, Shrikha, Sathvik, Sanjana, Udhayaa, Ananya R, Rashmitha, Rohan P, Varshini, Nitya S, Pranav S and Abisrishti
Please watch this video to learn about our campaigners' experience, feeling, and their gratitude towards the NethraVidyala students, parents, and donors.
Blog Written By: Priya Jaisankar
Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri