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VT Seva Maryland School Supply Drive: Brightening Lives, Building Community

By Mridula Vasudevan, Youth Chapter Mentor, VT Seva Maryland

VT Seva Maryland proudly came together for this year’s school supply drive in partnership with United Way of Frederick County and its Stuff the Bus program. The event was successfully led by Taara Vasudevan, middle school youth leader, secretary of the Environment Branch, and former president of the elementary school team.


This drive was a wonderful example of service, teamwork, and community spirit. All three VT Seva Maryland branches - Monrovia, New Market, and MCPS - joined hands to collect school supplies for students in need.


Together, volunteers worked toward one shared goal: helping children start the school year with the supplies and support they need to succeed.


From June 8 through August 3, VT Seva Maryland served as a collection site for much-needed school supplies that directly benefit Frederick County students and families. On August 3, United Way of Frederick County picked up all the donated school supplies. The fun part was seeing the Stuff the Bus team come to collect everything we gathered through this drive.



Under Taara’s leadership, the team helped fundraise $176 and collected 5 bins full of school supplies, including backpacks, binders, college-ruled and wide-ruled paper, colored pencils, composition notebooks, crayons, dividers, dry erase markers, earbuds with microphone, glue sticks, graphing calculators, highlighters, Kleenex, markers, pencils, pencil boxes, pens, rulers, scissors, spiral notebooks, two-pocket folders, and Ziploc bags.


A special thank you goes to the MCPS team members who supported this drive:



  • Arnav Suneja


    “Participating in this supply drive was a great experience for me as it showed me how my community can come together and make a meaningful difference around us. Gathering supplies from several people around my neighborhood who really wanted to support students in need was a great feeling and experience to be a part of, which really made my effort much more meaningful with everybody’s kindness.”


  • Dhruv Suri


    “Going around the neighborhood to gather supplies has been a rewarding experience as it developed many necessary skills. I was able to learn more about the different circumstances of the people in my community and also develop the skills to talk to people I don’t know personally.”


  • Srikar Vinnamuri


    “Participating in the supply drive gave me that feeling of satisfaction which comes from helping someone in need and genuinely putting them in a better spot. The support we received was all I needed to keep showing up and giving my time. Working alongside my peers made the experience even more meaningful as it showed me how much of an impact a group can have simply by being present and willing to help. I'm grateful I had the chance to make a real difference in my community.”


  • Hitansh Mathur


    “Collecting school supplies around my neighborhood was a meaningful experience because I was able to help students who needed extra support. It also taught me the importance of working together and showed me how helping others can bring the community closer.”


  • Sahaj Patel


    “Volunteering to help gather supplies for VT Seva was one of the most fulfilling ways I felt involved with my community, since it gave me a direct way to give back.”


We also sincerely appreciate the Monrovia students who helped make this effort a success:


  • Taara Vasudevan

  • Mridula Vasudevan

  • Akanksha Subramaniam

  • Anwesha Parida

  • Pragya Philkana

  • Vihaas Venuturimilli

  • Misha Nabeel

  • Aarush Srivasta

  • Nayan Chintalapati

  • Arjun Chintalapati


And thank you to the New Market volunteers:


  • Chetan Sai Kankanala

  • Anmol Tiwari

  • Aniket Tiwari




Below is a personal note from Taara Vasudevan, who led the event:


I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to lead this year’s school supply drive as a middle school youth leader, secretary of the Environment Branch, and former president of the elementary school team. What made this experience especially meaningful was seeing all three VT Seva Maryland branches - Monrovia, New Market, and MCPS - come together for one shared purpose: to support students in our community. It was incredibly moving to see so many volunteers step up with kindness and dedication to help children who need these supplies. I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish together - fundraising $176 and collecting 5 bins full of school supplies for students in need. I also want to sincerely thank the Lansdale community for generously donating so many school supplies and supporting VT Seva Maryland Team. Your kindness played such an important role in the success of this drive. Thank you to everyone who helped make this effort a success. This experience reminded me that when people come together with compassion and purpose, even the smallest acts of service can create a lasting impact. A special thank you to United Way of Frederick County for organizing the Stuff the Bus school supply drive. I’m honored that VT Seva Maryland could partner with United Way of Frederick County this year to serve our community.

Thank you to United Way of Frederick County for organizing this impactful initiative. Through the Stuff the Bus program, they help ensure that students in Frederick County have the supplies they need to begin the school year ready to learn.


This school supply drive was more than just a collection effort - it was a reflection of VT Seva’s spirit of service, leadership, and compassion. We are proud of everyone who contributed and grateful for the opportunity to support our community.




 

 

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