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VT Seva Columbus is so excited to conduct Tennis Clinic in the summer of 2023 Date : June 18th, June 25th, July 9th and July 16th Time : 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Venue : 3584 Home Rd, Powell, OH 43065 Join us to have fun, learn a skill and support Nethra Vidyalaya Schools & Students All proceeds benefit Netra Vidyalaya , a VT Seva supported school with a state of the art technology for visually challenged children empowering them to be self-reliant

Project Story Time Project Storytime is an initiative taken to spread morally valuable and entertaining stories and make them easily accessible for our community, especially the youth. The idea is that people can suggest, record, or write their own stories and share them with us, which we will then group and filter. We will then make our collection available to everyone, which will have stories in different languages and from different cultures. This project, once it becomes widespread, will be able to help a lot of people, starting with those recording the stories (increases confidence and encourages creativity) and those listening to the stories (positively impacted by the good messages our stories send while having fun). There are many different roles that everyone can take part of in this project, sending us your own stories being the most fruitful and easiest way to contribute! We will also be recording sample stories and ones written by others, advertising our project, filtering the stories, compiling them into one easily-accessible place, reaching out to others to guide them through the process, and many more! Please reach out to projectstorytimevts@gmail.com with your story ideas or if you would like to volunteer to lend your voice! Thank you!

Cricket Summer Camp organized by MSK Cricket Academy and VT Seva! Unleash Your Cricketing Potential, Create Lasting Memories, and Make a Difference! 🔥 Get ready for an action-packed summer of cricket like never before! Train with renowned coaches, fine-tune your skills, and experience the thrill of the game firsthand. 🌍 But it's not just about cricket - it's about making an impact. By joining us, you'll be part of a charitable initiative that uplifts underprivileged children, making a difference both on and off the field. 🎯 Spaces are limited, so don't miss out! Enroll now and secure your spot at the MSK Cricket Academy and VT Seva Cricket Summer Camp.

"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future" - Franklin D. Roosevelt VT Seva Detroit youth board is celebrating 4th anniversary with the much needed college admissions webinar!!! Over the past four years, the VT Seva Detroit Youth Board has grown from just a handful of students to over 150 members! With this growth, we have had hundreds of events and began opening clubs in local high schools to promote our cause. Many of these events are organized and led by our own youth volunteers. These amazing kids implement lots of charitable projects and summer camps, spending their time giving back to their community. Through the VT Seva Detroit Youth Board, these young volunteers are both serving their community and building valuable organizational and leadership skills. Their work impacts many underprivileged students in our tribal and Nethra Vidyalaya schools and helps provide them with a quality education. Come join us on Friday, 5/19/2023 @ 7:30 PM EDT, with the key presentation college application webinar We are hosting an amazing college application webinar during our celebration. Our wonderful host Ashleigh Taylor , founder of Empowered4College ( https://www.empowered4college.com ) and former University of Michigan Admissions Officer , will cover application essentials including academics, testing, resumes, recommendations, and essays. Join us to both celebrate our youth's amazing contributions this year and teach them about the college application process. Please register to join. Once the form is submitted, you will receive an email in couple days with the webinar link.

View you all the upcoming events here

Do you like to read story books to others? Then this is the project for you ! We have 5000+ story books all the way back from 1950s like, Chandamama books that many of us would have read in our childhood. Through this project, we will be converting all of them into accessible audio books and then uploaded into online library from which any visually impaired person can download and listen. With 700+ VT Seva volunteers, we converted 175+ books (50,000 pages) for Digital Library project. These are school and college textbooks, we converted All the books that we converted so far (About 175 books and 50000 pages) are school and college textbooks. We converted many CBSE school textbooks (grades 1-10), B.Com / BSc college textbooks, IAS examination textbooks that are now available to tens of thousands of visually impaired students across India. All these books were requested directly either by the schools, colleges or individuals for their curriculum, so the adoption rate is 100%. With the success of ongoing Digital library project, we are pretty sure we will get all of your help with Lend Your Voice project to convert the story books and make this one also an impactful project. Requirements Hardware/Software: * Computer: PC or a Mac * External Microphone: optional, but recommended * Software - Audacity: optional, but recommended (https://www.audacityteam.org) Recording Requirements: For each story: * Record in a separate file * Read the Story/Chapter name and Author name * Read the disclaimer at the beginning of each file * Save the file as .WAV or as mp3 * Upload the audio file at the bottom of this page Once the registration is completed, expect to receive a welcome email in 2-3 days which has further details. Please make sure to check in all folders including spam folder in your email within a week of registering to watch out for the Welcome email with details. Audio Recording Guidelines Identify a quiet place without any external or background noises (large appliances like refrigerators, heating & air conditioning vent fans, running water...) * Read every word and pronounce all the text clearly and aloud * Maintain a steady pace and volume levels * Eliminate any "mouth sounds" and audio gaps * Pause the audio recording if you have to take a break and continue the recording when you are ready * Use nuances and appropriate emphasis and emotions that best deliver the story * Read out the book loud before recording to: - identify your rhythm and narrating flow - practice difficult words and phrases - avoid tripping over the sentences * Record a demo and play it back to: - make sure that your recording has no glitches and can be played back - make sure there are no background noise , h

VT Seva’s 16th Annual Earth Day Celebration is coming up on April 22nd. VT Seva being a proud partner with many Dallas metroplex cities is celebrating Earth Day with city of Frisco Clean it & Green it, by participating in Spring trash off as part of Keep Texas Beautiful - Great American Clean-Up. This is a good opportunity for all volunteers to get engaged in street cleaning community service activity, trash and litter cleanup to keep our Earth clean and beautiful. Volunteers also pick up plastic bottles, recycle items by the sides of the street to recycle and and make an impact on the environment. Mother Earth Day Saturday, April 22. 8:30 am to 10:30 am. Address: 9090 1st St Frisco, TX 75034 1st street and Main. Volunteers will meet at Frisco Environmental service office parking lot. All ages can volunteer. It’s an outdoor fun event so we advise you to wear closed-toe shoe, dress appropriately. If students have to submit volunteering hours for school please bring in your volunteer/school form to sign. Any questions, please contact: Vinayak Devulapalli 214-727-6983 Youth Lead: Shriya Aviur Happy Volunteering!! VT Seva Dallas Team Email: dallas.youth@vtsworld.org www.vtsworld.org/dallas Your support is our strength to serve!

One Act of Kindness can cause a ripple effect! The main goal for this year is to sponsor food for 500+ children studying at School for tribals (Jeeyar Gurukulam, Allampalli) for one year. We have accomplished the goal with the pledges and donations, thanks to the generous support of compassionate hearts. VT Seva Dallas conducted 14th annual TARANGINI, an entertainment for charity event on Saturday, March 25th, 2023, at the Grand Center in Plano from 3 PM to 6 PM. After almost two years, we had an in-person event, and it was exciting!! The preparations had been going strong for almost 2-3 months before the event as youth members worked tirelessly to perfect their performances. The event began with a peace prayer by PRAJNA (Personality development class) students and rendition of American and Indian national anthems. We had an assortment of dance and singing programs to entertain the audience. The highlight of this year’s Tarangini was “Allampalli Diaries” musical. With the musical gaining such an incredible, and positive reception, the members of the cast and crew will get a chance to reprise their roles on a much larger platform (more details on that to be released soon). The event was emceed by Ms. Mahathi Duggirala, Mr. Teja Papaihgari, Ms. Amritha Kasturi, Mr. Shreyas Vishwanathan, Ms. Srinidhi Surabhi, and Mr. Lakshman Vennamaneni, dynamic young volunteers of VT Seva Dallas. With high energy and loads of power to make this event a success, all six of the emcees raised awareness about the volunteering and service activities of the VT Seva with jokes, quizzes, entertainment, and more. VT Seva national youth director Mr. Phani Aduri inspired the audience as the keynote speaker. Quoting Dr.King "Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service", he mentioned that we are not who and what we are, but we are defined and identified by our actions and remembered by the impact of those actions on others. He urged the youth to not settle for success and happiness in life, but aspire for a successful and fulfilled life because happiness through success is an emotion that is momentary and temporary, whereas fulfillment is an ever-lasting and never-ending state of happiness and it can only be achieved by serving humanity. His passion for volunteering and this organization was felt by each audience member through his words and work as a national board member.Ms.Madhu Nemani, VT Seva Atlanta branch director was the guest of the honor. She shared about how their team of youth volunteers grew from less than 50 to more than 500 within a year. She encouraged youth to initiate and lead the projects to passionately serve the community. VT Seva Dallas Branch Director Mrs. Amita Aviur shared about her experiences of VT Seva and going to the tribal schools in Allampalli as part of VT Seva summer internship as a chaperone along with 15 youngsters from all parts of US. Amita talked about how she felt happiness that she could not find anywhere else while staying with the tribal people. Furthermore, she talked about the delight she feels everyday working with VT Seva and volunteering. She gave vote of thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors of Tarangini. The Ta rangini digital souvenir was released by Mrs. Nemani. Click this to look at the Taringini Digital Souvenir As children are our future and VT Seva believes in empowering them with the values of volunteering and philanthropy, TARANGINI event was formulated in 2009. It provides an opportunity for local youth to volunteer their time and talents as a team, while supporting service projects of VT Seva. It has been successful in providing a foundation for them to grow into leaders through service. To motivate the youth to take leadership in making a positive impact on the society, young volunteers Mr. Sriram Vennamaneni and Ms. Meghana Aduri shared about the projects they have initiated. Sriram shared that throughout his volunteering time at VT Seva for the past 10 years, and having been involved in numerous activities, one that resonated with him, in par ticular, is women's health. To address issues surrounding women’s health, he has started an initiative to pro cure manufacturing equipment that makes high-quality and biodegradable sanitary pads to improve menstrual hygiene and prevent cervical cancer. These pads will be distributed by VT Seva Mahila Arogya Vikas (MAV) to women from slum areas and underprivileged students who can’t afford to buy them. The MAV will also employ local women to supervise the machines and distribute the products, offering sources of income for the underprivileged women. Visit this link to learn more about Sriram's Initiative and Donate to the cause: https://www.vtsworld.org/post/hygiene-has-no-borders Meghana shared about the special needs project she is leading to empower Prosper ISD. Hearing the impact that VTSeva was able to have upon these kids was such an eye-opening and moving movement. But, other than just the impact, the audience were also able to learn about how amazing these special kids were. The Prosper children had their dog treat business, in which they would handmake treats and sell them! And on top of that, they also ran a soap business that sold very high-quality soap. The schoolteacher mentioned that the soap cost just enough money to be able to make another bar of soap, and the kids gained no profit from the venture. It was truly amazing to hear that these kids were running such a selfless business, a venture, that many of us could not even attempt. One of the highlights of the night was the presentation of Presidential awards. These awards personified the commitment that volunteers had in serving the community and they are grateful to VT Seva for providing them the volunteering opportunities. The Deputy Chief of Police, Mr. Jon Skertich presented this award to the youth. This year’s recipients of the Presidential awards were Ms. Meghana Aduri, Mr. Shreyas Vishwanatha, Ms. Nigama Reddy, Mr. Ronav Avuir, Mr. Arnav Senapathi, Ms. Sahiti Peechera, Ms. Sanhitha Perkari, Ms. Keerthana Aduri, Mr. Neil Katta, Ms. Shriya Avuir and Ms. Shriya Kanjarla. A total of 11 recipients! In the words of one of the recipients, Neil Katta, “The moment we received the award was truly unforgettable, and only served to strengthen my motivation to continue volunteering”. Dances were performed by Nruthya Shakti Dance Academy and UDance group. Our long-time supporter Kashish band gave a singing performance. We would like to thank our Food sponsors – India 101, Sai Gayathri, and Dwaraka. We appreciate the services of Mrs. Sumana for creating the Photo Booth, Photographer Mr. Phanindra Pydimarri, Videographers Mr. Ravi Kadur & Mr. Gaurav Peechara Service leads – Mrs. Lakshmi, Mrs. Kalyani, Mrs. Lavanya, Mrs. Chithra, Mrs. Gunjan, Mr. Vinayak, Mr. Siva, Mrs. Maala, Mrs. Radha, Mrs. RaniPrameela and our amazing youth volunteers and parents for their continued support. Pictures from the Event:

Are you ready to showcase your innovative and creative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing our planet? If so, come join us at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on April 30th as we celebrate our VT Seva Annual Earth Day Science Fair! Winners of the competition will be announced on the day of the event!! Pick your topic from the following list of themes. The Earth Day Science Fair is for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Theme options for Science Fair Submissions are: 1. Water and Energy Resource Conservation 2. Recycle / Upcycle 3. Organic Farming 4. Climate Change & Global Warming The possible formats for Kindergarten through 5th Grade submissions are: 1. Costume with Slogan 2. Poster 3. Experiment The possible formats for Middle School & High School are: 1. Experiment (for Middle School only) 2. Power Point Presentation 3. Short Film Rules for Short film a. Time duration for the event is minimum 5 minutes to 7 mins max. b. If uploading ahead of time, please submit by April 29th 11:59pm CST. c. Credit goes to the creator and not the characters in the film. d. The film should introduce the topic and the maker of the film. e. Film must be original. Students of all ages are welcome to join and will have the opportunity to win prizes and most importantly learn many new earth day-related things! Come join us at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple and work towards and more sustainable future! Go green and live clean!! To register, please click here.

On April 1st, 2023 VT Seva Dallas volunteers went to Irving and cleaned up the streets for the 'Keep Irving Beautiful’ program (as part of the Keep Texas Beautiful program). Volunteers woke up early in the morning and got right to work, picking up litter and recyclable items from the side of the street. We are so proud of our volunteers for taking care of the streets, keeping Texas beautiful, and having a positive impact on the environment! Thanks to the volunteers' hard work the street looked beautiful at the end of the cleanup. Shoutout to our leads: Pranav Raju and Mrs. Kavita Raju, who showed up over the long weekend and worked hard on the cleanup. We are so proud of them!

VT Seva Detroit is organizing a soccer tournament, on June 24th, 2023 from 11:00 AM in Total Sports Novi East. Proceeds from this tournament will go to schools in India for visually challenged children. VT Seva supports Schools for the Blind in India such as Nethra Vidyalaya . These schools provide higher education to visually challenged students and enable them to be independent and compete with other students. VT Seva Detroit is conducting its 4th Annual Soccer Tournament this summer. All the proceeds go to VT Seva supported Schools for Visually Challenged Date: June 24th, 2023 from 11:00 AM EST Venue: Total Sports Novi EAST 41550 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI 48375 Kids from age 6 and above are eligible participate in this soccer tournament for a great cause. ¨ Group 1 : Age 6 yrs to 9 yrs ¨ Group 2 : Age 10 to 12 yrs ¨ Group 3 : Age 13 and above Come join us and play for cause!

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. FB Link: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02vnpAoqvE9GBBqMLoHsk8o7GY6g8kx4YGei1d6rV5Bph9m6RBrXy5uZHx9UDLdhghl&id=100064605402887&mibextid=Nif5oz 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.544790767684432&type=3 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/pfbid02m4cNsNH6yCJBgyVDndTSTUwh7hpkBNhYp45zK1vDUQnwTcAa6boG3EAJAc6T57TEl 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/pfbid02nXMnELsWuBDTMcz4qLDgYoE28id5EKqEVdQtBjJQnnhL4PcBXgg67PaDtVXQZxXzl 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.586857700144405&type=3 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 Blog Link: https://www.vtsworld.org/post/vt-seva-detroit-6th-annual-public-speaking-workshop 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/videos/vt-seva-detroit-youth-board-members-celebrated-teen-mental-wellness-day-by-sendi/942004926979063/ 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=vtseva.detroit&set=a.577989761031199 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 FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=vtseva.detroit&set=a.586857700144405 Blog Consolidated By: Veena Karthik Blog Video By: Lalit Aditya Akkaraju Blog Published By: Priya Jaisankar

In recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, VT Seva Bay Area ( a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization ) is proud to host its Second Annual Mental Health Awareness Walkathon specifically geared towards Teen Mental Health. Date : April 30th, 2023 Time : 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM Venue : Almaden Lake Park, 6099 Winfield Blvd San Jose, CA 95120 Join us as we walk to raise awareness about the importance of mental health especially in teens who are at a critical phase in their life's journey. All proceeds benefit Netra Vidyalaya , a VT Seva supported school with a state of the art technology for visually challenged children empowering them to be self-reliant. We are excited to host Dr. Kalpana Nathan and Suryakala Jandhyala who will chat with us about mental wellbeing for teens and ways to cope in the post-covid era . Guest Speaker Kalpana Nathan, MD, CPE, LFAPA, DipABLM - Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Added Qualifications in Addiction and Forensic Psychiatry) Diplomate, American Board of Lifestyle Medicine Adjunct Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine Chief Medical Director, Scrivner Center, Mental Health & Addiction Services, Mountain View, CA Guest Speaker Suryakala (Kala) Jandhyala - Certified Integral coach from New Ventures West Passionate about guiding people through their life exploration, whether it is exploring different career opportunities, improving communication with self and others, prioritizing your tasks and so on CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer trained to represent children who have experienced abuse and neglect as they navigate juvenile dependency court systems The fee is $20 per person. All of the proceeds will go to Netra Vidyalaya, a school for visually challenged children in India. Join us on April 30 to raise awareness on importance of mental health & wellbeing and make a positive impact in every teens life.

‘’The art of communication is the language of leadership ’’- John Maxwell On Feb 26, 2023, 50 youths attended our online workshop and learned amazing tips and tricks from the expert Toastmaster and the founder of Speaking Masters LLC., Mr. Raju Brahmandhabheri . It was a great experience with an interactive session. Public speaking techniques were shared with the youths. Youths were preparing their speeches with the techniques they learned in the workshop and presented their prepared speeches in the in person session on March 5, 2023 at Novi Public Library. Mr. Raju Brahmandhabheri is supporting VT Seva Public Speaking Workshop for 3rd time in a row. One student got inspired by VT Seva causes and the speeches from other students, wanted to showcase her skills and help VT Seva cause, so she signed up for the workshop right there itself. Mr. Srinath Karnati welcomed everyone, Public Speaking Committee member Ms. Architha Kramadhati introduced Mr. Raju. Priya Jaisankar introduced Mr. Cliff and went through the guidelines about the speech presentation. Harish Jaisankar , VT Seva Detroit Youth Board volunteer Emceed the whole event in a nice engaged way. VT Seva volunteers Mr. Jaisankar Kannan, Ms.Aarthi Karthik, Mr. Venkat Pisipati Oviya Jaisankar, Amogh Pisipati, helped in various areas like checkin, time keeping and media. Two wonderful judges Mr. Raju Brahmandhabheri and Mr . Cliff Suttle gave tips and feedback to all the students who presented their speeches Raju Brahmandhabheri is passionate about public speaking and communication skills and has been part of Toastmasters International (the platform to improve Public speaking and leadership skills) since last 9 plus years and achieved the DTM(Distinguished Toastmasters) award- the highest educational award in the Toastmasters program. To pursue his passion of teaching public speaking and communication skills to the kids, he founded Speaking Masters LLC , a public speaking and communication skills coaching institute and has been teaching these skills Mr. Suttle is the founder and president of ExciteYourAudience.com a company dedicated to world class business/audience communications. He is the author for three books "The Meeting Mastery System," "The Anti-Elevator Speech," and the fantasy novel "Necro." A popular freelance writer, Mr. Suttle has written numerous articles for print and multi-media publications and has been read internationally by millions and translated into more than 20 languages. He owns multiple business for over 25 years and has consulted for many Fortune 500 companies including, General Motors, Ford Motor, IBM, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Kodak, Xerox, Rockwell International, Commerica, Metlife, and more. Mr. Suttle has received over 100 awards for speaking and is a popular speech writer and lecturer on topics ranging from technical to motivational and earned his B.S. in Management Information Sciences from the University of Michigan and is a certified Peak Performance Consultant. At the end our continuous supporter and sponsor for Public Speaking Workshop Mr. Chandrasekar handed over plaques to Mr. Brahmandhabheri and Mr. Cliff. Thanks to Mr. Raju for continuous support. Overall it was a great session all the students and parents liked the session and appreciated all the efforts. Mr. Sudheer Koppu gave a thank you speech. Blog Written By: Priya Jaisankar Blog Published By : Nandini Cheemalamarri

VT Seva Dallas youth volunteers spent their Spring break time volunteering at Feed my Starving Children, where they helped pack an assortment of nutritious meals that will be shipped to various countries in Africa and South America to eradicate hunger and improve quality and life. We would also like to give a shoutout to Sahasra Produtor, as pictured in the purple and black outfit, for putting in effort to draw the VT Seva logo from scratch so that our volunteers could proudly pose with it at the end of their shift.

On Friday, February 24th VTSeva Dallas youth volunteers visited the Scottish Rite hospital for Children to drop off a large collection of toys for the kids. The toys were collected as part of the Toy Drive the Youth Board conducted from late December to early January, in which many youth volunteers donated toys. These toys will be given to the patients at the hospital to brighten their day and make them feel special. They are an important tool in providing comfort for the children. The board games that were donated will be staying at the hospital so that many kids can use them and play together! The hospital staff was extremely appreciative of our volunteers’ efforts and were shocked by how many toys we collected! These toys will go to great use, and VTSeva Dallas will continue to hold further events like this to help out the community! If you would like to donate to Scottish Rite Hospital you can visit their website here: https://scottishriteforchildren.org/get-involved

Lets Play to Support Visually Challenged Students !!

TARANGINI