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- Celebrating the Team Work - VT Seva 2020 At a Glance
The year 2020 has been challenging on many fronts for the whole world. It is not an exaggeration if we say there is no family that was not impacted in some way or the other due to the social, financial, health and emotional challenges it brought. It is also a year where the need to help each other and heal together the most. VT Seva volunteers have demonstrated the same as always. Several youth volunteers have come together to plan, lead, and execute several COVID-19 relief activities working along side VT Seva leadership team in all the branches across USA. A few of the highlights from our activities for year 2020 for you. COVID-19 Relief Aid Under the guidance of our CEO, Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, all the branches of VT Seva came together to help local communities as the pandemic started spreading in USA in mid March. We tapped into our supporters, raised funds to support the local Food Banks, Hospitals in every possible way we could. Food Banks and Hospitals at the following cities were supported for COVID-19 RELIEF AID Gratitude To Our Frontline Heroes VT Seva supported with 17,000+ N-95 masks to various hospitals in highly COVID-19 impacted hospitals - Newton Medical Center, Saint Clares Hospital, Robert wood Johnson University Hospital, St. Peter's University Hospital, St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, Atrium Medical Center, Metropolitan Ministries, Multiple Hospitals in Tampa and many other hospitals in highly affected cities. VT Seva Detroit Youth created a GofundMe page and raised funds to support Hospital. Several youth volunteers hosted lunch for the Medical staff at Hospitals and other City officials to convey Gratitude for their support to community during the pandemic. VT Seva Dallas youth volunteers created GofundMe page to support Health care during COVID-19 as well. Several branches have hosted events to convey gratitude to health care professionals and essential workers of the city by providing warm lunches. Volunteers from Cary, Atlanta, and Boston made reusable face masks that were distributed in their local senior centers and others to use. Innovation During COVID-19 Free Professional Seminars in Health Care, Personal Finance, Career Exploration, College Preparedness, and Real Estate events. Art for Equality VT Seva conducting "Equality Depicted through Art" competition in 2020 to provide a platform for all to express what Equality means to them. We had a great response with 400+ entries and people from 40 countries participating in voting. More info Several branches across USA have come up with innovative ways to virtually engage students who were getting used to virtual learning environment by providing various interactive fun workshops, while supporting Schools for Visually Challenged and Tribals. 60% of the planning, execution and coordination was handled by youth at each of the branches. Public Speaking Contest- Detroit, MI Teaching Refugee Children - Charlotte, NC Chess Competition - Dallas, TX Musical Event in collaboration Swaravedika, Detroit, MI Quiz Contest, Detroit, MI Summer Camp, Boston, MA Robotics Class - Houston, TX Career Exploration Series, Houston, TX Go Online with VT Seva - Houston, TX - Yoga, Music, Dance, Reading, Coding, Creating Writing and many more Science in Action, Pittsburgh, PA Seattle Summer Camp - Coding, Reading, Dance, Music, Cooking, Charlotte, San Antonio and Dallas Summer Camp for Youth, Coding, Math, Reading, Public Speaking, Debate and many more Solving Rubik's Cube, Tampa, FL Fun with Lego Workshop, Tampa, FL Little MD Workshop, Houston, TX Virtual Yoga for Health - North Jersey North Jersey Virtual Camp - Programming, Public Speaking, Calligraphy, Dance, Science Experiments, Scratch Programming, Stories, Origami and More, North Jersey, NJ Katy Youth Workshop - Music, Creating writing, Coding, Robotics, Public Speaking, Katy, TX Speech and Debate Workshop - Virginia,VA Our Bharath and Her Story - Seattle, WA Fun and interactive Cricket Camp - Seattle, WA 13 Day Shred Event by Seattle, Seattle,WA A Guide to Composting - Workshop by Youth - Dallas,TX Annual Events Annual Fundraising Events - Tarangini, Raas, Utsav, Prerana, Alok, Vasantham, Teja, Subhada, Utsav International Yoga Day Celebration By New Jersey, Houston, Dallas, Katy, Cary Centers Mother's day Celebrations by Katy Team Virtual Walk-a-thon by Boston, Bay Area Public Speaking Contest, Boston Virtual Music Event, Detroit 10th Annual Walk-a-thon by Dallas Team This year due to COVID-19 the Annual Cancer Awareness Walk-a-thon has been switched to a virtual one and was made open to everyone around the world. The event was used to encourage healthy physical fitness practices to be followed by all for physical and mental well being while supporting Cancer Awareness Camps in Bharath. The event was concluded by recognizing three top participants who put in the most miles, Vikasa Tarangini Mahila Arogya Vikas Team virtually participated to provide insight into the events being conducted in India. Together the participants completed 20,000 Miles by doubling the goal of 10,000 miles to mark the 10th Annual Cancer Awareness Walk-a-thon. VT Seva CEO Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji participated in walk-a-thon virtually and lead us in this amazing event . Read more VT Seva stands by to Fight over the Hunger Our volunteers participated in sorting, packing, making sandwiches and donating food at 32 events prior to lockdown - here are a few : FMSC Minneapolis, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, New Jersey, Somerset Food Bank, New Jersey, Forgotten Harvest Food Bank, Detroit, MI, Central Texas Food Bank, Austin, TX, Food Bank at Raleigh, Cary, North West Harvest, Seattle, WA, Houston Food Bank, Houston, TX, Lunches of Love, Houston, TX, Food Drive for Parsippany Food Bank, North Jersey, Operation Sandwich Program - Soup Kitchen of Urban Ministry Center in Charlotte, North Charlotte, Morristown Food Bank, North Jersey, Food Bank, Chicago, IL Feed My Starving Children - Libertyville, Chicago, IL, Bay Area Homeless Shelter, San Jose, California, Food Banks of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Child Hope International, Metro Ministries, Tampa, FL, Gleaners Community Food Bank, Detroit, MI Annual Food Drives by Virginia, Houston Teams Our volunteer from Bay Area shares about volunteering at a monthly Burrito Wrapping event. Volunteering at Senior Living Centers Our youth volunteers visit senior living homes at various Centers to spend sometime and entertain them with games, presenting a song or skit, reading a book for them. It is a great way to give back. Veranda House Visit - Katy Lifecare Transition Hospice Hospital - Cary VT Seva Dallas Volunteering at Senior Living Center LSS - Lutheran Senior Services - St Louis MacArthur Hills Senior Living - Dallas Villa at Riverstone- Assisted Living - Houston Parsippany Adults Old Age home - North Jersey Environment Protection One of the core pillars of service of VT Seva is Environment Protection and raising awareness. Many branches globally celebrate Earth Day by hosting awareness events, planting, helping clean the creaks and adopted several streets , parks across USA to clean up. Serving the Differently Abled / Special Needs Children/ Adults VT Seva serves at Houston Council for Blind, Houston, FCSN, Bay Area and Camp Sunshine and Camp Snowflake, North Jersey. The teams visit and spend time engaging, entertaining, assisting, coaching. Celebrating Volunteerism VT Seva Houston, Atlanta, New Jersey, Seattle branches celebrated volunteers who won President's Volunteer Service Awards for the year 2019. Our Volunteers utilize their time and talent, sometimes cultivate a skill to support Ananya Suthram, Seattle Team a middle schooler raised funds by stitching and fixing clothes to support education of a student. Meghana Madhura Kavi a middle Schooler raised funds hosting a lemonade stand in New Jersey. Sandhya Yellapragada, Atlanta raised funds through donating all the proceeds from a book she authored and published VT Seva Seattle, Charlotte, San Antonio, Virginia, Dallas, Cary, Pittsburgh, Houston, volunteers raised funds by hosting Summer Camps Detroit Youth by hosting a GoFundMe page New Jersey Team collaborated with Sadhaka Sadhana - 15 days virtual musical concerts to raise funds Detroit collaborated with Swaravedika Team for 3rd consecutive year to raise funds. These are a few examples how their passion to support drives them. Our humble gratitude to each of you for your support - together we continue the journey of joyful volunteering. You are our strength to serve
- VT Seva Dallas presents 12th Annual Tarangini - 2021
Tarangini's motto is " One kind act can cause a ripple effect! Let's join in making one!! " Instead of cursing the darkness, we believe in lighting a lamp. The path we chose to accomplish this goal is to engage youngsters from Dallas community in Tarangini preparations and presentation to volunteer their talent (singing, dance, music, emcee skills etc) and time to raise awareness. Most of our youth leaders have firsthand experience in volunteering in local activities such as Cancer Awareness, Adopt a Street, Serving food to Homeless and at outreach projects in India such as schools and colleges for visually challenged and schools for underprivileged tribals. Because of these encouraging gestures by youth for the past 12 years, many kind hearts and philanthropists responded positively by pledging their support. This act of giving enables us in dispelling the darkness through Education. Our goal for this year is to support the education of at least 250 students from schools for tribals. Please donate by clicking HERE : Optionally you can also donate through Zelle. How ?: Please login into your bank portal, then choose Zelle payments and send your donation of $365 to treasurer@vtsworld.org. Please make sure to add a note stating the cause, "VT Seva Dallas Tarangini 2021". Although the event is virtual, we have an excellent collection of performances to enthrall the audience. Stay tuned for the virtual meeting details. For any questions, please contact us at 214-733-0805 or 469-601-4888. Click here to join the event Alternate ways to join https://www.facebook.com/100000156903567/videos/4286735148008340/
- 30 Middle Schoolers Benefit with Our Virtual Speech & Debate Club Workshop! Led by a Middle Schooler
In partnership with VT Seva Virginia Branch and her local middle school, Hrishita Mareddy, 14, conducted a Virtual Public Forum Speech and Debate Club Workshop open to all children in grades 6-8 for free. This debate club started on 10/13/2020 and ended on 10/31/2020 with a total of 9 sessions. Over this 3.5 week period, Hrishita taught over 30 middle school students public forum debate free of charge for 1.5-2 hours each session. “ Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi Debate is expensive : Many students in low-income earning families do not have the resources nor the financial security to partake in certain extracurricular activities. Speech & Debate happens to be one of them. Debating coaching centers are expensive, researching is time consuming and may cost money, and to enter national competitions, debaters often pay hefty entry fees. The students that are fortunate to be practicing debating, myself including, know that trying out for the high-school debate team is scary-enough even with experience. Giving these kids the exposure they need early on can give them an upper-hand when competing against others, and improve their speaking skills Speech & Debate gives students: Advanced public speaking skills Practice with researching/finding credible and reliable sources A strong understanding of how to develop a clear line of argumentation Essay-writing skills Argumentative and oral skills Vast general knowledge A steady foundation to base a high school debate career Ahead of the game when competing with others for a spot in debate team tryouts College applications/resumé My sincere thanks to Abhishek Chennamaraju, VT Seva, Virginia and VT Seva National Communications team for their continued support before, throughout and after the workshop sessions. By the end of the club, students were able to create their own Pro and Con cases on a given resolution. They then battled their peers in a debate match, and gained firsthand experience in public speaking and debating. They also received individualized feedback and were given all of the resource slides used in the workshop sessions. Our suggested donation fee for this club was $20, and all proceeds went to VT Seva, an amazing organization. More on their wonderful charity and volunteer community service work here: https://www.vtsworld.org/ ~ Hrishita Mareddy More About Hrishita Mareddy Hrishita Mareddy (14) is a sophomore that attends Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. She is currently in the International Baccalaureate Magnet Program, and will graduate in 2023. She has been debating for well over 4 years. Her initial interest in teaching debate began when she realized she wanted to start a club to help young students gain important skills for their college career. Speech and Debate improves presentational and oral skills, researching and argumentation, and general knowledge. She wants to thank the wonderful directors at VT Seva for giving her the opportunity to mentor. She had a blast teaching the young middle schoolers about Public Forum Debate, and cannot wait to continue the club next semester! VT Seva encourages and empowers youth to give back to the community and is very proud of volunteers like Hrishitha for utilizing their time and talent to help fellow students.
- VT SEVA Detroit Youth Board's Outreach Project
This fall, 30 VT Seva youth members from Michigan joined forces to raise thousands of dollars for underprivileged children in India. They created an online fundraiser using GoFundMe to collect donations towards the cause. VT Seva is a non- profit volunteer organization which is mostly run with the help of the youth board. "The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention."—Oscar Wilde A team of 30 , an ambitious goal, and a total of more than $7,000 raised. This fall, 30 members of the Michigan youth board started a fundraiser to raise money for the blind and tribal children of India. Due to the obstacles of COVID-19, RAAS, an annual fundraiser to raise money for these children, was canceled. We had to manage everything online in the form of Webex meetings, online fundraisers, and online group chats. All of the participants had to do most of the work alone due to the pandemic, which made it quite challenging. The main goal of their outreach project was to spread awareness about all the work that VTSeva does to help the visually challenged children in India. Our donations help the Nethra Vidyalaya schools for the visually challenged. It is a group of institutions focused on providing a value-based quality education, technology-assisted learning, and a self-reliant lifestyle to visually challenged kids. This fundraiser helps the students get high quality education and presents them with a better opportunity for success. The idea was thought of by 16 year old youth member Harish Jaisankar . By informing people about these students and VT Seva's mission to the people who are not aware of VT SEVA, the VT Seva Detroit Youth Board helped raise money for Nethra Vidyala students, their team raised $7,100. The cost of helping one blind child receive education for an entire year is $365, which means that together they helped over 19 visually challenged students. Just like any other great cause, it started out fairly slow. A goal was set that each participant must raise at least $50 which enabled them to encourage each participant to raise money. Their initial target was to raise $3000 in three weeks but by the eighth day of fundraising, they had already surpassed their goal. This led them to increase their goal to $6,600. However, they also exceeded their goal again on the 18th day. Finally, they increased their goal to $10,000, campaign is still going on. Every member who committed to the cause made sure they reached their personal goals. Their outreach project helped contribute to this cause as they put together their efforts to spread the word. The fundraiser lasted over the course of 21 days. Over the course of this time, members asked many people for donations through gofundme.com. It was a great way to gain experience, and be an active part of society. Our fundraiser and message reached well beyond the United States’s borders. For example, we got a number of donations from India and Australia. This project helped bring attention to our service group from foreign countries. All our participants helped spread the word of VTSEVA. Some of our participants took initiatives at school to spread the word even more. They hung up posters around their schools as well as asked their teachers to donate. Many teachers were incredibly interested and impressed by our generous cause. By doing this, our participants brought so much more attention to the visually impaired in India and VT SEVA's contribution. This project was supported by Youth Board members as young as eight years old . Adhip , Jansi , Chandini , and Ritvija are our youngest members and they helped raise a ton of money and bring awareness to our cause. We believe that leadership should start young and by helping collect donations, our four young members proved that leadership in youth is attainable. Youth is the backbone of our nation and it is our job to encourage them from a young age to grow and become responsible citizens. The members of our team shared their personal experiences and explained the feeling of being able to change lives and bring smiles to many faces . It took a lot of phone calls, text messages, and emails to reach people. Volunteers reflect on their personal experiences: Oviya , Saisha , and Risha talked about how rewarding the experience felt. Teja , Yasaswini , and Shreya explain how great the experience was for them. Sathvik , Abhinav , Nikhil , and Harish say they are grateful for the opportunity. Teja , Yasaswini , and Shreya explain how great the experience was for them. Sanjana , Rashmita , and Jansi explain their joy of giving “During the journey of Go Funding I found true generous donors who gave silently without hope of reward!! I appreciate them!”— Niharika , Chandini , and Arya “I am very happy that I was able to contribute towards the education of the students in Netra Vidyalaya. The experience has made me become more compassionate towards not so privileged people.” discuss Adhip , Aishani , Amogh “This project taught me how to reach out to people. I am very proud that I was a part of something that helped so many kids.” — Shrikha , Nikita , Ritvija “Even during this time, I was really glad that I was able to reach society and explain to them what VTSeva is and how we help. Every time when I got the donation it made me feel really happy.” as written by Kaavya , Soham , and Srihari Siddharth , Sohan , and Vaibhav reflect, “This fundraiser gave me the opportunity to raise awareness for a great cause. I am really grateful to be part of this wonderful organization.” “Being a part of this fundraiser made me realize how much one person can impact such a big society.”— Anagha , and Srujan Overall, our outreach program helped bring a lot of awareness to VT Seva and our cause, enabling us to help visually impaired children attain better education and future. Seeing all the smiles on these kids's faces brought joy to all of us. “ Giving is not just about making a donation, it's about making a difference.” - Kathy Calvin . The experiences of our participants show that each and every one of them are very grateful to the donors and VT Seva for giving them this opportunity. Detroit Youth Board Members Thanking the donor Special Thanks to: Blog Written By: Nikitha Talwar , Shrikha Atchutuni Collage Made By: Rashmitha Ragunathan Video Made By: Oviya Jaisankar, Harish Jaisankar
- VT Seva Seattle ART Fundraiser Event
A team of Art lovers from youth club has started this adventure. Their main goal here is to evoke their creativity and come up with a way to portray the feelings achievements and accomplishments of the kids from Netra and Jeeyar Gurukul. Through Art work we want to tell the stories of Thrinadh, Gangajala and many others to the community. An example of the work is shown in the flyer. For more information please email Seattle.director@vtsworld.org
- VT SEVA-Seattle Cricket Coaching Camp
VT SEVA Seattle branch conducted a 6-week Cricket Coaching Camp, August - October 2020. 26 children ages 5-13 participated in the fun filled program from Seattle Area. Trainees were invited to sign up to attend a virtual orientation, followed by a trial session open to participants and parents to get a feel for the program. Precautions were taken and the best hygienic practices were enforced through out the program. Participants were given a choice to choose between taped tennis ball, and a slightly harder tennis ball. The six-weeks were split into three 2-week sprints, where we focused on basics, techniques, and game scenarios, respectively. Closing ceremony was conducted with a scrimmage between all the kids. In the ceremony, VT Seva Youth and Seattle Board shared about VT Seva's activities, and invited the families to join to help serve more people in need. Because the need is huge and we need everyone to step forward. Participants were presented commemorative wristbands for the program followed by nice refreshments. Cricket Coaching was an opportunity for the kids to get a safe, active outlet during the pandemic which was enjoyed by the participants and Youth Volunteers while knowing their effort is leading to support Schools for Tribals and Schools for Visually challenged in India raising $ 2500 towards the cause. We thank Varnon Srinivasan, Neha Aitharaju, Pavan Kotti, Vivek Chilakala, Samvit Garg, Kavya Yeremelli, Arnav Thappesandra, Sumedha Kanumuri, Adam D’mello, Rishi Sharma, Shyam Ramesh and VT Seva Seattle Leadership Team for collaborating on planning and execution of the program. - By Srihari Krishnaswamy, Hi All, I’m Srihari Krishnaswamy, I’m the Sports Lead at VTS Seattle, and have been with the branch for the past 2 years now. I first joined near the end of 2018, and like many of the volunteers at VTS Seattle, I was captivated by the branch’s effectiveness in accomplishing goals and wanted to help them make a difference. I was first exposed to JET at a very young age, and had the opportunity to meet Swami Ji. I have always loved the game of cricket, whether I was playing in leagues in the US, or watching India dominate from thousands of miles away. The sport has allowed me to make so many meaningful connections and learn how to be accountable and lead effectively. I started playing when I was about 9. Along the way, I learned meaningful drills, strategies, and techniques that I knew I could pass onto others. VT SEVA Cricket gave my peers and me an opportunity to do that, and we could not be more thankful. We knew that we had potential to provide an increase of outreach and donations for VTS and are glad that we were able to do that in our own type of way. Reflecting on the fact that we were able to further the game with younger kids, while also enabling the underprivileged in India learn in school was truly heartwarming.
- Stitch & Fix – Meet Ananya, Our Youth Volunteer
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” Oscar Wilde VT Seva team is proud to present one of our amazing youth volunteers - Ananya Suthram. This Middle Schooler proves, it is the intention to help others that matters, and you can easily find a way. Lets hear how she made a difference in her own words: This journey started with my interest in stitching, and the desire to help those in need, especially in these challenging times of Covid-19. I started sewing masks and taking orders for minor fixes and altering pant lengths, with the intention of raising funds. For every article of clothing I mend, I asked for a suggested donation of $5 or more. At the end of summer, I raised a total of $365, which was donated to support education of one student from Schools for Visually Challenged / Schools for Tribals supported by VT Seva for a year. Thanks to my mother, who was the inspiration behind this project, and the rest of my family who supported me through my journey. I would also like to thank all the people who donated and encouraged my efforts, for I couldn’t have reached my goal without them. I was delighted to know that my endeavors also inspired another person to stitch as well. Together we stitched masks and donated them. - Ananya Suthram – VT SEVA Seattle Wishing many more years of joyful service Ananya! Hello! My name is Ananya Suthram and I am at my last year in middle school at Issaquah, WA. My hobbies include sewing, coding, dancing, and skating. I have been serving with VT SEVA Seattle branch for seven years, through UTSAV, and many other volunteering activities. I originally joined VT SEVA because I found it amazing to see other people my age working hard to give back to the society, they live in. I am proud to say that I am a part of this great organization. VT Seva empowers youth to own and lead Volunteering events from a very young age.
- VT Seva Bay Area - Visual Arts Talent Show
Welcome to the VT Seva Visual Arts Talent Show! The VT Seva talent show will be an exciting event in which participants with a variety of wonderful talents will be able to perform. Visual art performances of each student can vary from cultural Indian to western and fusions. Registration is $12 per participant and all of the funds raised will directly go to Netra Vidyalaya to support visually changed students! We are excited to see what you can put together! Certificates will be awarded to all participants! Event Date : Dec. 5, 2020, 11 AM PST Onwards Entrance Fee: $12 For any questions, please contact us at vts.talentshow@gmail.com
- VTSeva Bay Area - Game Night
Welcome to VT Seva’s Game Night! The main event will be a Fortnite tournament that people can compete in to win gift cards! Anyone of any age can also join our zoom meeting to have fun by playing different games with others, such as the popular game Among Us, and others such as Jackbox Party, and skribble.io! Any other games that you think we should add? When you register, you can suggest any other free games that can be accessible to anyone and we’ll consider adding it. 100% of the funds earned from this event will go straight towards visually-challenged children. Please join this event to not only have fun playing games, but also make a difference and help children in need! Game Night - Nov. 27, 2020 Event Start Time: 4 PM Event End Time: 8 PM Main Event: Video Game competition Fortnite tournament More details will be given during the event Gift Card Prizes for the Top 3 Casual Zoom Game Night Event: Among Us Gimkit Jackbox Party Skribble.io Spyfall Mafia Leave any suggestions for other video games on the registration form! For any questions, please contact us at vtsgamenight@gmail.com
- Speak Your Vision Virtual Speech Contest
VT Seva Bay Area is organizing its 3rd annual speech contest, this time in a virtual format! The goal of this event is to raise money for underprivileged and visually challenged students in India. All students from elementary through high school are encouraged to participate, regardless of speech experience. The tournament will be run using zoom rooms and communication will be facilitated through Slack. Click to learn more... Cash Prizes and Certificates awarded to winners. For anyone new to public speaking: We will be holding a seminar to teach important skills and answer any questions, on Sunday, November 29th, 4-6 p.m. More info will be given out to those who register. Date: December 6, 2020 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM PST Fee: Competitors are required to pay a $25.00 entry fee. ANYONE IS WELCOME : We have categories for any skill level! Platform (Prewritten Speeches): Novice: [For competitors with less speech experience] (A prewritten speech about any topic or issue that you are passionate about: 3 to 6 minutes) Open: [For more competitive speakers] (A speech for any of the platform events, OO, OA, Expos: 8 to 11 minute speech) Impromptu: [For competitors with any level of experience] A 3 to 5 minute speech given with 2 minutes of preparation. (You will be given a random topic to talk about) If we have enough entries, we will divide this by grade level For any information, please contact us at speakurvision@gmail.com Why we’re running this contest We are running this contest to raise funds for visually challenged and underprivileged students in India. All proceeds will be donated for students' education. Each student requires only one dollar a day, or 365 dollars a year for their needs to be fulfilled. Our goal for this event is to support 3 students each for a year. For more information on our cause, visit https://www.vtsworld.org/mydonation
- VTSeva Bay Area - Cooking For A Cause
Hi folks! Interested in cooking or wanting to learn how to cook? We invite you to join our virtual cooking workshop! Come learn some fun and simple recipes that you can make with the most basic ingredients and minimal heat! There will be four sessions conducted in November- Every Saturday, 4 - 5:30 PM PST. You will learn from several young hosts on how to make easy appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks. It will be an interactive, as we'll all be cooking as well! No experience is required. Step-by-step, our hosts will lead you through the process of making super easy and enjoyable recipes from the comfort of your own home! By Cooking for a Cause, you will be helping provide education for underprivileged students in India (All the proceeds (including fees and donations) go to those students!) We hope to see you there! Event : Cooking For A Cause Date : Every Saturday in November 2020; 11/7, 11/14, 11/21& 11/28 Time: 4 - 5:30 pm PST Ticket Price: Per person, the participation fees are $10 per class, but if you pay forward for the entire workshop, its only $35!
- VTSeva Bay Area - Read for Education
Do you enjoy reading? Why not Read for a Cause? Every book you read will help tribal children in India get education they deserve. The person with the most books read will EVEN win a prize! Our goal is to sponsor atleast 2 children which needs us to raise $730. During this fundraising activity, we request you to pledge a minimum of 5 dollars per book read. In addition to pledges, parents can make a flat donation to our cause. When you first register, input your name, parent’s name, and parent’s contact information. This Read-a-thon will go on from October 19 - December 19, 2020. You can input your donation for the number of books you plan to read during this period. If you have any questions, please contact us at readathonvtseva@gmail.com
- VT Seva Detroit E-Musical Event , Sing for a cause
VT Seva Detroit with support of Swaravedika Detroit Chapter is organizing a musical event as a part of RAAS 2020 fundraising for Tribal and Visually Challenged kids. Please join, Sing and Support. November 1st, 2020 from 1 PM onwards ZOOM ROOM Participation fee of $10 for solo and $20 for duet/Group singing. **Songs are taken on first come first serve basis. In case of duplicates, the former will have an advantage and the later will be asked to pick another song. **Song duration is STRICTLY 5 minutes. To support one kid's Education its just "Dollar a Day" - $365 a year. for more information please click here : https://www.vtsworld.org/mydonation For more information @ 213-399-2315 / 949-232-9477
- Meet Trinadh Nekkanti - Our Alumni from our Nethra Vidyalaya
"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail." – Charles Kettering On Sept 6th we met with Alumni of our Netra Vidyalaya, Trinadh Nekkanti , who graduated with Bachelors in Commerce. He is currently working at Allegis Group as a Recruiter. He shared his experience with all the wonderful donors and volunteers who made this possible. When asked what is your message to us? He shared that he believes in giving to the community and talked about his inspiration. He currently is supporting orphanages and love giving back to society through teaching or donating. He also said if it was not for Netra Vidyalaya he wouldn't have adopted such a sense of social service. He is a great example for many of us to pay it forward. In Trinadh's words - Check out our other videos in this series: VT Seva YouTube We would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to all the donors who support us and make this possible. Please join hands in shaping the better future for the underprivileged, together we can. Please visit, www.vtsworld.org/mydonation .
- VT SEVA Covid Volunteer Activity Report-Seattle Youth team
Two projects, Grocery Delivery Project & 13 Day Shred—VTSEVA Report Due to the drastic societal effects of this global pandemic, the Grocery Delivery Project and the 13 Day Shred were created in order to help engage and support a multitude of families and communities. Throughout the 13 Day Shred, families and kids were able to participate in engaging workouts at home despite a majority of gyms being closed. The Grocery Delivery Project was crafted to acquire non-perishable food items as donations for the community as many Americans are currently suffering to makes ends meet because of the pandemic. Thank you to our volunteers (Aakarsh Dhilip, Pranav Nair, and Chinmay Koimuttum) who have worked hard to organize these programs to work as effectively as possible. We created these programs to be as easily accessible as possible, making it convenient for anyone who wished to participate in them. For the Grocery Delivery Project, volunteers advertised the program through various different avenues in order to reach as many potential participants as possible. Over the course of 4 weeks, participants left their food donations by their front doors for our volunteers to pick up every Saturday. These donations would then all be donated to Northwest Harvest on specific dates. In total, The Grocery Delivery Project was able to reach 46 families, and with the support of all of our participants, was able to donate 1560 lbs worth of donations. The 13 Day Shred was a workout program that occurred over the course of one month. With adequate rest days in between for recovery, the program involved 13 exercise videos catered to participants of all fitness levels. The exercises involved little to no equipment, allowing for anyone to participate. The videos also entailed nutrition segments which provided helpful nutrition tips and advice for participants. Thank you, Chinmay Koimuttum VTSEVA Seattle Jai Srimannarayana! My name is Chinmay Koimuttum, and I have been on the VTSEVA youth board for two years. I was drawn into VTSEVA by witnessing the support and guidance that the youth board is provided with by all of our adults and mentors. This guidance and inspiration are what motivated me to help run the 13 Day Shred and the Grocery Delivery Project. I am extremely thankful to both Aakarsh and Pranav, as well as everyone who participated and volunteered to make these programs successful. My name is Pranav, and I worked alongside other members of VTSEVA to take part in "The 13 Day Shred". I was interested in helping create videos for this series because I found it hard to continuously exercise during the past few months, so I wanted to eliminate this problem for others. By providing exercise videos every couple of days, people will stay motivated to keep fit during these times. I also took part in the Grocery Delivery program. I was motivated to help because I knew that I was making a positive difference in our community. While delivering food does not sound complicated, it helps many people who previously did not have access to the amount of food that many of us take for granted. Hello! My name is Aakarsh and I have had the privilege of serving on the VTSeva youth board for the past two years. My association with VTSeva has not only helped me embrace and understand the true spirit of volunteerism, but more importantly, VTSeva has allowed me to truly grasp the meaning of empathizing with the people around us. With every initiative that is carried out, the transformative impact that is created on countless lives make the VTSeva experience a fulfilling, cathartic journey. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I and a few of my VTSeva friends created the Grocery Delivery Project with the intention of providing non-perishable food donations to those reeling from the effects of the pandemic. We executed this plan by picking up donations from the doorstep of interested donors and delivering those donations to local food banks while abiding to all Covid-19 health guidelines. We were blessed to have raised over 1500 pounds of donations during the course of our project and we are proud that our small efforts contributed towards putting food on someone’s plate during these tough times. During this pandemic, I also co-created the 13-day shred program which was designed to motivate people to work out during the pandemic by providing videos, every other day, of simple workouts for people of all ages. Our goal with this program was to encourage our viewers to adopt a healthier lifestyle and instill the discipline of working out on a continual basis. THANK YOU
- Bharat and Her History—VTSEVA Youth Report
During this pandemic, Bharat and Her History was created in order to provide an easy way for families and kids to learn about Indian history. Classes were structured and created in an easily understandable format, allowing for people of all ages to be able to engage with the classes in a meaningful way. Through this program, we managed to teach 60 families about Indian history from the ancient times all the way to the beginnings of the colonial era. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and teachers (Kiran Vangala, Chinmay Koimuttum, and Swadesh Sistla) for devoting many hours to organizing, planning, and preparing the classes and lesson plans. The PowerPoints and presentations were designed in a way to be both informative, captivating, and entertaining for the kids and families that joined these classes. Once a week, over the course of four weeks, we were able to present segments of Indian history in a concise and chronologically sound format. Classes covered significant wars, inner politics, external politics, major empires and dynasties, exceptional heroes, significant kings and queens, foreign invasions, indigenous resistance, and many aspects of Indian history that are quite substantial to India’s history but remain undiscussed. It is our hope that these classes would inspire and trigger a spark of desire to learn more about the plethora that is Indian history. We also wish that it would provide some inspiration for the youngsters present to delve deeper into the history of their own ancestors and culture, allowing them to remain connected to the ethos of India despite living abroad. Thanks to our partnership with JETUSA, we were able to connect with families all over the country, allowing the impact of this program to extend beyond the boundaries of Seattle. It is our hope that this program impacted and inspired the families and youth watching to learn more about the history of India. Thank you, Chinmay Koimuttum VTSEVA Seattle Jai Srimannarayana! My name is Chinmay Koimuttum, and I have been on the VTSEVA youth board for two years. One of the many incredible aspects of VTSEVA that I love is the support and guidance that the youth board is provided with by all of our adults and mentors. I initially fell in love with Indian history after learning about the marvelous life of Maharana Pratap, which eventually led me to explore further about the history of India. OUR TEAM: Kiran Vangala Chinmay Koimuttum Swadesh Sistla Photos from the program:
- VT SEVA ATLANTA YOUTH TEAM
Youth Rocks!! During this COVID-19 Pandemic , our youth team came forward to help the community by volunteering to Stitch few Face masks . We thank all our volunteers for their incessant support. Kudos to you all Chinmay Krishna Dongari Age 17 12th Grade Made 29 Masks Shravika Billakanti Age 16 11th grade Made 27 Masks Sumir Nemani Age 18 GA Tech Made 50 Masks Mehar Nemani Age 16 11th Grade Made 50 masks Sreeja Sappati Age 15 10th grade Made 100 Masks Sumana Chilakamarri Age 17 12th grade Made 75 Masks Adithya Karthik Upadhyatula Age 12 7th Grade Made 300 Masks Siri Chandana Arkatala Age 13 9th grade Made 250 Masks Pranav Arkatala Age 15 10th Grade Made 250 Masks Manasi Oleti Age 17 12th grade Made 60 Masks Trisha Vemulapalli Age 14 9th grade Made 90 Masks Rikhilsai Duvvuri Age 12 7th grade Made 300 Masks THANK YOU


















