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VT Seva North Jersey is working closely with local hospitals and is responding to the need of Face masks and PPE. New Jersey is one of the hard hit states and is in dire need of protective gear for Health care professionals. Several professionals who are fighting COVID-19 risking their lives are getting infected and need immediate support. Dr. Ramya, ER Doctor, Newton Medical Center shared that Doctors need N-95 masks as they get even visibly dirty within couple of hours and we are wearing the same mask all day long. VT Seva is raising funds to provide 2000 KN-95 masks for St. Claire Healthcare and other local hospitals. We will continue to monitor and provide support as needed to other highly impacted cities. Thanks Anjani garu for contribution, it’s a great help, We all from newton hospital would like to thank you VT Seva. I am treating couple of ENT physicians and couple of Primary Care Physicians in our hospital who are exposed to COVID-19. ENT physician is in verge to be placed on ventilation. Any contribution toward this good cause will be helpful. Thank you every one supporting in this crazy situation, Be safe - Dr. Santosh from St. Claire. 100% of the funds donated go towards providing medical supplies in North Jersey. The need is more, the time is NOW! Let us support and protect our Health care professionals.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Although a small quote made by Winston Churchill, this is a quote that I’ve always carried around in my heart. Not because I knew what it meant, but because I didn’t know what it meant until now. As children of immigrants brought up in a luxurious lifestyle, courage is a word that is simply defined by a teacher, symbolized in the novels studied, and applied as a characteristic of an ideal, perfect personality. Yet as we grow older and struggle to maintain our identity, the true meaning of courage becomes more nebulous and distant. Success becomes our goal and courage becomes a by-product of it. We aspire “to go to the best college and become the richest [respective profession] no matter what” and as a result, there's a group of us who achieved that and aren’t quite satisfied, and on the other hand, a group of people who failed to achieve that and are utterly disappointed. But perhaps none of these people know about the struggle someone is going through just to get to the position they are at. Through volunteering for VT Seva, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn about students like Uma Bharati, Jyothi, and countless others who studied in School for Tribals, which crafts copious opportunities for the less-fortunate based on their aptitude. Many of these students come from tribal communities, or communities where, forget education, even basic necessities are things that they have been robbed of. Almost 90% of India’s tribal people live in incredibly remote areas, and by now it is a known fact that many doctors and hospital corporations are averse to serve in rural areas alone, signifying the numerous challenges involved for indigenous people to gain adequate healthcare and food. Ignored by society, potential victims of Naxals, deprived of basic human necessities, and plagued by malnutrition, one can only imagine how grim the future of these innocent children is. Therefore, with this fore knowledge in mind, as I read about these children and the accomplishments they paved their way to, I was astonished. For example, Uma Bharati, the daughter of tribal parents, native to Mesalabhoomanna gudam, Kaddam mandal, Nirmal dist., Telangana, studied in Jeeyar Gurukulam at Allampalli, and worked her way to studying at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) . While most of these students aspire to reach greater heights in their lives and go through so many hardships to grasp their dreams, their fellow mates (who do not attend the the school) struggle to earn a living, herding cattle and doing daily labor work. I felt overwhelmed. Despite being abandoned and harshly oppressed by society, all these kids, who are my exact age, get up every morning determined to learn, whatever the circumstances. The amount of courage, resilience, and preservation needed to go on such a journey is fathomless, prodigious, and immeasurable. And on the other side of the globe, here we are, privileged enough to have an education that our parents worked so hard to give us, selfishly worrying about gaining more and becoming more. We don’t just aspire to be wealthy and well settled professionals, but we take for granted and don’t appreciate what’s right in front of us. What we have and they don’t have is the same thing- the ample latitude of opportunity. It’s not something we are unaware of; but it is something we aren’t well aware of. When asked what courage is, I can only point in the direction of these children. These children, who rise above the injustice they face. These children, who aren’t scared of failing and aren’t dying to succeed, but simply desire the chance to try. No, Courage isn’t a by-product of success. Nor is it the path of success. It’s waking up everyday with the determination these children have, and it’s the patient diligence they face the world with. And if there is anything these valiant fellow students have taught me, it is that the journey is more important than the destination. And that is the true, raw definition of courage. -Naimisha, Atlanta, GA

On February 8th, 2020, VTSeva Dallas hosted our 11th Annual Tarangini Program. Our main theme for the program was fundraising for Women Health Camps (Prevention and Early detection of Cancer). Taking inspiration from the women health camps conducted by VT Seva's sister organization in India – “Vikasa Tarangini Mahila Arogya Vikas” for past decade impacting a million women through 1000 camps for free, a Government Order (G.O) was issued by Telangana State Government, Women and Child Welfare Ministry in June 2019 to collaborate with us and conduct health camps all over the state. To honor the above announcement and to multiply our positive impact,  our VT Seva Dallas team decided to raise funds to conduct as many camps as we sponsored for the past 10 years in just a year of 2020! Our goal was to raise funds to support 100 Women Health Camps. To date of this article, we have raised funds to conduct 70 camps and we are positive that with pledges to be realized and corporate matching to be completed, we will meet the goal of 100 camps. Our Tarangini program raised awareness about Women Health Camps with effective video presentation, slide deck and emceeing. We focused on various regions of India that camps were conducted and informed our audience of where they all were conducted as well as what goes into conducting a camp. Our youth educated the audience throughout the event to help raise more to reach our goal about our service activities throughout the year all over USA and India. Our stage performances during the program were also based on cultures from the same Indian regions that the camps were conducted at. Our programs ranged from North Indian regional dances, to South Indian classical dances, a few multi-lingual singing performances, and even an all-world fashion show! We invited the Pro Tem Mayor of Plano, Mr. Rick Smith as a Chief Guest to attend the event. Mayor Smith spoke a few noble words about VT Seva and the importance of community service. At the end of his speech, the Mayor, presented VT Seva with a certificate of commendation as a token of appreciation. Following the program, he extended partnership on behalf of City of Plano for new initiatives to serve the community through VT Seva. VT Seva Dallas Branch Director Mr. Priyatam Burgadda gave energetic vote of thanks to appreciate the volunteers, supporters and sponsors. He announced and introduced the new VT Seva team for 2020 to carry the torch of service.Our program would not have been possible without our dynamic volunteer team. From youth to adults, we all worked together to make it happen. Apart from our core volunteering team, we had almost 50+ volunteers helping with event management, decoration, serving food, and helping anywhere else needed. We also had many new members who showed interest in taking part in our monthly/quarterly activities and signed up at the venue itself! VTSeva Dallas would like to thank all our volunteers, for making the 11th Annual Tarangini a grand success. We hope to organize many more events throughout the year to do more service. More pictures

While VT SEVA has a vast global footprint, it also supports many local organizations and two such organizations from Houston are - Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) and Houston Council of the Blind (HCB). Friedreich’s Ataxia is a life shortening disorder which has symptoms such as vision impairment and muscle weakness and many more. Only about 15000 people in the world have this disorder, which currently has no cure. During Alo:k Fundraising event by VT Seva Houston in November 2019, Houston team invited two patients of FARA who are teenagers, and current member of the Governing Board of the Texas School for the Blind, and visually impaired Reverend Michael E Garrett to accept Scholarships. FARA has been handed a check of $1000 and HCB received two checks of $1000 each by Mrs. Aparna Kamatam, Advisor, VT Seva. The scholarship recipients are Ignacio Osbaldo Suarez, who will be earning a Business Associate in Arts and Shaheen Sadrialaei a rising undergraduate majoring in Finance and Accounting. The mission of the Houston Council of the Blind (HCB) is to improve the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life for visually impaired aligns very closely with VT Seva's service activities in educating visually challenged to give them a independent and dignified life. Some of HCB events or activities include an ongoing mentoring program for students, member support, exchange of ideas, fund raising, and distribution of annual scholarships to qualified students to assist them in their college careers. VT Seva Houston team also assists HCB in their monthly meetings.

Meet Gopalachari, member of Andhra Pradesh Cricket Team, Champions of IndusInd Nagesh T20 National Cricket Tournament for the Blind held on January 22, 2020 at Chinnasamy Stadium at Bengaluru. VT Seva is proud of his accomplishments and wishing him all the very best with his future endeavors. "I am K. Gopalachari. I have completed graduation in B. COM ( Computers ) in Nethra Vidyalaya Degree College (Schools for Visually challenged) supported by VT Seva." I lost my eye sight in the early years of childhood in an accident while playing with my sisters. My father is a daily laborer and my mother is a home maker and we belong to under developed area in Rayalaseema. After losing my vision I continued studying in regular school. It was very difficult for me to follow the lessons and understand due to my eye condition. With the help of my friends and teachers, I have completed my 10th class with difficulty. After passing my 10th grade, my vision gradually started fading, I lost my hope for further studies. But suddenly I got hope and optimism after knowing about the Junior College for Visually Challenged (Nethra Vidyalaya) from one of my relatives. I have joined the college in 2012 for studying Intermediate level education. There I have learned many things like Spoken English, Operating the computers, chanting slokas, playing games. I still remember the special classes conducted by VT Seva CEO and Netra Vidyalaya Visionary Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, through which I learned many morals and ethics. Subsequently I have improved my playing skills specially in Cricket. Teachers at the college encouraged me to learn various things. At the college for Visually challenged, I have appeared for exams by using laptop, which gave me the utmost satisfaction and self confidence - previously I used to write my exams with the help of scribe. Writing exams on laptops is one of the unique thing in Nethra Vidyalayam and first of its kind in India. This makes me independent and confident. In Netra Vidyalayam we have been provided with free laptop, free education and free accommodation. In 2014 I have completed Intermediate in CEC and I secured more than 85%. Then I have continued my graduation in Netra Vidyalaya Degree college. During my graduation days my focus was mainly playing cricket for my country. This wish paved me to focus more on cricket, at this critical juncture, Swamiji and my teachers gave ultimate encouragement and propelled me for playing at various levels including local, state and zonal competitions. With the blessings of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, I performed well at various tournaments. Then I have been selected for the National Blind Team from the state of Andhra Pradesh as all rounder for my best performance. Indian Blind Cricket team captain Mr. Ajay Kumar and other prominent players in the team encouraged me to play for the National team. In this way Nethra Vidyalaya has given me good career in cricket. Nethra Vidyalaya is helping by sponsoring and providing financial assistance to pursue my profession as a cricketer. I have completed my graduation in the year 2017 and I secured 86%. After graduation I have joined as a Computer operator in Sri Chaitanya Junior College, Vijayawada to support my family financially. Now I got another opportunity to play for Ranji matches at domestic level. I am playing Ranji matches with the help of Baby madam and Madhuri Madam. I am grateful and thankful to Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji for the support and cooperation in the form of education provided through School for Visually Challenged. Now I have a goal to play first class and International cricket for the blind on behalf of my mother land (India). Till today and days to come, I am indebted to Sri Swamiji as He gave my life a meaning with of his generosity and everlasting blessings, and pushing me forward in my life. I take this opportunity to thank all the teachers and Management of Netra Vidyalayam for making my life worth living and giving new hope in my life. My deepest gratitude to my hope and guiding light - Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji. Read about T-20 Championship

Jan 22, 2020: VT Seva congratulates Gopalachari K and Ravindra Vangapandu who represented Andhra Padesh at the IndusInd Nagesh T20 National Cricket Tournament for the Blind held on January 22, 2020 at Chinnasamy Stadium at Bengaluru. VT Seva is very proud of his accomplishment and would like to take you through his journey of of becoming a Champion. In Ravindra's words: "I joined (Nethra Vidyalaya) School for Visually Challenged in 2009 to continue my studies. I joined 7th class in Nethra Vidyalaya. Before joining this school, while my other friends were able to understand the lessons being taught I used to struggle to learn due to my eye sight. " After seeing my struggle, my father decided to join me in blind school. He came to know about Nethra Vidyalaya from my relatives. After joining in Nethra Vidyalaya, every teacher took care of me and helped in every aspect. Now I am playing for Andhra Pradesh Cricket Team. When I joined in Nethra Vidyalaya, I didn’t know how to play cricket. My teachers encouraged me to play the cricket. Without disturbing my studies I started playing cricket simultaneously. My parents annual income is 55,000/-. It is very difficult to maintain family with that. We are three and I am the younger one. Luckily I got an opportunity to study in School for Visually Challenged (Nethra Vidyalaya). We are very much thankful to Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji for giving us hope to lead a happy life. After joining in Netra Vidyalaya entire staff helped me a lot especially Baby madam. Every student has a dream, with Swamiji’s blessings my dreams are fulfilling. It is not very easy to be selected in Professional team. I tried many times and went for selections. In 2019, I got selected in Andhra Pradesh team as an all rounder. Because of my economic status I struggled a lot for going to selection all over India. My 10 years hard work and my teachers encouragement made me finally a successful man. My ambition is to play in International format. After the completion of my school education, I joined in Nethra Jr. College which is unique in India. After Intermediate I got seat in University of Hyderabad, done my graduation there. Then I got seat in Pondicherry Central University for MBA program. Every day I say thank you to Sri Swamiji because if he did not establish Nethra Vidyalaya Institute, children like me can’t stand on their own feet and have a financially independent life. Once again thank you Swamiji, Nethra Vidyalaya and Baby madam for helping me till date." Read about T-20 Championship

VT Seva Boston is conducting a public speaking contest. Come join us for this contest conducted for children from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and win exciting prizes. Location 1: Shrewsbury, March 14th 2pm - 4pm Shrewsbury Public Library 609 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Location 2: Billerica March 21st 2pm - 5pm 267 Boston rd, #9, North Billerica, MA 01862 Location 3: Walpole March 21st 10 AM - Noon Walpole Public Library 143 School Street - Walpole, MA 02081 Last Day for Submission : Friday before the contest date at each location Winners will be announced on 04/05/2020 and best of each category has an opportunity to receive trophies (04/11/2020, Sruthilayalu event). Participants will be provided with Fruits and water Category 1 Kindergarten- 2nd grade. Topic: Who is your role model and their impact to the community ( (Time limit) 3mins Category 2 3rd grade – 5th grade Topic: What would you do if you were a President for a day (Time limit) 3mins Category 3 6th grade – 8th grade Topic: Innovative Business idea to prevent global warming (Time limit) 3mins Category 4 9th grade to 12th grade Topic: Growing up as a teen in USA (Time limit) 3mins Projector is allowed Presentation can be Poster board, Poem, Song, Skit, Rap, props. So get creative Points will be given for the following: Creativity Organization Content Presentation Time Management Rubric: Usage of prompts Organization Content Presentation Time Management Video contest Video contest topic: Mother Earth, Registration fee: $50 Teams of 3 to 5 people, no age limit Entries due by March 6th, 2020 Please email your entries to boston.director@vtsworld.org Time limit: 3 mins

Jan 22, 2020: VT Seva congratulates Gopalachari K and Ravindra Vangapandu who represented Andhra Padesh at the IndusInd Nagesh T20 National Cricket Tournament for the Blind held on January 22, 2020 at Chinnasamy Stadium at Bengaluru. Both Gopi and Ravindra are alumni of Schools for Visually Challenged supported by VT Seva. They both moved from regular schools to Schools for Visually Challenged as their vision deteriorated in childhood. The schools for Visually Challenged not only provided them with education specially designed for the Visually Challenged, but also proud to sponsor their education, sports, food and boarding for the past decade. The teachers and staff encouraged them in extra curricular activities including Cricket. Gopi and Ravindra both developed a great interest for the sport and were highly encouraged by Sri Swamiji and the Teachers to pursue their dreams. They started playing at several local and district level Cricket tournaments. Their perseverance and passion for the sport coupled with the encouragement and financial support from VT Seva helped them find an opportunity to play with Andhra Pradesh Team at National level, and made them champions today. The Tournament was conducted by Cricket Association for the Blind in India. Cricket for Blind [C4B] is a version of the sport of cricket adapted for blind and partially sighted players. Gopi and Ravindra expressed their heartfelt gratitude to VT Seva for helping by sponsoring and providing financial assistance to pursue their dream of playing professional cricket and also represent India at International level. Let us wish them all the very best in their endeavors. In Gop'is words: "I am K. Gopalachari. I have completed graduation in B. COM ( Computers ) in Nethra Vidyalaya Degree College (Schools for Visually challenged) supported by VT Seva." I lost my eye sight in the early years of childhood in an accident while playing with my sisters. My father is a daily laborer and my mother is a home maker and we belong to under developed area in Rayalaseema. After losing my vision I continued studying in regular school. It was very difficult for me to follow the lessons and understand due to my eye condition. With the help of my friends and teachers, I have completed my 10th class with difficulty. After passing my 10th grade, my vision gradually started fading, I lost my hope for further studies. But suddenly I got hope and optimism after knowing about the Junior College for Visually Challenged (Nethra Vidyalaya) from one of my relatives. I have joined the college in 2012 for studying Intermediate level education. There I have learned many things like Spoken English, Operating the computers, chanting slokas, playing games. I still remember the special classes conducted by VT Seva CEO and Netra Vidyalaya Visionary Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, through which I learned many morals and ethics. Subsequently I have improved my playing skills specially in Cricket. Teachers at the college encouraged me to learn various things. At the college for Visually challenged, I have appeared for exams by using laptop, which gave me the utmost satisfaction and self confidence - previously I used to write my exams with the help of scribe. Writing exams on laptops is one of the unique thing in Nethra Vidyalayam and first of its kind in India. This makes me independent and confident. In Netra Vidyalayam we have been provided with free laptop, free education and free accommodation. In 2014 I have completed Intermediate in CEC and I secured more than 85%. Then I have continued my graduation in Netra Vidyalaya Degree college. During my graduation days my focus was mainly playing cricket for my country. This wish paved me to focus more on cricket, at this critical juncture, Swamiji and my teachers gave ultimate encouragement and propelled me for playing at various levels including local, state and zonal competitions. With the blessings of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, I performed well at various tournaments. Then I have been selected for the National Blind Team from the state of Andhra Pradesh as all rounder for my best performance. Indian Blind Cricket team captain Mr. Ajay Kumar and other prominent players in the team encouraged me to play for the National team. In this way Nethra Vidyalaya has given me good career in cricket. Nethra Vidyalaya is helping by sponsoring and providing financial assistance to pursue my profession as a cricketer. I have completed my graduation in the year 2017 and I secured 86%. After graduation I have joined as a Computer operator in Sri Chaitanya Junior College, Vijayawada to support my family financially. Now I got another opportunity to play for Ranji matches at domestic level. I am playing Ranji matches with the help of Baby madam and Madhuri Madam. I am grateful and thankful to Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji for the support and cooperation in the form of education provided through School for Visually Challenged. Now I have a goal to play first class and International cricket for the blind on behalf of my mother land (India). Till today and days to come, I am indebted to Sri Swamiji as He gave my life a meaning with of his generosity and everlasting blessings, and pushing me forward in my life. I take this opportunity to thank all the teachers and Management of Netra Vidyalayam for making my life worth living and giving new hope in my life. My deepest gratitude to my hope and guiding light - Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji. In Ravindra's words: "I joined (Nethra Vidyalaya) School for Visually Challenged in 2009 to continue my studies. I joined 7th class in Nethra Vidyalaya. Before joining this school, while my other friends were able to understand the lessons being taught I used to struggle to learn due to my eye sight. " After seeing my struggle, my father decided to join me in blind school. He came to know about Nethra Vidyalaya from my relatives. After joining in Nethra Vidyalaya, every teacher took care of me and helped in every aspect. Now I am playing for Andhra Pradesh Cricket Team. When I joined in Nethra Vidyalaya, I didn’t know how to play cricket. My teachers encouraged me to play the cricket. Without disturbing my studies I started playing cricket simultaneously. My parents annual income is 55,000/-. It is very difficult to maintain family with that. We are three and I am the younger one. Luckily I got an opportunity to study in School for Visually Challenged (Nethra Vidyalaya). We are very much thankful to Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji for giving us hope to lead a happy life. After joining in Netra Vidyalaya entire staff helped me a lot especially Baby madam. Every student has a dream, with Swamiji’s blessings my dreams are fulfilling. It is not very easy to be selected in Professional team. I tried many times and went for selections. In 2019, I got selected in Andhra Pradesh team as an all rounder. Because of my economic status I struggled a lot for going to selection all over India. My 10 years hard work and my teachers encouragement made me finally a successful man. My ambition is to play in International format. After the completion of my school education, I joined in Nethra Jr. College which is unique in India. After Intermediate I got seat in University of Hyderabad, done my graduation there. Then I got seat in Pondicherry Central University for MBA program. Every day I say thank you to Sri Swamiji because if he did not establish Nethra Vidyalaya Institute, children like me can’t stand on their own feet and have a financially independent life. Once again thank you Swamiji, Nethra Vidyalaya and Baby madam for helping me till date."

Singing Competition Guidelines Only Solos. No Group singing. Songs can be in any of the genres s.a., Semi Classical, Folk or Light. It can be private or movie songs, but strictly NO Carnatic or Hindustani classical numbers. Contestants are allowed to sing with or without a karaoke track. If a karaoke track is not used then the singers are required to use a shruthi box (In this case, we will provide the Shruthi box). The Maximum time duration for each song SHOULD BE 3 minutes. TIME LIMIT WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. And Please adhere to neat lyrics (Participants will need to send the tracks to the VTSeva cultural team for prior approval on the duration.) All karaoke tracks need to be sent to the following email address: amitavijay@gmail.com Songs can be in Telugu/Hindi/Tamil/English languages. English will be judged as a separate category. Winner and Runner-up from each category will be recognized with Trophies. If we do not have minimum 3 participants in any category that category might be combined with other category. If we have only 3 participants there will be giving only one trophy for that category. There will be ONLY ONE Round for the competition. All performances will be judged based on the criteria (Shruthi, Laya, Bhavam, Diction, Clarity etc) Judges decision is FINAL. Please maintain silence in the room when the kids are performing. Participants please be there by 2:30.

Jan 20, 2020: By Sriteja Kataru (7th grade) In today’s burrito wrapping, we did a lot of productive work. We made approximately 100 burritos along with a full meal of chips, juice, and fruit. All the burritos go to the San Jose homeless shelter, where they provide a home to the low-income and after they find a job they can move out. These people need our help, and they need food to eat, which is why we are coming and wrapping burritos for them. We made 100 burritos for homeless ! Along with that, you can make new relationships and friends at VTSEVA. Coming together and making a burrito is a good bonding activity in addition to making an impact in our society. We have the opportunity to help other people, and I thought that when I have all the necessities to have a happy life. Why not give to the people who have barely anything? I stand by this cause and I want to contribute as much as I can. When I joined VTSEVA I saw many activities being held to make the world a better place, and burrito wrapping was one of those activities I enjoyed very much. I stand by this cause and I want to contribute ! I get to see people eating the food that I prepared for them and I get immediate satisfaction by seeing that I am helping my community and helping the poor. In conclusion, the burrito wrapping was very fun volunteering activity along with giving food to the low-income people of San Jose. Author: Sriteja Kataru (7th grade, San Jose, CA) Sriteja is an active volunteer from San Jose and is passionate about helping causes supported by VTSeva

VT Seva Cary has been a part of FS Series events for over a year. FS Series, a non-profit organization, distinguished for their marathon events raises funds benefitting the REX Hospital and other organizations. The participants not only benefit from a well-methodized workout, but also feel great knowing they gave a child or a family hope for a cure. Since Health Care is one of the four core outreach areas of VT Seva, it is a very relatable cause for VT Seva. The youth team is excited to participate in FS Series events by supporting activities right from setting up the event infrastructure, distributing water to the participants and cheering the runners as they run for a cause. Even if it’s cold to stay Youth Team loves to participate in this event, and get highly motivated to see little kids to elderly people running for a cause. VT Seva Cary participated in 6 events during 2019 for FS Series. The volunteer coordinator of FS Series, Dawn Dixon, always supports VT Seva Youth Team by giving wonderful opportunities and great motivation. Dawn recently sent a letter to VT Seva Cary honoring the efforts with a $700 donation towards the Schools for Visually Challenged run by VT Seva. we give heartfelt thanks to all to our supporters and to Dawn Dixon for memorable opportunities to VT Seva. - Rohitha Sanka, Cary

When I first heard about VT Seva and how I can earn volunteer hours by participating in events from this organization, I immediately volunteered in one of their events. The first event I participated in was vegetable picking during the scorching summer of 2018. During the day of the event, I was astonished by the great number of volunteers that came to volunteer. I also noticed that there were a lot of adults volunteering and that got me surprised as I was thinking that most of the volunteers would be high schoolers looking for volunteer hours. After leaving the event, I understood that maybe people didn’t volunteer for personal gain such as volunteer hours, but volunteered to give back to the community and the people came together to serve the community under VT Seva. Additionally, I really liked volunteering with friends in events because VT Seva brought us together to spend time helping the community while having fun. I have had many great experiences from VT Seva and this organization has put awareness into me and taught me many things as I continued volunteering. One such example is when I volunteered at a concert by music schools and dance schools hosted by VT Seva. I was responsible to raise awareness at the concert about School for Visually Challenged in India, their various accomplishments in academics and sports. Me and four of my friends were able to raise $ 300 which was contributed towards the cause. From participating in VT Seva’s events, I earned something more valuable than the volunteer hours, I gained the honor of serving my community and making it a better place to live! - Nisval Patel, Parsippany

Hunger is something that affects many people and there are only fortunate people who get to never experience it. US is not an exception, even though it’s a rich Country. Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that works its hardest to make sure that in the near future no one needs to experience hunger. The North Carolina Food Bank has been working very hard at this goal and has distributed twenty-three million meals and fourteen million pounds of produce in 2019. VT Seva Cary is humbled by the opportunity to partner and put in significant number of hours of service at the Food bank. The youth volunteers were very much encouraged by a very warm note received from the CEO of The North Carolina Food Bank NC for being a big part of reaching the goal in 2019. The joy of giving back to the community through service and the friendships made along the way will keep the team coming back for more service in the years to come. VT Seva Centers across the United States partner with local food banks/non profit organizations heavily to serve communities ensuring more people get food. The events happen year round, if you would like to volunteer your time and feel great about giving back to the community, join our enthusiastic team. - Suvid Thungathurti, Cary

This summer I got the opportunity of a lifetime. Through the organization I have been actively volunteering with - VTSEVA, I got the privilege to travel to India to give back to the community. I got to volunteer my time in 3 different schools, in Allampally and Hyderabad, Telangana, Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad. There, I got to work with so many amazing kids, 2 of the schools were Schools for Visually challenged, and the other was School for Tribals. I have made so many memories and this will be an experience I will never forget. We got to play games with the kids, interact with them, teach their classes and do homework with them. The first leg of our trip was to the Nethra Vidyalaya, School for Visually challenged, Hyderabad where most of the students were from the ages of 18 to 22 years old. At first I wasn't sure how to interact with the students because they were visually challenged. But the students were so excited to talk and they had so many questions about America, what is school like, the Government system and the Presidential election. Their English was so good that I felt like I was talking to one of my friends back home in America. They were so excited to talk and I had such a normal conversation with them that I forgot that I was talking to someone blind. I left the classroom with a smile on my face and my heart filled. I don't know what about it, but talking to those students and answering their questions made me feel so good inside. From there we took a 6 hour bus ride to Allamally where the School for Tribals is. When I first met the kids in Allampally I knew right away that I was going to have a lot of fun. As soon as we got out of the bus, they came over running saying “sister, sister, brother, come play with us” These kids were so sweet and kind, they wanted to buy us stuff from the market even though they had so little themselves. Even though their pockets were empty, their hearts were full. The time I spent in Allampally, I will never in my entire life forget. Even though at times it was difficult to understand them, and they couldn't understand me at times, I had so much fun that words can’t even describe how I felt. I've never felt so happy in my entire life. From the moment I first met them, they treated me like I was their sister, held my hand, watched out to make sure I didn't step in puddles or cow dung and invited me in their houses for chai. Saying goodbye to those kids was so hard. I had to fight back tears because I didn't want to cry in front of them. I grew so attached, that I didn't miss the internet, or my phone, or even a decent bathroom. I didn't even mind sleeping on the floor with bugs everywhere. At home I complain about the smallest things, I find enjoyment by being on my phone, scrolling through instagram or listening to music. But none of those things have ever gave be more enjoyment and happiness than spending time with these kids and seeing them so excited to participate in the activities we planned for them. - Nikita Chepuri

Our annual fundraiser event for Schools for Visually Challenged by Nashville VT-Seva was conducted on November 16th 2019. The event was attended by individuals who were genuinely interested in learning about the cause and to support the education of visually challenged students. We were able to share various accomplishments of the talented students at the Schools / Colleges for Visually Challenged and reiterated the constant need for the support of our donors. We recently lost a very young student who attends the Tennessee school for the blind, to brain cancer. She served as a guest speaker at DAYA: last year. In her honor, we have thus created a VT SEVA-Audrey Williams fund that was donated to the Friends of TN school for the blind. Following dinner and entertainment, the youth summarized their activities and in particular stressed their emerging role in leading efforts in the local community to make changes in support of the environment. With the support of our generous donors, we have raised over $50k this year for Nethravidyalaya students. Our sincere appreciation to all our volunteers and participants of “DAYA:”

Summer 2019 was an amazing life changing time for the youth that got an opportunity to intern with VT Seva in India. They got to get out of their comfort zone, go spend time with schools for tribals run by VT Seva, make new friends, see the passion of the students and teach a few classes, experience their culture and be part of their daily routine. The innocense and affection of the tribal students and their enthusiasm to showcase their talents is much enjoyed by all the participants. Every participant agrees in unison that the experience has been rewarding.

Bay Area celebrates 2nd annual PVSA awards ceremony Oct 27, 2019 (San Jose, CA): VTSeva is a certifying organization for administering the PVSA (President’s Volunteer Service Awards) to volunteers. In 2018, from 23 chapters of VTSeva in USA, almost 51 VTSeva volunteers received the awards, out of which Bay Area volunteers excelled by taking 24 awards. The youth volunteers received 9 Gold, 3 Silver and 12 Bronze awards. The awards are based on age of volunteers and number of hours they put in volunteering. Additional information can be found here . Bay area VT Seva volunteers received 24 awards. 9 GOLD, 3 SILVER and 12 BRONZE ! Sri Ranga Jayaraman, Director of Neurodiversity Pathways, chief guest of honor for the event, acknowledged all the youth volunteers with presidential awards. He is the former associate dean and CIO of Stanford Graduate School of Business and also former CIO of Nvidia. Sri Jayaraman, inspired the volunteers with his speech and emphasized the inner meaning of "SEVA" - meaning of giving back to the society. How each and every one of us need to switch the passion of giving from mind to the heart. When you give through the heart, you give more. Bay area VT Seva director Mrs. Archana Bindu kicked off the occasion by thanking all the volunteers and their parents for supporting the activities and taking an active participation throughout the year. In 2018, VT Seva also received a $4k grant from PayPal to procure digital colposcopes to aid in cancer screening camps in India and Nepal. VT Seva received $4k grant from Pay Pal in 2018 ! Bay Area VT Seva Secretary Mrs. Rukimini Vemulakonda spoke highly of the number of community activities taken up by the volunteers such as Speak your vision (speech contest - fund raising), Chess for vision (chess contest - fund raiser), Court Vision Classics (CVC - Basketball fundraiser), along with providing homeless shelter lunch, Environment activities, adopt a street activity, Habitat for humanity, Bone marrow drives, and assisting friends of children with special needs. Another exciting news is of receiving a congratulatory letter from City of Santa Clara ! Mrs. Kausalya Nallapa inspired the audience by giving details on multiple BayArea community activities taken up by the volunteers along with thanking adult volunteers Mrs. Sowjanya Mallepudi for coordinating with friends of children with special needs organization and Mrs. Menaka Noru for the monthly burritos for homeless. VTSeva volunteers also volunteered at Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) - a support network for disabled individuals and their families. Special guest and consultant Ms. Shiow Chen spoke highly of the volunteers and their contribution to the facility. 2019 fundraising goals were shared with the group to support Netra Vidyalaya and Tribal students. One of the youngest youth volunteer, Mr. Sriteja Kataru who is just 11 yrs old gave a donation of $1075 from his birthday gifts as donation to VT Seva. He talked passionately about his reasons for donation. His parents are his greatest inspiration. The event continued with presentation of awards by Sri Jayaraman. All the parents and volunteers shared their acknowledgments by signing large poster cards inscribed with the volunteer’s name, picture and what inspired them to join VT Seva. Bayarea VTSeva volunteers completed 1200 hours of community service activities collectively by more than 50 volunteers and raised $25,477 to support 245 students. For information on how to get involved in bayarea, contact Mrs. Archana Bindu at bayarea.director@vtseva.org 2019 Bay Area goal is to sponsor 20 visually challenged students and sponsor 100 special equipment for blind children. WE NEED YOUR HELP ! YOU can help by sponsoring a child for one year for just $365/yr. Click here to sponsor. You can also sponsor special needs for the blind for $150/yr by clicking here . Other ways to donate are at vtsworld.org/donate All profiles at: VTSWORLD.ORG/AWARDS EKTA KARKALA GOLD My name is Ekta Karkala and I am a senior at Saint Francis High School. Outside of school, I enjoy teaching music classes at FCSN, playing competitive golf, and spending time with my family. One of my favorite aspects of VT Seva is the diversity of activities that youth volunteers are able to participate in. From helping protect the environment to building playhouses for low-income families, encouraging a variety of service opportunities allows volunteers to develop passions for different social causes while learning how to impact their own communities. Volunteering among students who are equally passionate about improving the community is something that inspires me to be a part of VT Seva. Being able to collaborate and develop friendships with other volunteers adds another dimension to the many benefits of service. Ekta's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/EKTA-KARKALA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 ABHINAV NALLAPA GOLD I am Junior at Bellarmine College Preparatory. My other Passion are Robotics & Programming Why I Joined VT Seva: Inspired by friends volunteering at VT Seva, seeing how fun and impactful VT Seva is Loved opportunity to participate in such a wide range of activities My Favorite Activities: Adopt-a-Street I love seeing how much nicer our street has become since we started Speak your Vision Speech Contest: Enjoyed organizing activity from start to finish, and seeing the funds we were able to raise for Netra Vidyalaya Abhinav's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/ABHINAV-NALLAPA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsw orld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 ADARSH NALLAPA SILVER Freshman at Bellarmine College Prep ​Part of VT Seva for four years ​Love Biology and Speech​ Inspiration to Volunteer:​Meeting more friends I get to volunteer with​ and the joy of seeing the result of all my work​ Favorite Activity: ​Bone Marrow Drive: Trying to convince people to support a worthy cause is sometimes difficult but always satisfying. Adarsh profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/ADARSH-NALLAPA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 AMULYA BINDU GOLD My name is Amulya Bindu and I am 15 years old. I am a 10th grader and I currently attend Silver Creek High School. I like to dance and hang out with my friends. I have been playing piano for 3 ½ years and I really like it. The best thing I like about VT Seva is how we help people in need. We do many activities, such as street cleaning, making food, and assisting people, that make us feel good after doing them. I also like how we raise money to help the visually impaired children in India by giving them food, educating them, and clothing them.  Something that inspires me to be a part of VT Seva are the visually impaired children in India who are doing their best to be the best. They work so hard in whatever they do, and they even do some things better than us. This inspires me to also work hard to help them with everything that they need. Amulya full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/AMULYA-BINDU/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 ANOOHYA PANIDAPU GOLD My name is Anoohya Panidapu, and I'm a sophomore at De Anza, majoring in chemistry and math. I have been volunteering with VT Seva since 2016. Through VT Seva, I've had the chance to be a part of various events, from the Nepal fundraiser (where we sold my paintings and raised over $2500) to sandwich-making for the homeless. My sister and I are able to support the children at the Netra Vidyalaya School for the Blind in India through tutoring the kids in our community. In the year that we've been tutoring, we have raised over $7500 to support the Netra Vidyalaya kids' education. Through all these events, VT Seva has instilled in us a true sense of community, and that inspires me to continue working together to help the world around us. Anoohya full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/ANOOHYA-PANIDAPU/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 APOORVA PANIDAPU GOLD My name is Apoorva, and I’ve been volunteering with VT Seva for three years. My experience with VT Seva has been amazing, because it brings the community together to help those in need. In each event, I’ve had so much fun with my friends, working together to help create change, whether it be through making burritos for the homeless or selling paintings to aid Nepal after its devastating earthquakes. With VT Seva’s support, my sister and I are able to support Netra Vidyalaya kids in India through tutoring our own community’s children. We are very happy to have raised over $7500 dollars to support their education. VT Seva inspires me to always work to help make the world a better place, and I can’t wait to keep working with this wonderful organization to give back to the community with my friends and family. Apoorva's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/APOORVA-PANIDAPU/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 DIVITHA DODDI GOLD I'm Divitha and I am a junior at Evergreen Valley High School. I have been a part of VT Seva for two years. My favorite activity is burrito wrapping. Although it gets messy, the end results shock me every time. I am inspired to be a part of VT Seva because I can give back to the community on a regular basis. Divitha full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/DIVITHA-DODDI/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 HARSHITA POLISETTY BRONZE My name is Harshita Polisetty. I am currently a senior at Evergreen Valley School. I love to dance and sing. In my free time, I like to spend time with friends and family. I have been apart of VTSEVA since I was five. One of the things I like about VTSEVA is the community that we formed. Because I was apart of this organization for so long, I was able to grow as an individual who cares for the community.  Coming together with friends and helping others was rewarding as well as very fun. Seeing that we can help people from all the way across the world to the people in our community, is one of the reasons that motivated me to join VTSeva. The fact that we were a part of someone’s smile whether it was indirectly or directly is what pushed me to continue participating in VTSEVA. Helping in the monthly activities that were provided by VTSEVA made me realize that I would want to continue to serve the community and people as I transition into a new chapter of my life. Harshita full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/HARSHITA-POLISETTY/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2018 MAITHREYI NARAYANAN BRONZE I am Maithreyi Narayanan and I’m a junior at Foothill High School, Pleasanton. I moved to California last year and as I was settling down I came to know about VT Seva and have been volunteering since then. Personally, the best part was the burrito wrapping because this task made me realize that anything we do can be done better and faster as a team. Another activity I also enjoyed was the Bone Marrow drive. It was fun because we were able to spread more awareness about the how the bone marrow benefits so many people with leukemia and lymphoma. The team was very happy because each time we did this drive we saw an increase in the number of people signing up. My aspiration is to pursue a career that will provide me with an opportunity to help improve the community’s health quality conditions and learn about their needs which resonates with VT Seva’s vision. (VT SEVA'S VISION IS TO SEE ALL CHILDREN AND ADULTS OF THE IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITIES OF INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO QUALITY EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE AND ENABLE THEM TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE). The activities I participate with VT Seva Team makes me realize that the purpose of life is to show compassion and to help Maithreyi's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/MAITHREYI-NARAYANAN/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 RAGHAV CHENNA BRONZE 14 years old, Freshmen at Evergreen Valley High School Like playing basketball, and video games Been part of VTSeva for 2 years Best thing about VTSeva is meeting new people & making friends during events, while helping people & community at the same time Inspiration is to help the community, and the children with special needs. RAGHAV'S full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/RAGHAV-CHENNA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2018 RADHIR CHENNA BRONZE Volunteering for 3 1/2 years Motivation to join was to help children around the world. Inspiration to take up challenging projects was the amount of other people dedicating their time to help the educational needs of under privileged children in the world Most fun activity was planning and running the CVC basketball tournament which funded Natya Vidyalaya in India, which helped visually challenged children RADHIR's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/RADHIR-CHENNA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 RAHUL MAMTORA BRONZE My name is Rahul Mamtora and I am currently a senior at St. Francis High School. I enjoy playing basketball, doing creative work related to sport/entertainment, designing apparel line of products, and securing relationships with professional athletes. I’ve been playing basketball since first grade and have seen how every aspect of basketball can be translated into a value of life. The value of being unselfish is where VTSeva and Court Vision Classics (CVC) event fits in. VTSeva has given me an opportunity to mix creativity, sports, and charity resulting in making an impact to visually challenged individuals and raising $10K over the 2017 & 2018 events. I thoroughly enjoyed doing event planning, marketing, design, sponsorship and outreach for CVC. VTSeva has enabled me to giving back to those in need, while enjoying the game I love so much. Rahul's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/RAHUL-MAMTORA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 ROHAN BINDU BRONZE My name is Rohan Bindu and I am currently a senior at Evergreen Valley High School. Some of my hobbies include playing and teaching basketball, learning computer science, and going to the gym.One of the things I like about VTSeva was how, through this organization, I was able to combine my love for basketball and my passion for volunteering, to create a tournament which helped those in need. Through this experience, I learned a lot about myself and the marketing world, and created bonds with the visually challenged kids in India.The constant perseverance of helping those in need is one of the main reasons which inspired me to be a part of VTSeva. From making burritos to building playhouses to huge donations, every single event has a purpose, as we always put their needs over ours. Whether it be the monthly activities or fundraising events, this organization never fails to put a smile on everyone’s faces. Rohan's full profile: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/ROHAN-BINDU/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SAHANA NORU SILVER My name is Sahana Noru. I’m a junior and I go to Evergreen Valley High School. I have been a part of VTSeva since 2015.  I think the best part of VTSeva is volunteering with others and helping others in the process. There are many events that I enjoy such as burrito wrapping, FCSN, and the conducting the Speak Your Vision speech contest.  The most inspiring part of VTSeva is seeing the effect that our volunteering has on the community. Helping others makes me feel like my volunteering is making a contribution. Sahana's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SAHANA-NORU/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SAHASRA VELLANKI SILVER I have been doing VTseva for around 3 years, I think VTseva is a good way to give back to the community. I first joined VTseva when I was around 9 years old, during this time period I have done many activities such as, burrito making, bone marrow drives, adopt-a-spot, and much more. My favorite activity that I do with VTseva is the burrito making. I like it because we get hands on experience by cooking, along with feeling good about helping others. Sahasra's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SAHASRA-VELLANKI/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SATYA VEMULAKONDA SILVER My name is Satya Vemulakonda. I am a Junior at Leigh High School. I play football and wrestling. What is the best thing you like about VT Seva: VT Seva has allowed me to make new friends and work together to make our community a better place. What inspires you to be part of VT Seva: Mostly the friendships I have made through volunteering. Make friends and give back to the community while having fun. Satya's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SATYA-VEMULAKONDA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SERENA GANDHI GOLD Hi! My name is Serena Gandhi. I'm eleven years old and attend Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale. I like to sing and read books. The best thing that I like about VT Seva is that I get to volunteer at many different places, and meet many new people. My older brother inspired me to join VTSeva and so we can volunteer together as a family. Serena's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SERENA-GANDHI/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SHREYA SRINIVASAN GOLD My name is Shreya Srinivasan and I am a junior. In my free time, I enjoy playing volleyball and am also on my school’s yearbook staff. One thing that I like about VT Seva is that it helps a variety of causes and allows me to help different people. I am inspired to be part of VT Seva because of the impact that volunteer work has on the lives of others. By participating in these activities, I am able to provide for many people. Shreya's full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SHREYA-SRINIVASAN/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SRIJA PONNA BRONZE My name is Srija Ponna and I am a senior at Notre Dame High School. I have been volunteering with VT Seva for six years now. My favorite thing about VT Seva is that they work to improve both local and international communities. I appreciate that being a volunteer with VT Seva, it allows me to directly contribute to the people in need around me and also help underprivileged people in India.I am inspired to be a part of VT Seva because of its dedication to improving the lives of marginalized communities. I genuinely love that as a volunteer with VT Seva I can do my part to make the world a better place, even if it’s just through seemingly small acts, such as preparing food for homeless shelters, picking up trash from the streets, collecting food for second harvest food banks, fundraising and packing kits for floods and fire hazard victim families, helping special needs children with arts, music, etc. and raising funds to support the education of the blind children in India. SRIJA'S full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SRIJA-PONNA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 SRITEJ PONNA GOLD My name is Sritej Ponna and I am a freshman at Archbishop Mitty High School. I have been volunteering for VT Seva for over 4 years and have participated in many local events like making burritos to serve the homeless, involving in bone marrow drives, and helping special needs children learn how to draw, dance, and make music.My favorite part about VT Seva is that you can combine your passion or hobby with volunteering. One of my favorite hobbies is playing chess, and using that, I led a chess tournament to collect funds and donated to a visually challenged school in India.The different events and opportunities to help people in need is what inspired me to join VT Seva. Other organizations usually only help in one specific aspect, but VT Seva has many aspects it works on, like helping the blind children, the environment, the homeless, children with special needs and much more. SRITEJ'S full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/SRITEJ-PONNA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 VIVEK VEMULAKONDA BRONZE Hi, I'm Vivek Vemulakonda. I am currently a 9th grader at Leigh High School, I enjoy playing football and basketball during my free time and my favorite subject at school is probably math2. What is the best thing you like about VT Seva: I like during VT Seva how you get to help people who are less fortunate and you can help in your own way to make it better for them. What inspires you to be part of VT Seva: I am inspired by just the fact that you can help other people as normally the human race is greedy but for a little bit of time we change that when we get involved selflessly into the activities. VIVEKs full profile at: https://www.vtsworld.org/Awards/VIVEK-VEMULAKONDA/2018 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019 Share this article with your friends and family: vtsworld.org/post/bayarea-pvsa-2019

VT Seva Detroit and Swaravedika Detroit team yet again collaborated an awesome singing competition. It was an overwhelming participation with 50 participants of ages ranging from 6 years to adults. Our sincere thanks to the 3 judges, Smt. Ranjitha Chitrapu, Smt. Vani Harish and Sri Venkatesh Venkataraman, who have patiently judged for well over 5 hours. The winners are : Sub-Juniors category: 1. Dhruv Rathod 2. Anjika Dutta 3. Pranavi Annavarapu Special Apprecitation under Sub-Juniors are: 1. Vaishnavi Shamji 2. SriNitya Cherukuri 3. Sneha Aradhya Juniors category: 1. Harshita Vangaveti 2. Tanvi Kakunje 3. Archana Rao Special Appreciation under Juniors are: 1. Prisha Vysyaraju 2. Samhita Seniors category: 1. Manisha Daram 2. Jayashree Vysaraju 3. Kanthi Bhamidipati Special thanks to Kala Anumolu and Sree Anumolu for the help rendered through the event. and other volunteers : - Phototgraphy Videography : Kavya - Hosting : Aneesha Mantripragada and Sree Chandana Anumolu. - Front desk/check in volunteers, Rushil Mantripragada, Jishnav Arcota, Omkar Vodela, SreeNand Anumolu, Anvita Chitrapu. and great job coordinating the whole event : Kalyani Mantripragada more details and pictures click here

What a wonderful afternoon on Saturday , October 12th, 2019. A bunch of smart ,witty, piquant kids showed their Public Speaking skills. VT Seva Detroit hosted its 2nd Annual Public Speaking competition. As one of our judges mentioned, If you don't know how to express your ideas, it dies with you. Public Speaking competitions give opportunities to learn how to express ideas in a convincing way. By participating in this competition these youths not only utilized the opportunity to become a good communicator but also helped the education of children in India. Yes, all the contributions from this competition are going to fund a child's education in India. Kudos to all our veteran competitors and I'm glad to see all the new competitors. All of the competitors did a great job and we are so proud of you all. A big thanks to all of our wonderful judges, Mrs. Frame, Mrs. Boka, and Mr. Srikanth. Mrs. Frame is a teacher at Webster Elementary School in Livonia, and she is our vetran judge. Mrs. Boka is the principal of Webster Elementary school in Livonia, and Mr. Srikanth is a management personnel from automotive industry, and he is another vetran judge. We were so blessed to have these wonderful judges. Last but not least, without volunteers it was not possible to run this event. Kudos to all of our young volunteers Harish Jaisankar, Abhinav Suresh, Anagha Jammalamadaka, Abhi Jillelmudi, Rashmita Ragunathan & Oviya Jaisankar as well as all the adult volunteers Jaisankar Kannan, Venkat Pisipati, Vanitha, Swapna, Naga & Ajay. Congrats to our winners! Group 1 winners: Jishnu Kandalam Kaustubh Dingari Group 2 winners: Siddharth Srinivasan Hannah Thomas Malavika Ajit - VTSEVA Public Speaking Committee Priya Jaisankar Archita Kramadhati More pictures click here :