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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 :

What can be more satisfying than seeing the fruits of your hard work? Knowing you were instrumental in shaping up someone's future? We are very proud to introduce to you - our Alumni who are serving as Teachers, Managers, successful staff at several reputable organizations. A great amount of passionate work went in to molding them carefully by our loving teaching and administrative staff, our volunteers and the kind supporters. Today their lives are made, they are independent, they are able to take care of their family and can live proudly without relying on any support. We are happy for them and ever grateful to all the support we got to serve them.

VT Seva CEO, HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami ji has envisioned serving the underprivileged, serving those that put everyone else before themselves, serving those that only think of nurturing and providing family is reason for their existance Yes, the lady of the home, whose well being is pivotal for the sustenance and development of the home and in turn healthy community. Through Mahila Arogya Vikas, VT Seva Health Pillar is humbled to celebrate serving One million people that were reached out to spread awareness and provide free health screenings. We are proud of their efforts for customizing the equipment to decrease the turn around time to provide results. The innovation not only helped getting the faster results but also at much more economical price which helps us in expanding our scope to serve even more. We can't thank you enough - the supporters for your constant support. We can't thank our volunteers enough - who go door to door to raise awareness and work tirelessly to provide health screening. We are excited for the opportunity to serve and look forward to reach more and more people and confident you will join us. Your Support is Our Strength to Serve.

VT Seva Virginia had a successful event where the attendees had opportunity to share and learn from amazing panel of Doctors. It provided health awareness, education, information and resources.  The success and feedback confirmed the importance of this event. We thank all the Sponsors and Supporters without whose contribution, the event would not have been a success. A big thank you from everyone at VT SEVA VIRGINIA.

During the brief meeting after our successful RAAS 2018 event, we were brainstorming about adding newer events to attract more participation and awareness about VT Seva and we hit upon this idea of conducting a Kid’s Soccer Tournament to benefit the Netra Vidyalaya children. It is then when we started this 7-month long journey of VT Seva – ‘Soccer For A Cause’ tournament. It was quite a challenge initially to assess the interest, availability of fields, identifying the age groups, many other logistics since it was a first time for all of us to conduct a tournament of this size. Hence, we decided to send out a Survey form to seek everybody’s opinion and interest. Due to several reasons such as summer vacation time for the kids, field and volunteers’ availability, July 13th 2019 was the chosen to be the day of the Tournament based on the Survey feedback. We had overwhelming responses from kids, parents and volunteers in making the event a successful one without any hiccups. We were thrilled to see players signing up till the last minute at the venue. Total about 45 kids registered. We played 3 round robin games for 6-9yr olds and then one decider, 2 games for 10-12 yr olds and 1 big game for High Schoolers vs Adults...you could obviously guess the result of that game All in all, it was a fun filled day of Soccer with some mouthwatering snacks - Pizzas, Samosas, Ice Cream, Lemonade, Mango Lassi, Gatorade & plenty of water to keep the players & parents going. All proceeds go to Netra Vidyalaya from VT Seva Detroit RAAS event. We definitely look forward to making it a bigger event in the following years! Thank you UV ShutterKlick Photography , Vathsal Ravi for wonderful pictures. Thank you Milkster Novi and Thank you Total Sports Novi for the facility. Click here for more pictures

VT Seva Detroit First ever Tennis Tournament coordinated by Youth volunteers : Here is the report from Amitesh and Aishani - We, Amitesh Gargapati and Aishani Gargapati, Youth Volunteers of the VT Seva Detroit Branch, are honored to be a part of the VT Seva Organization. We are greatly blessed with the guidance provided by VT Seva CEO HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, whose valuable mission is to support the underserved in all walks of life for a human cause. Through the motivation of our VT Seva Detroit Branch Director, Mr. Sudheer Koppu, we have extended this opportunity to conduct the first VT Seva Tennis Tournament on June 22, 2019 where 100 percent of the proceeds go to VT Seva Health Pillar - cancer awareness and prevention camps and patients suffering from cancer. We believed that hosting this VT Seva Tennis Tournament for youth and adults would not only involve large collaboration within numerous communities but also further VT Seva's mission to conduct an event for an impactful cause. Meticulously planning and preparing for this tournament from March of 2019, we initiated this event that contained participation of more than 30 teenagers, adults, and youth participants. Thank you so much to our parents Siva Gargapati and Prema Gargapati, our mentors, the tennis participants, parents, and youth volunteers, who have helped us make this event successful and memorable. With the strong support of the VT Seva Organization, we are greatly looking forward to conducting many more community events in the future. Through this event, we have learned that small acts of kindness can significantly contribute to many diverse communities. -Aishani and Amitesh Gargapati More details : click here

VT Seva, North Jersey team came together with Mamatha 2019 - an Annual event to support education of visually challenged kids through Schools for Visually Challenged. The team raised funds to support education of around 115 kids this year. There were many inspiring moments in the event. There was a dance drama about School for Visually Challenged, where the whole group of performers danced blind folded. An inspirational song "we are the world, let’s start giving" with glimpses of Schools for Visually challenged students by kids gave goose bumps to audience. Overall, the evening was enjoyable and rewarding to everyone present.

It's always ironic when serving local communities ends up being serving food to the needy. On this occasion VT Seva went out to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen where we handed out meals to hundreds of the local population. The guests ranged from small children to the elderly, all graciously accepting of our efforts. Interestingly enough, everyone enjoyed the dessert portion of their meals - I guess sweetness is not something you really grow out of! While I was standing in the line to pick up the next tray of food to be served, a gentleman struck up a conversation with me. "Are you all college students?" I explained that while the younger volunteers were all high schoolers, I was the only higher education student, that too in medical school. Curious he asked where I studied and why I was helping out. I mentioned that since I study in the Camden/Philadelphia area the majority of my future patient population would be similar to the guests of the food kitchen. Immediately the man's face lit up and he smiled. Then he had a more important question, "how do you say your name?" No matter what age we are or what backgrounds we come from, there is one thing that is common to us all - we need food. Such experiences not only help us develop lasting relationships with communities, they also expose us to a side of life we might not otherwise encounter. I likely will not see that man in the future again but if I do I would be happy to shake his hand and tell him my name again. Bharani K Puskur Bharani is one of our star volunteers from New Jersey and is a recipient of US President's Volunteer Service Award for his outstanding volunteer service in the community.

VT Seva Supported Schools for the Tribals in Allampally, Beersaipet and School for Fishermen children in Katarivaripalem scored 100% success in 10th Grade (SSC) 2019 Board examinations. Teachers successfully completed teaching syllabus by end of December and from January, helped students revise all the subjects. During preparation time, teachers stayed with the students after school hours to clarify their questions instantaneously. The administrative staff planned examination preparation very efficiently, and supported students and teachers in all aspects. The hard work paid off with astounding results with high GPA and appreciated by local media that the efforts of schools which provide free education to underprivileged in remote areas are performing on par with corporate schools. These schools have been showing constant progress with a successful 100% pass rate the past three years. In addition to academics, the children are constantly groomed in building great character and values to step out of school and be responsible human beings of the society. Our success stories in local media :

VT-Seva Cary is Celebrating Mom! "Honor Your Mom on this Mother's Day by helping other Moms in need". Due to lack of awareness and unavailability of regular medical checkups, Rural/Tribal women are at the Health risk. With your support, we can spread awareness and provide access to the health care for as many as possible. Our recently acquired medical mobile screening van, is coming in very handy in taking care of the cancer screening & health check up in rural/tribal India. By donating $20, You can sponsor a screening kit and celebrate mother's day in a special way. Lets lend a helping hand to a mother in need! After all, Motherhood is universal! Donate here - Lets pay back for the selfless care she provides! Please contact Sowjanya Thungathurti on 408-913-3373 for further information. Thank you for all your support, together we can make some difference on the Rural Women health. Prajna & VT-Seva, Cary .

On April 6th 2019, VT Seva Boston team and New England community celebrated Bloom annual event. The evening started with Akhil Maqtedar and Akshitha Maqtedar singing the American National Anthem and Jahnavi Vemuri rendering Indian National Anthem. Our beautiful MCs of the day Amulya Jayam, Ria Mishra, Tanishi Mishra and Shreya Gattu with their constant smile, effortlessly welcomed all the guest and educated them about VT Seva. The event was kicked off by New England Prajna students recite Shlokas to take blessings for a successful event. Success of BLOOM is only possible due to Volunteers time and generous donations to support Mahila Arogya Vikas and JIMS hospital medical equipment project . We had three Video Contest groups and the winners were announced on stage and their video played. Public Speaking contest has been very successful with over 30 participants in 4 categories. Each category had topics related to one of the pillars of VT Seva and the speakers put their efforts. The winners were announced and had an opportunity to speak to the audience. Mr. Paresh Motiwala of Circles of Growth, supported public speaking contest by conducting a workshop for youth and Judging the contest. He supported by training the MCs as well. The winners of this competition presented at the BLOOM thus providing education to all on various topics. Mrs India USA Mrs. Vidhi Dave from Connecticut graced the event and presented the trophies. Shova Sharma from New York Life very kind to sponsor all the trophies and plaques for this event. Din Check Band supported by DJ Jawed Wahid entertained community with their live music and some beautiful melodies. BLOOM is thankful to our local dance and music schools for their support for Mahila Arogya Vikas. We had fantastic performances from students of Shaila School of dance, Sailaja Chowdary natyalaya and self-choreography teams. Everyone enjoyed and felt unique about “Miss India New England fashion show”with team of Miss India NE team and Mrs India of New England. The snacks were sponsored by Minerva Indian Cuisine, Mirchi nation and few volunteers. Beautiful decorations were made possible by Lakshmi Jemolla, Manasa, Raghuram Samudrala and dedicated decoration volunteer group. Everyone enjoyed the dinner served by the food committee. Green Team led by Mrs. Madhavi Kamma supported the event by using Stainless steel cutlery , paper products and reusable cups for water supporting environmental awareness pillar. With her support more of this will be included in upcoming events. for pictures click here

VT SEVA Charlotte celebrated 2nd annual music and dance festival PRERANA 2019 on Saturday, April 20th, 2018 from 6 PM to 9 PM. Preparation for the event started a few weeks ago with about 50 youth volunteers participating in weekly meetings planning for the event. Team reached out to potential sponsors, donors in the community explaining the mission of VT SEVA, the goal of PRERANA 2019. The team divided the tasks to be done at the event among themselves, came up with the plan of execution and rundown of the events. The youth team divided themselves into groups of MCs to handle the proceedings in an orderly manner.The team met NC House representative Wesley Harris and invited him to attend the event as a guest speaker. It was an outstanding experience to see 50 youth volunteers orchestrating the event without a flaw. On the day of the event all the youth volunteers and their parents reached the event location couple of hours before the start time with excitement and performed all their assigned tasks. The event started with the singing of national anthems of USA and India followed by lighting of the candles by junior youth team members which the MCs explained is a symbol of passing the torch to the next generation of youth leaders. Throughout the evening, the music and dance performances enthralled the audience. Between the performances the youth volunteers took turns to explain the four pillars of VT SEVA, the mission of PRERANA, the past volunteering activities of VT SEVA Charlotte, experience of summer volunteering in India, and delivered motivational speeches and effectively communicated to the audience the need for supporting the goal of PRERANA to sponsor visually challenged children’s education. It was an outstanding experience to see 50 youth volunteers orchestrating the event without a flaw. Ms. Kalpana Nellutla, the branch director of VT SEVA Charlotte recognized the major sponsors of the evening and special guests. Rep. Wesley Harris, the District 105 representative of NC House of representatives delivered speech commending the activities of VT SEVA and spoke of the need for the different communities of youth volunteers to work together for making a difference in the this world. The new treasurer of VT SEVA Charlotte Sriram Bhuma was introduced to the audience. The proceedings of the evening were concluded with the “PLEDGE” by the Charlotte PRAJNA students which the audience appreciated very much. The audience was quite impressed by the proceedings of the event, the discipline of the youth volunteers. Many people asked for opportunity to join the future VT SEVA fundraising events, and inquired about the opportunity for future youth volunteers to participate in summer volunteering opportunities in India. The attendees purchased food donated by the local restaurants and prepared by the volunteer families. The need for supporting the education of the visually challenged children was very much on the minds of the attendees when they left the event. Event pictures click here