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Summer Debate Camp July 18 - 20 VT SEVA Detroit Youth Board member Sanjith is conducting an online Summer Debate Camp. Debate is an integral skill and will come up many times throughout middle school and high school moving forward. This course provides a unique and personalized way for your child to learn skills like quality research, arguing, presenting strong points, and knowing how to stand your ground! This class will follow a simple format; 1) First Class will be an instructive and learning session 2) Second Class will be a Mock Debate with feedback at the end 3) Third and final class will be the actual debate! Register at: https://sites.google.com/view/essaywritingcompetition/debate-workshop Posted by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VT Seva Detroit Youth Board 2nd Walkathon VT Seva Detroit Youth Board is conducting its second walkathon from June 11, 2022, to July 24, 2022. In-Person Finale Walkathon will be conducted in Shiawassee Park, Farmington on July 24, 2022. “There will be the days where you are not motivated. But the motivation comes after you show up. Don’t start with the motivation – start with doing” When cancer becomes a part of one's life, there is a lot to worry about. Angels of Hope provides financial assistance to the Michigan families in need to ease the burden caused by the disease. All the proceeds go towards Angels of Hope. Do you want to lead a team in the walkathon? All you have to do is sign up your interest in Team Lead Signup Link: https://bit.ly/VTSDetYBWalkathonTeamLeadSignup You can have your own team and motivate your team members to walk every day and stay healthy by registering for our Walkathon. Walkathon Registration Link We had a kickoff meeting on June 11, 2022 . Many parents and youths participated in the kickoff meeting and started the walkathon enthusiastically. Many youths signed up as Team Lead, come join us and support the cause by being healthy. Blog published by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

Tarun Rajesh is a senior at International Academy East. Tarun is passionate about chess and won state-level competitions and he is a leader in the chess club in his school. He conducted the 2nd Chess Camp during the summer of 2022. He taught basic fundamentals of chess to all ages. All the participants thoroughly enjoyed his teaching. This camp was held for three days with interactive quizzes and puzzles and collected $365. The collected money was donated to Nethravidyala schools in India to support one child's education. Tarun chose Nethravidyala to be part in providing equal opportunity for underprivileged visually challenged students. As a VT Seva Detroit Youth Board Member, Tarun is thankful for the opportunity and hope to continue to impact the community. Chess Camp Registration | Mysite (need4needy.org) Make a payment through Zelle app. See you all on June 27th! Posted by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

The First 20 YOUTH participants will get the FREE plants & starter kit. Nurture, grow and finally SELL them to benefit the Tribal & Nethra Vidyalaya School Children. Our team will help you in every step of the process. If you miss the Early Bird Special, you could still participate in this event by getting in touch with one of the coordinators listed in the flyer. Sign-up at: https://bit.ly/3woUNIA Published by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

Volunteering at Oakland’s HOPE Food Pantry for Families on January 29, 2022 Every year, more than 50 thousand people are fed 750 thousand pounds of food each year by the Oakland HOPE Food Pantry. They work daily to help package and distribute food for families in need. They help veterans, disaster survivors, hungry children, and seniors get the food they deserve. Additionally, they adopted a COVID-safe form of getting food to their clients by putting groceries in their trunks for them instead of having numerous people touching the food. As a volunteer-run organization, they require help to package the food each week and our VT Seva Detroit’s volunteers stepped up to undertake this responsibility. Together, we helped package enough food to feed 60 families and children. The volunteers completed many tasks to help so that they could help more people in need: · Worked as a shopper and picked out the right items from suppliers that could help people · Loaded carts with the designated food items needed for each family · Sorted food into bins so it could be used or recycled. · Cleaned up racks, surfaces, and carts for future food. Afterward, the food pantry director was amazed by their work and appraised them for their selfless acts. Together, they made a difference in people’s lives by supporting them during their time of need. These are our wonderful volunteers who participated: Youth: Nikhil Aerabati, Rishi Adduri, Hiba Zyna, Kushal Durga, Hrudya Kishore, Yug Patel, Supraja Pattangi, Surya Takawale, Lalitaditya Akkaraju Adult: Zahara Begum, Giri Varadhan, Raghunath Aerabati, Anand Renganathan, Vandana Durga, Ravinder Akkaraju, Vanitha Gopalan Please find below the appreciation received from the Oakland hope volunteer coordinator and some of our volunteers.: Norma Okonski from Oakland Hope Food Pantry VT Seva Detroit Youth Group volunteered at Oakland HOPE. Their goal is mentoring youth to serve in underserved communities. By volunteering in the Food Pantry Youth groups get the opportunity to understand food insecurity and the importance of social responsibility. Thank you for your support and time. Raghunath R. Aerabati (parent volunteer) Thoroughly enjoyed volunteering at this location. Time flew by just like that. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to do service. Durga Sangita (parent volunteer) Durga Sangita: A wonderful experience volunteering at Oakland Hope Food Pantry. Filled with gratitude for what we are blessed with and what we can give back to the community Check out our compilation of photos: Check out our Facebook Post: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5525078580852459 VT Seva Detroit: Capuchin Soup Kitchen, February 26, 2022 The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a kitchen in Detroit that feeds people and families that are going through a hardship. They have served millions of meals since they started. They do multiple things to end poverty, hunger, and homelessness: · Provide service to anyone in need · Give away proper, hygienic food. · Maintain a clean situation in both the kitchens and the tables Our volunteers stepped up to help them in this fight against hunger and helped set up, cook, serve, and clean up the kitchens in their kitchen. Under the guidance of permanent volunteers at the kitchens, they helped feed multiple families and children: · Served customers · Packaged food bowls · Organized food in the kitchen · Got a hands-on experience of cooking basic food for some customers · Mopped, dusted and stored items in the kitchens so that they were ready for the next day. The volunteers enjoyed this experience to help in the community and together they were able to feed multiple families. The Capuchin Soup Kitchen employees were extremely appreciative of the help and hoped we could come back again. Volunteers that participated: Youth: Kushal Durga, Rishi Adduri, Sai Sahasra Namuduri, Veeksha Somula, Akshith Ashwanth Adult: Vandana Durga, Durga Sangita, Raghunathan Namuduri, Vanitha Gopalan Check out our compilation of photos Check out our Facebook Post: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5616618845031765 A Note of appreciation from Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Thank you to our youth and adult volunteers from VT Seva-Detroit who came by on Saturday to volunteer at our Conner meal hall. We are truly appreciative of all of our volunteers who can help us spread love and share meals with the community. God bless! From a parent volunteer: It was a wonderful opportunity and has had a humbling experience being able to serve at the Capuchin soup kitchen. Blog Compiled by: Akshay Kumar (YouthBoard Volunteer) Blog Published by Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSevaDetroit Communications)

VT Seva Detroit is organizing a soccer tournament, on June 25th, 2022 from 11:30 AM in Total Sports Novi East. Proceeds from this tournament will go to schools in India for visually challenged children. VT Seva supports Schools for the Blind in India such as Nethra Vidyalaya . These schools provide higher education to visually challenged students and enable them to be independent and compete with other students. VT Seva Detroit is conducting its 3rd Annual Soccer Tournament this summer. All the proceeds go to VT Seva supported Schools for the Blind Date: June 25th, 2022 from 11:30 AM EST Venue: Total Sports Novi EAST 41550 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI 48375 Kids from age 6 and above are eligible to participate in this soccer tournament for a great cause. Come join us and play for the cause. More details please contact: Suresh: 734-612-4961 Venkat: 313-587-8011 Srinath: 949-232-9477 detroit.director@vtsworld.org For volunteering opportunities, please contact: Vanitha @ 248-227-3094 If you would like to sponsor for the event or company sponsorship or to place your business logo, banner, or any other type of promotion, please contact detroit.director@vtsworld.org / Srinath@ 949-232-9477 or Sudheer @213-399-2315 Published by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VTseva Detroit Youth board successfully wrapped up the 1st quarter of 2022! We implemented 7 projects that were all initiated by the youth board members. In the 1st quarter we completed 7 projects: ● Rescue Dogs Towel Donation Project ● Grocery Bag Donation Project ● Habitat For Humanity Volunteering ● CASS Community Service ● Teen Mental Wellness Event ● Open Door Outreach Center ● Statue Of Equality Project Video created by: Youth Board Member Sonika Rescue Dogs Towel donation project Project Lead: Youth Board Member 𝗢𝘃𝗶𝘆𝗮. Foster animals have gone through many things in their lives that are unimaginable. Animal shelters take in these animals and bathe them, feed them, and take care of them. The VT Seva Detroit Youth Board did their part to help these animals by collecting the used towels. The towels that we think are useless after some time are a great help to these shelters to take care of the dogs after giving them a bath, potty training, and for padding in beds and such. 30 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫s reached out to their friends and families and collected 90 big towels. Members who participated in this project are Abinav S, Abisrishti, Amogh, Anirudh, Anuraag, Arnav, Arya, Harish, Hiba, Hrudya, Kaavya, Kushal, Nikhil A, Nitya S, Oviya, Rachana, Rashmitha, Rishi, Rohan, Sai Sriram, Satvik, Sanjana, Shritha, Shruthi, Siddharth, Sravya, Srihari A, Teja, Varshini, Varun. 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 - supports the rescue animals by fostering them. They were so happy to receive the towels. The towels are all used in great ways, they are given to many foster families and are used to clean animals, provide padding, etc. 𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗶𝗺 from Last Day Dog Rescue was overjoyed to see the number of towels we had for them and appreciate every single youth board member who has donated towels on behalf of Last Day Dog Rescue. Special shout out to the parent volunteers 𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝗷𝗶, 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗷𝗶, 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗷𝗶, 𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝗷𝗶 for collecting the towels in each city and dropping off. Without parent volunteers, it is not possible to conduct drive-ins in multiple cities. Thanks to 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝘆𝗮 𝗷𝗶 for being an adult coordinator. https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search/?q=dog 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 Project Lead: Youth Board Member 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮. Many in our city don’t have enough food to enjoy 3 meals a day. By aiding a food bank, we are allowing these people access to meals that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain. The VT Seva Detroit Youth Board did their part to help these people by collecting grocery bags. The plastic grocery bags that we get from stores are a great help to these food banks. It is a better way to reuse the bags to pack the food for distribution. 44 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝘀 reached out to their friends and families and collected around 𝟮𝟳𝟱𝟬 + grocery bags. Members who participated in this project are Abhinav S, Abisrishti, Akshay, Amogh, Anirudh, Anuraag, Anvika, Arnav, Arya, Deeptha A, Harish, Hiba, Hrudya, Kaavya, Kalki, Kaustubh, Kushal, Nikhil A, Nitya S, Oviya, Rachana, Rashmitha, Rishi, Rohan, Sai Sriram, Saisahasra, Saisha, Sanjana, Sanjith, Sathvik, Shreya, Sritha, Shruthi, Siddharth, Sneha, Sonika Panchakarla, Sravya, Siri Kashyap, Srihari A, Srinika, Teja, Veeksha, Varun 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 - a food bank that holds a weekly drive-through food pickup for those that need it . They support around 300 families per week and have supported 8100 families over the past 19 years. They also help with creating your resume, finding a job, and computer training. Through everything, they actively support 600 families each month. When dropping off the bags, the lead volunteer coordinator, Kevin, and the director Steve was overjoyed to see the number we had collected. He was so grateful for the Youth Board’s help! https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search?q=grocery 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. Project Lead: Youth Board Member: 𝗢𝘃𝗶𝘆𝗮 Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization that works in nearly 𝟭,𝟰𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 and in approximately 70 countries around the world. Habitat Oakland County’s mission has a hyper-local focus with a world vision that engages donors, homeowners, neighbors, and volunteers working together to build better living environments. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗮𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝗮𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺. 31 youths and adults helped at Farmington Hills Restore by cleaning the furniture, organizing items, sorting things, and throwing away unwanted items. With this active volunteer group, the whole warehouse was cleaned in a couple of hours. Awesome work done by our VT Seva volunteers. Mrs.Laurie & Mr.Q were really appreciative of our support Our wonderful volunteers for this event are 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Hrudya, Oviya, Sai Sahasra, Rohan, Sathvik, Akshay, Kushal, Saisriram, Nitya S, Akshith, Eesha, Sravya, Veeksha, Rishi, Udhayaa, Pavan, Sonika, Anand, Anuraag, Ananya S 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Priya, Savita, Asha, Vandana, Srinath, Venkat, Durga, Jisha, Nagaraj, Ramya, Raghunanthan Special thanks to 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗷𝗶 for being an adult coordinator https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search?q=habitat 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 Project VT Seva Detroit Youth Board volunteers spent this afternoon in CASS Community Service by helping them with decluttering items, flattening cardboard boxes for recycling, folding and stacking up blankets, transferring the wooden furniture to the 7th floor, mattresses to its floor, and glass items, books, household items to a different floor. They also stacked up all the food boxes in their pantry. All these items will be either donated to the people who are moving into their own homes from shelters or sold to support all of the amazing support provided by CASS. CASS prepares and serves 700,000 meals a year. CASS also provides a warming center, emergency shelter, rotating shelters, permanent supportive housing, and a free medical clinic. They also offer employment through their Green Industries. Overall, everyone enjoyed the experience and traveling in their gigantic elevator. Reflection from youth volunteer Oviya: “ It was good to know that all of our help was indirectly helping people in need. I loved the giant elevator too” The wonderful volunteers who participated today are: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵: Hrudya, Oviya, Anvika, Sravya, Veeksha, Rishi, Rashmitha, Shriya, Tarun, and Sreeninka 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁: Priya, Jaisankar, Vanitha, Durga, Suresh https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search/?q=cass 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱: 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗿 In celebration of 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 the Detroit Youth Board members send each other kind messages and thanking each other for their support. In light of recent global events, it's extremely important that we continue to promote peace and respect to each other. By letting others know that we appreciate their work, we show our support for our community as a whole and also make sure that they are appreciated. This event was an amazing opportunity for our youth volunteers to get closer as an organization. Members were assigned 3 other volunteers. Then, members head to each volunteer's Kudoboard, a virtual site where they can post messages addressed to a specific volunteer. Here, members sent encouraging words and appreciative messages to their fellow volunteers. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀: Abhinav Suresh, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Amogh Pisipati, Anuraag Balaji, Anvika Perumalla, Dhanya Ramanujam, Harish Jaisankar, Hiba Zyna, Ishaan Sid, Kaavya Karnati, Kaustubh Dingari, Komal Yedla, Medhas Kollu, Niharika Prabhu, Oviya Jaisankar, Pranav Kota, Pravin Manojkumar, Ruthvi Ala, Sai Sahasra Namuduri, Sai Sri Ram Karnati, Saisha Srivatsan, Samhith, Sanjana Datla, Sathvik Tirumala Kanduri, Shivani Nimmagadda, Siddhant Bhirud, Siddharth Tirumala Kanduri, Sravya Saranu, Sreenika Perumalla, Tarun Rajesh, Veena Karthik https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/videos/1004660667144665/ 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿: 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗿 On March 26, the VTseva Detroit youth board volunteered at the Open-Door Outreach Center. The event was a very unique and eye-opening experience. Most of the time, people donate what they can to support people with low incomes or those who are less fortunate than they are. But not many get to actually see the work that is put in once they have donated or helped. When VT Seva volunteers arrived at the Outreach Center, they did not just start working. They were given a tour of the thrift store as well as a summary of how the staff organizes things from clothes and toys all the way to food which is a very broad range of necessities. The staff were very friendly as they were patient with the sorting and answered any questions with no problem. VT Seva volunteers were able to see the efforts that this organization puts in every day and were able to be a small part of that. All the youth volunteers found this project satisfying and fun-filled! Anuraag Balaji, a youth volunteer said, “ The outreach volunteering was a great opportunity for me to realize the living conditions of the unfortunate. I was able to help organize clothes that would eventually go to the needy. This event was an eye-opener on how I take many things for granted and made me realize that many people don’t have basic necessities.” 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Anuraag, Anvika, Christeena, Dhruv, Sneha kiran raju, Srihari A, Tarun & Vishnu 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Chandrasekar, Vijay https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search/?q=open%20door VTS Detroit YB & Prajna Collaborated Rise to Equality Poster Project Prajna - MI Students & VT Seva Detroit Youth Board Members are learning about the leaders who stood up for equality and created posters about them and published on social media every day in the month of January to celebrate the commemoration of the Statue of Equality. Prajna Students and VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members who are in kindergarten to high school created all the posters. Thanks to all the youths who created posters Oviya, Rashmitha, Kaustubh, Srivibha, Shritha, Varun, Nikhil, Hiba, Udhayaa, Abishristi, Namya, Kavi, Kalki, Advaith, Adhip, Pavan, Swathi, Siddharth, Varsha, Samiksha, Aditi, Srinika, Akshay, Mihira & Harish. https://www.facebook.com/page/804058126287885/search/?q=eqality%20project Blog Consolidated By: Niharika, Youth Board Member Video Compiled By: Sonika, Youth Board Member Blog Published By: Nandini, VTSeva Detroit Communications

“Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity – Nat Turner” With thorough preparation and practice, one can build good communication skills. VT Seva Detroit provided a great workshop for our youths to enhance their public speaking skills with the guidance of the Distinguished Toastmaster, Mr. Raju Brahmandhabheri. Mr. Brahmandhabheri is passionate about public speaking and communication skills and has been a Toastmaster (a platform to improve public speaking and leadership skills) for the last 8 years where he achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster’s Award - the highest educational award in the Toastmasters program. By profession, he is an electrical engineer and has been working in the utility industry for the past 18 years. He is currently working as an Engineering Manager at ITC Holdings Corp., Novi, Michigan. He has a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Mississippi State University and teaches Electrical Engineering at Lawrence Tech University on a part-time basis as he passionate about teaching. He is a mentor for the high school students to coach/advise/prepare them for the annual Leadership Speech Contest hosted by the National Management Association (NMA). In April this year, he led the efforts to create a new corporate Toastmasters club at his workplace, ITC and continues to mentor the new club. He is one of the founders, past president, and current board member of the Detroit Telangana Community (DTC). On March 12, 2022, 54 youths attended our online workshop and learned amazing tips and tricks from this Toastmaster. It was a great experience with an interactive session. Public speaking techniques were shared with the youths. Youths were preparing their speeches with the techniques they learned in the workshop and presented their prepared speeches on March 19, 2022. < On March 19, 2022, youths' speeches were evaluated by 3 wonderful judges Mr. Raju Brahmandhabheri, Alison Jolliff & Raghuram Samudrala. Alison Jollif is originally from England and has been in the US for 10 years. She became a Toastmaster two years ago and is now President of the Novi Toastmasters club. Prior to joining Toastmasters Inter-national, Alison studied to achieve a Master's degree in training and organizational development, and she currently works as a tutor. Raghuram Samudrala lives in the Suburbs of Boston-MA. He works as Sr. Manager for Boston Scientific is a Medical Device Company. He is been part of the VT Seva Boston Chapter for over a decade. VTSeva helped him embody the true value of service. Involved in various service activities thru VTSeva including Public Speaking Competitions, Cancer Awareness Wlakthons, Health Camps in India, Bloom Fundraiser Events for Visually Challenged Students & Service at Soup Kitchens. He carried these same values to champion a series of health camps in India thru Boston Scientific making a positive impact on over 3000 primary school children. Every year this program is growing leaps and bounds. Priya & Architha welcomed the facilitator & judges and went over the rules of the workshop. VTSeva Detroit Director Srinath & VTSeva National Secretary Sudheer explained about VT Seva, Nethra Vidyalaya Schools & Tribal Schools. Thanks to Chandrasekar for sponsoring the workshop . Public Speaking Committee: Priya , Archita, Srinath & Sudheer Blog written by: Priya Jaisankar Blog posted by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VT Seva is organizing its very first Table Tennis and Badminton Tournaments this year, on April 30th, 2022 8:00 AM EST at Sparc Arena Sports & Recreation, in Novi, Michigan . All proceeds from these tournaments will go towards the schools in India for the visually challenged children at Nethra Vidhyalaya and the Tribal School children. VT Seva supports Nethra Vidyalaya schools for the Blind in India in order to provide higher education to visually challenged students and enable them to be independent and compete with other students. It also supports the remotely located Tribal Schools in impoverished communities and provides access and opportunities to quality education, healthcare and enables them to live with dignity & pride. Date: April 30th, 2022 at 8:00 AM EST Venue: Sparc Arena Sports & Recreation , 42775 W 9 Mile Rd, Novi, MI 48375 Please go through the guidelines and rules before your register: Guidelines and Rules for TT & Badminton Come join us and play for cause. More details please contact: Suresh: 734-612-4961 Nandini: 248-982-9307 Harshini: 248-895-2301 Vishwas: 248-986-5320 Venkat: 313-587-8011 Srivardhan: 503-807-2555 Sirisha: 313-910-0317 SrinathBabu: 949-232-9477 Sudheer: 213-399-2315 Email: detroit.director@vtsworld.org For volunteering opportunities, please contact: Vanitha @ 248-227-3094 If you would like to sponsor for the event or company sponsorship or to place your business logo, banner or any other type of promotion, please contact detroit.director@vtsworld.org / Srinath@ 949-232-9477 or Sudheer @213-399-2315 VTSEVA TABLE TENNIS (AND/OR) BADMINTON TOURNAMENTS LIABILITY WAIVER FORM Participant Waiver & Liability Agreement I understand that there are risks associated with playing all sports and field-related activities. In consideration for the privilege to use the Sparc Arena facility and/or attend the VT Seva Detroit Table Tennis (and/or) Badminton tournament(s), my participation indicates that I assume the risk of any injuries that myself or my children/wards may sustain while participating in any VT Seva sponsored sports activity and for any injuries which myself or my children/wards may sustain while on the premises of Sparc Arena, Novi, Michigan. I assure that I am, or my child is physically and mentally able to participate in the physical activities and has been examined by a licensed medical physician within one (1) year prior to attending this clinic/camp. By registering for the tournament, I am signing this Waiver and Liability Agreement. I acknowledge that I HAVE READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO ALL OF ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS INCLUDING PERMISION TO TREAT AGREEMENT. I further state that I have executed this waiver and liability voluntarily and with full knowledge of its significance to be binding on my, my heirs, executors, administrators and assigns. ___ Signature assumed automatically if you register _______ Participant’s Signature (Parent/Guardian if under 18) Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VT Seva Detroit successfully celebrated the 6th Annual Cultural Event RAAS-2021 on October 30th, 2021. RAAS is our Annual Celebration event, culminating a great year of various fundraising activities and volunteering service to the community. Some of the key highlights of the event: Raised funds for 253 Blind and Tribal students’ education 300+ people attended Sumptuous Dinner with Mesmerizing Entertainment Special Thanks to Hon. Senator Jim Runestad for reading out the historic resolution of Deewali festival recognition in the state of Michigan from the stage of VT Seva Detroit RAAS on an auspicious Thirunakshatram day of H.H. Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami ji. H.H. Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami ji Artwork by VT Seva Detroit member Shreya Srivatsan . Shreya's artwork was auctioned to benefit Tribal Student's education A memorable evening with marvelous Entertainment & Sumptuous Dinner VT Seva Detroit board acknowledged the year-long hard work of our dedicated volunteers and kind donors with an evening of music, dance, skits, food, fun, and celebration. Dhol Tasha & Team welcomed all the guests with their spectacular and roaring drumbeats. With her melodious voice, Ananya started the evening with the American & Indian National Anthem, followed by Prayer by Prajna kids. Motivational & Inspirational Speeches from Hon. Jim Runestad (State Senate of the 15th district), Hon. Padma Kuppa (Member of the Michigan House of Representatives) & Mr. Cory Joyrich (Director of Major Gifts and Corporate Partnerships) Eight Detroit Youth Board (YB) members did an excellent job as Emcees and started the evening with an upbeat Bollywood dance. Then, they entertained the crowd with a surprise mob dance. This group brought a positive and energetic vibe on the stage and kept the crowd engaged throughout the evening. Harish & Sanjana quoted testimonials from Nethra Vidyalaya and the tribal schools. Oviya, Hiba, Kaavya & Saisha scripted and played a script about pillars of VTSeva (Education for Visually Challenged, Education for Tribal Students, Cancer Screening Camps, Disaster Recovery, Youth Empowerment). VT Seva Detroit Youthboard Activities Priya Jaisankar (VTSeva Detroit YB Director) delivered a speech about the progress of the VT Seva Detroit Youth Board. They had a fantastic year in 2021. Some of their key accomplishments: 18 events 3 Fundraising events The first-ever Chess camp (conducted by YB member Tarun). The first-ever Walkathon (proceeds were given to Angel of Hope, MI, and Covid relief activities in India) 28 YB members raised money for 28 Nethra Vidyalaya students through Student - 4 - Student Outreach Project . 8 YB members received PVSA awards Gold: Harish, Oviya, Risha, and Saisha, Silver: Shreya Bronze: Abhinav S, Hrudya, and Aishani. YB members had a terrific opportunity to lead and participate in the community services and enhance their writing skills by writing blogs and showing their creativity in their videos about the events. VT Seva Detroit Volunteering Activities Vanitha Gopalan (National YB Director and Detroit volunteering coordinator) and three YB team members Sai Sahasra, Rohan Patil, Sidharth presented statistics on VT Seva Detroit volunteering and fundraising activities on the RAAS stage. For more information, please review the below PDF presentation. Registration Desk The registration team did an excellent job welcoming the guests. Bighearted local restaurants sponsored delicious food. The Volunteers packed and served the food. Rocking Dance performances: We had a gala of professional teams and local talent that rocked the stage from classical to Bollywood. Nrithyala School of Dance Team Emcee Dance Team Smrithi Dance Team Mathangi Dance Team Usha Dance Team Melodious Singing Performances: Both professional and our local talent mesmerized the audience. Kalyani Ji Team (Swaralapana Team - Medley) Suresh Ji, Aravind Ji and Ratna Giri Ji Sandeep Ji Pleasant Flute Performance by Kids VTSeva Detroit Thanks to all the Sponsors and Volunteers for their services. Roaring Dhol Tasha & Team : Pranav Ji, Sathish Ji & Team Singing Performances: Swaralapana (Kalyani Ji Team) - Medley Dance performances: Nrithyala School of Dance, Smrithi Dance, Mathangi Dance, Usha Dance Impressive Stage and Lobby Decoration : RAAS Clicks, Subha Ji & Ram Ji Excellent Cinematic Videography & Facebook Live: Vathsal Ji & Team Beautiful Pics : Anoop Ji Rocking D.J. Services : Srinivasa Raju Ji & his son Teja (Lucky) Media Sponsor - MI India Delicious Food by local Restaurants. Our Dedicated Volunteers Special Thanks to our Detroit Director Srinath Karnati ji for his dedication and leadership throughout the year. Special Thanks to Sudhakar ji, Sudheerji, Srinath ji, Narsaraj ji, Zahara ji, Swapna ji, Lathaji, Anand ji, Priya ji, Jaisankar ji, Vanitha Ji, Suresh ji, Nandini ji, Sreenivas ji, Jyothi ji, Asha ji, Srivardhan ji, Keerthi ji, Raghunathan ji, Akshay ji, Srikanth ji, Vamshi ji, Ramya ji, Nivedhita ji, Pavan ji and many more Volunteers. Our Dedicated Youth Volunteers Aditya, Pranav, Jishnu, Nikhil, Surya, Yug, Abhinav, Harish, Oviya, Hiba, Kavya, Sai, Saisha, Sai Sahasra, Sidharth, Anirudh, Veeksha, Vasudeva, Abhisrishti, Hrudya, Teja, Arya, Varnik, Shivani, Aditi This was one of the best events we ever had. Thanks to all Event Sponsors, Donors, Supporters, and Volunteers who helped this event make it a big success. Thanks to all the unsung supporters for this great cause. It would not have been possible to pull off such a HUGE event without your constant support and help. For more pictures, please check out this link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VAJaJA0JjGyuyE97VMY0Pb5JMund1Uvn Please go to Facebook Page to 'Like' and 'Comment' https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5609493229077660 Watch complete RAAS event RAAS 2021 FLYER For other events and activities from Detroit, please visit http://vtsworld.org/detroit Blog created and published by Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications) THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL! YOUR SUPPORT IS OUR STRENGTH TO SERVE

VT Seva Detroit 2021 year-end volunteering with · The PinkList Org on November 18th,2021 · The Salvation Army on December 4th,2021. VT Seva Detroit volunteers packed Pink Kits on November 18th, 2021 for ThePinkList org at Oasis Skin Studio towards Karmanos Cancer Institute, Michigan. The Pink List is a nonprofit organization that provides resources to families affected by breast cancer, while further raising awareness around breast cancer. The PINK List is committed to sending chemotherapy care packages (Pink Kits) to Karmanos Cancer Institute for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, including 50 patients at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Each Pink Kit includes Pink fuzzy socks; Unscented moisturizer; Lip balm; Pink journal and pen; Herbal tea bags and a letter of hope. Oasis Skin Studio hosted The Pink List Packing event in their studio. VT Seva Detroit got an opportunity to help them pack these kits and sort out their kits as per their instructions & we were able to pack 46 kits overall in an hour. Lending support is great, but cancer patients can also benefit from positive messages. Our youth volunteers also wrote kind letters of encouragement , inspirational things for these cancer patients. We hope their words of hope motivate them to get through another day of their hospital treatments and bring some smiles to their faces. There were 8 volunteers who spent their time and helped them. These are our wonderful volunteers who participated. Youth Volunteers: Sidharth, Satvik, Shruthi, Rishi Adult Volunteers: Priya, Asha, Durga and Vanitha We are also looking forward to providing our support in 2022 as well. Please do find our Facebook post for pictures and other details: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5248705181823135 ThePinkList Appreciation Letter is below: VTS Detroit Volunteers packed Toys on DEC 4th 2021 for Salvation Army Angel Tree Program at Farmington Hills Salvation Army provides new clothes and new toys to more than 1 million children in need through their Angel Tree Program. Walmart and The Salvation Army are joining to help millions of children. Once the gifts are received, The Salvation Army will distribute them to families in need for Christmas morning. To make that happen, they were in need of lots of volunteers to help them accomplish their huge tasks. We took that Wishlist that was being sent by many children who are in need of gifts for this Christmas, each of those was categorized into a different age, gender. We sorted & organized those gifts into respective age categories and then finally packed them into those big red bags from the Salvation army. More than 150 families are registered with Salvation Army Farmington Hills who are under the poverty line and in need of big support. There were 10 volunteers who spent their time and helped them. These are our wonderful volunteers who participated. Youth volunteers: Advaith S; Abhinav S; Adithya S; Nitya S; Ananya S; Kushal; Srivatsa T; Akshay K Adult volunteers: Rajesh; Vanitha Please find below the photo compilation video: Please find below appreciation video message from Mrs. Karen Kumar https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/videos/1244798769263348/ Please find below the Facebook post link: https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5316233428403643 VT Seva Detroit sincerely thank each one of our volunteer’s valuable time and special appreciation to Salvation Army Coordinator Mrs. Karen Kumar & Lieutenant Mr. Anil Kumar Corps officer at Salvation Army Farmington Hills for giving us this wonderful opportunity to serve them. We are looking forward to many more opportunities in 2022 as well. Blog written by Vanitha Gopalan Blog Published by Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

Fleece & Thank You, a Michigan-based non-profit organization, is dedicated to providing connection, comfort, and hope through its programs, services, and materials to children facing illness and their families supporting them. They host over 400 blanket-making events every year to help achieve their goal of making 30,000 fleece blankets one blanket for every child in MI that goes into the hospital for inpatient treatments. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿. Their warehouse is where all of their behind-the-scenes work happens. VT Seva Detroit Volunteers got their first opportunity on August 16th, 2021, got this opportunity to help them from 3 pm - 5 pm at their warehouse. Around 8 volunteers did these tasks. 1. Prepping their blanket kits 2. Quality check on those blankets 3. Folding the blankets after a final check 4. Wrapped them up with a plastic wrap 5. Packed them in kits for final delivery to hospitals. 6. Coloring the thank you cards that they were doing for Hug buddy postcards for mental health people that is for View spire organization. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮,𝗩𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗮 , 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗲𝗻,𝗞𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗮 ,𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶, 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗮 Facebook link for August 16th, 2021 VT Seva Detroit Volunteers got their second opportunity on November 20th, 2021 to help them 9 am -12 pm at their warehouse. Around 12 volunteers did these tasks. This is our second visit there and we really loved helping them and being part of their kind wonderful cause. Our volunteers did various tasks such as 1. Cutting the strip cloth 2. Hot pressing labels on each blanket 3. Bundling all the blankets neatly and stack in covers & boxes 4. Folding blankets 5. Organizing warehouse blankets storage boxes finally cleaned their work area. On a whole we all worked on 1000 blankets which are ready for a child to use in a hospital Video Compilation of photos link: Facebook link for Nov 20th, 2021 VT Seva Detroit thank Fleece &Thankyou coordinators for giving us these opportunities and We are looking forward to provide our services to Fleece&Thankyou in 2022 as well whenever an opportunity arrives. Blog written by Vanitha Gopalan Blog published by Nandini Cheemalamari (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VT Seva Detroit Youth Board successfully wrapped up 2021 by completing their goal of implementing at least one project each month which is initated by youth. In 4th quarter they completed 6 projects o Student – 4 – Student Outreach Project o Candy Drive o Eyeglass Drive o Book Drive o Salvation Army Bell Ringing o Rise to Equality Poster Video created by youth volunteer Harish . Student – 4 – Student OutreachProject: VT Seva Detroit Youth Board raised money by creating awareness of VT Seva who are not aware of VT Seva and its causes. This year 28 students participated and raised money for 28 students in Nethra Vidyalaya Schools. 170 donors donated $10,450. Please visit the blog for more details and video. Project idea was proposed by youth volunteer Harish . https://www.vtsworld.org/post/vt-seva-detroit-youth-board-2nd-outreach-2021 Candy Drive: 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 is the fun time for the children to go out for Trick-or-Treat in their costumes with friends and count the candies they collected and securing their favorite ones. Our Youth Board members went for Trick-or-Treat rather saving the collected candies for themselves, they donated it to the deployed troops through "𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲" a non-profit organization that sends care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and handmade items to 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀. Local Dentistry in Livonia collects the candy and send it to Operation Gratitude. 11 Youth Board members from different cities collected and donated 42 pounds of candies to the deployed troops. Youth Board Members donated : Hiba, Rashmitha, Siddharth, Sathvik, Veeksha, Abhinav S, Anuraag, Srihari A, Nikhil S, Harish & Oviya Adult volunteers : Lavanya, Vanitha, Zahara and Priya https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5194988527194801 Eyeglass Drive: Youth Board Member 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶 Proposed the idea Eye Glass Drive as part of their November month Project 22 youth board members collected 72 prescription eye glasses Rishi & Shruthi collected 24 eye glasses by canvassing in their neighborhood. Eye glassess were donated at Eyeglass World . Lions club partner with Eyeglass world in collecting them. Used eyeglasses that are collected by Lions and other volunteers are recycled at one of ten Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers throughout the world. The used eyeglasses are cleaned, repaired and classified by prescription. The eyeglasses are then distributed to those in need by Lion volunteers and other organizations hosting optical missions in developing countries Thanks to Rishi for proposing this idea and all the youth board members who participated in this project. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘆𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲: Rishi, Shruthi, Srihari A, Anuraag, Anvika, Sreenika, Saisha , Shreya, Abhinav S, Abisrishti, Hiba, Rohan, Rashmitha, Nikhil A, Teja, Arya, Sidharth, Sathvik, Sai Sriram, Kaavya, Oviya & Harish 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Sripriya, Srinath, Vanitha, Nalini & Priya https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5292530994107220 Book Drive: We've collected 450+ books. This is the first time that Goodwill Store get a collection of books from a group of youths and getting books in high volume. These books will definitely help the children in need. Thanks to Amogh for bringing in this project and working with Goodwill. Thanks to Amogh, Kaavya and Harish to visit Goodwill and helping with book drop off. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞: Abhinav S, Abishristi, Adi, Akshay, Ananya Sankar, Amogh, Anuraag, Anvika, Chakrika, Harish, Hiba, Hrudya, Ish, Kaavya, Kalki, Kushal, Nikhil A, Nitya Sankar, Oviya, Pranav M, Rashmitha, Rishi, Sai Sriram, Saisha, Sanjana, Sanjith, Sathvik, Shruthi, Siddharth, Sreenika, Srihari A, Srihari H, Supraja, Sveya, Udhayaa, Veena, Yug 𝐀𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Sripriya, Architha, Giri, Srinath & Priya https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5412863228740662 Salvation Army Bell Ringing VT Seva Detroit Youth Board Members making the change happen by ringing the bell for Salvation Army. 3 days (12/20, 12/21& 12/23), 8 youth volunteers rang the bell and impacted the the lives of neighbors by helping them in their time of need. They not only rang the bell, they sang songs and played christmas music in their instruments. This project was proposed and led by the youth volunteer Harish . 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 - 𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 - 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒚𝒂 - 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒃𝒂 - 𝑽𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏 & 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚 - 𝑽𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏 𝑶𝒗𝒊𝒚𝒂 - 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈 Each year, The Salvation Army will serve more than 25 million people across America – including many here in your community. That means 55+ million meals for the hungry, 10+ million nights of shelter for the homeless, and countless Christmas gifts for children who may otherwise go without. So truly, you can make a difference with every ring. The funds you raise as a Salvation Army bell ringer will make a year-round impact in your community through social services assistance, homeless shelters, disaster relief, children’s programs, rehabilitation services, anti-human trafficking, and more. Youth Volunteers : Harish, Siddharth, Kaavya, Sravya, Pranav T, Hiba, Akshay & Oviya. Adult Volunteer : Priya https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/5387426054617713 Rise to Equality Poster: VT Seva Detroit Youth Board collaborated with JET MI in creating the posters about the leaders who stood up for equality to honor the commomeration of Statue of Equality. These flyers will be posted in social media. Youths who participated in poster creation : Oviya, Jethri, Pavan, Abisrishti, Kaustubh, Advaith, Harish, Hiba, Siddharth, Rashmitha, Akshay, Udhayaa & Nikhil Adult Volunteer : Priya Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers & donors who made this year 2021 successful. Watch this video to recap the memories from all the projects in 2021. Video created by Priya. Blog Consolidated By: Youth Board Member Oviya Jaisankar Blog Published By: VTSeva Detroit Comm volunteer Nandini Cheemalamarri

After a very busy school year, summer break is time to relax. VT Seva Detroit Youth Board used their summer vacation not only for relaxing but helping others in te community and learnt about their history. The team implemented 5 projects this summer 1. Brilliant Detroit Reading Program 2. Manoogian Manor Senior Center Visits 3. Walkathon 4. Tribute to Bharath 5. Essential Workers Appreciation Project 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿 am Brilliant Detroit is dedicated to building kid success families and neighborhoods where families with children 0-8 have what they need to be school ready, healthy and stable. During the COVID-19 pandemic BD created a program called "𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿" where the volunteers will record the story book and send the videos to BD and these videos will go on a playlist that can only be exclusively accessed by families who live and participate in the Brilliant Detroit kid success neighborhoods. There are 11 Brilliant Detroit community centers located throughout neighborhoods in Detroit full of families who benefit from programming aimed to increase the literacy rate of these children. This helps the children who are learning from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VT Seva Detroit Youth Board partnered with Brilliant Detroit and created 87 videos. Youth Board Member Abhinav S coordinated with Brilliant Detroit to make it happen. This was a great summer project for all of the youths who participated to give back to community by supporting the kids education. 27 Youth Board members created 87 videos. YB Members Participated in this project are: 𝗔𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗮, 𝗔𝗯𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘃, 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗵, 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗻, 𝗘𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮, 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗵𝗶𝗹, 𝗡𝗶𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻, 𝗥𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻, 𝗦𝗿𝗮𝘃𝘆𝗮, 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝘂𝗻, 𝗨𝗱𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗮, 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵𝗮, 𝗡𝗲𝗵𝗮, 𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗛, 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶, 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗧, 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵, 𝗛𝗶𝗯𝗮, 𝗞𝗮𝗮𝘃𝘆𝗮, 𝗢𝘃𝗶𝘆𝗮, 𝗥𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗮, 𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗿𝗮, 𝗦𝗮𝗶 𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗺, 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗶 Please visit tinyurl.com/brilliantstorytime to see the published videos. Awesome job all the youth board members who participated in this project Brilliant Detroit video project created by: Abhinav S Please watch the video about this project Manoogian Manor Senior Center Visit In May, VTS Detroit YB members wrote Mother's Day and Father's Day cards for three different senior centers, including Manoogian Manor. Manoogian Manor Senior Center was impressed with the cards and reached out to Harish who initiated the Greeting Card projects and invited the Youth Board members to attend the bonfires with seniors on the summer. Volunteers spent their time there setting up seats on the patio, handing out pop and popsicles to the residents, socializing with the residents, pushing the wheelchairs, and cleaning up the area. The seniors in Manoogian Manor thanked the Youth Board members for their time and asked for them to come back in the future. They enjoyed talking with both the youth and adult volunteers, many of them shared their life stories and their experiences at the Manoogian Manor. The volunteers all said they had a good time and it was fun to do something they've never done before. What makes people feel happy and content is different for each person and often changes over time. But, our Manoogian Manor residents is always thrilled to see us back at their premises. YB members visited them 3 times during summer, each time both the seniors and the youth board members enjoyed their conversations. Youth volunteers who visited the seniors are : Aditi(3), Advaith(1), Eesha(3), Harish(1), Kaavya(1), Niharika (1), Nikita (1), Oviya (3), Tarun (1) and Veeksha(3) Adult volunteers who visited the seniors are : Vani (3), Srinath (1), Priya(3), Vanitha (1) Manoogian Manor Senior Center Visits video created by: Veeksha Please watch the video about their senior center visits. Walkathon The VT Seva Detroit Youth Board initiated their first-ever charity walkathon in 2021. Not only was it a first for our group, but it was also a hybrid walkathon, taking place both virtually and in person. 29 team members 162 participants, 43 days walked more than 20 Million steps (1000+ miles) All the proceeds from this event were donated to Angels of Hope and VT Seva Bharath . It was a very successful Walkathon, raised $3214 and splitted equally with both organizations. For more details and pictures please visit https://www.vtsworld.org/post/vt-seva-detroit-youth-board-initiated-first-walkathon Tribute to Bharath On August 15, 2021 , India celebrated its 75th Independence Day . British traders had established outposts in the Indian subcontinent by the 17th century. Through overwhelming military strength, the East India Company fought and annexed local kingdoms and established themselves as the dominant force in India by the 18th century. Oviya , a member of the Detroit youth board , proposed this project as a way to pay homage to those responsible for India’s independence. This was liked by many branches and became a national project. Atlanta, Austin, the Bay Area, and Cary youth team joined the Detroit team in appreciating these freedom fighters on the anniversary of India’s independence. 31 Youth Board members learned about 31 leaders and created 31 informational poster and posted it for whole month of August Youth Board members who participated in this project are: Oviya Jaisankar, Harish Jaisankar, Rashmita Raghunathan, Rachana Raghunathan, Anand Brijesh, Sravya Saranu, Hiba Zyna, Sai Sri Ram Karnati, Veeksha Somula, Abhinav Suresh, Eesha Chigullapally, Kaustubh Dingari, Udhayaa Arul, Ishani Shetty, Pavan Nagaraj, Srihari Hebbar, Rohan Patil, Amogh Pisipati, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Hrudya Kishore, Nikita Talwar, Sanjay Sundarapandiyan, Nirvan Daram, Kalki Renga Anand, Adhvaith Suresh, Eashan Daram, Pranav Maringanti, Adhip Pisipati, Shruthi Adduri, Siddharth Tirumala Kanduri and Niharika prabhu Tribute to Bharath project video created by: Oviya Please watch the video about Tribute to Bharath project at For more details about this project please visit https://www.vtsworld.org/post/tribute-to-bharath Essential Workers Appreciation Project: VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members celebrated this labor day by expressing their appreciation to the essential workers who makes our life goes smoothly every day even during the pandemic. Either rain or shine, pandemic or non pandemic, we all got our mails, we all got our trash picked up, we all got our groceries, all of our kids went to school by bus. Can't even imaginge not having any of those services accessible to us. They came to our door steps to provide services to us. Our YB members gave thank you notes to 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄, 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 and many more 𝟯𝟰 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 surprised the essential workers by giving thank you notes, choclates, gifts and gift cards to all the essential workers. They did made a change in their life, workers were so grateful to be appreciated. Some workers even had a tears of joy. This project taught our YB members the value of Gratitude and how much it impacts the giver and receiver positively. All the members who participated in this project was really happy for the opportunity and start noticing whats around them Youth Volunteers : Oviya, Harish, Sravya, Eesha, Rachana, Kaavya, Sai, Hiba, Rashmitha, Advaith, Chakrika, Abhinav, Saisha, Udhayaa, Srihari A, Anurag, Sai Sahasra, Shruthi, Rishi, Nitya, Aditya, Ananya, Kausthubh Amogh, Pranav M, Dhruthi, Teja, Arya, Siddharth, Ishani, Akshay, Varshini, Aneeshwa, and Vibha Essential Workers Appreciation Project video created by: Siddharth Please watch the video about this project Newsletter Consolidated by: Harish Jaisankar Published by : Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

“The Youths of Today are the leaders of tomorrow” - Nelson Mandela Good Communication is one of the core leadership skills. One should be able to express their ideas and be able to speak up for others to be a leader. In this modern world, people want everything fast. In a short period of time we should be able to explain and convince our ideas to the world. This competition is designed for that, youths prepare a speech for 2 minutes on one of the topics listed below and present it to get feedback from experienced people such as teachers, Toastmasters, and senior management personnel. By participating in this competition these youths supported VT Seva’s mission and vision. Youth empowerment, this competition gave them an opportunity to express their views on the topics and by participating in it all the contributions went towards the Nethra Vidyalaya student’s education. On a fine Sunday afternoon Oct 3rd, 2021, 31 youths attended the public speaking competition and made it a successful first competition in Troy. There were 3 groups of students who participated in the competition: Group 1 : Grade 3-5 Group 2 : Grade 6-8 Group 3 : Grade 9-12 They get to pick from any one of the following 3 topics: Education is the best weapon against overcoming disability Impacts of remote learning Social effects of cyberbullying and how it can be curbed We had 4 wonderful judges who analyzed the speeches given by these youths and gave their feedback. Without them it's not possible to have a competition. Our judges were, Raju Brahmandhabheri: He is passionate about public speaking and communication skills and has been a part of Toastmaster International (the platform to improve Public speaking and leadership skills) for the last 8 years and achieved the DTM (Distinguished ToastMasters)- the highest educational award in the Toastmasters program. He is a mentor for the high school students to coach/advise/prepare them for the annual Leadership Speech Contest hosted by National Management Association(NMA). He has served as a judge on various speech contests at Toastmasters and community organization’s educational competitions( public speaking, spelling bee etc) He is currently teaching public speaking skills for the kids at Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Livonia. By profession, he is an Electrical Engineer currently working as an Regional Engineering Manager at ITC Holdings Corp., Novi, Michigan. He also teaches Electrical Engineering classes at Lawrence Tech University, Southfield on a part time basis as an Adjunct faculty. Sriranga Seetharmachar: He is currently working at Auto Club Group (known as AAA) as Director of Data Business Intelligence and enjoys mentoring histeam to be effective communicators most, as a part of his responsibilities. He is an industrial engineer by education, and has spent the last 30 years in consulting, process improvement and fact based management for corporations. He is passionate about persuasive, compelling presentations to corporate audiences to influence fact based decisions and actions for business improvement and effectiveness. Thomas Zwolinski : He has been a member of Toastmasters International for 6 years and is currently an Area Director for Eastern Macomb County spanning 5 clubs. Prior to his role as Area Director, he served as two-term President for my current club, Macomb Motivators, and previously served as President for a corporate club at Comerica Bank. He retired in 2018 after working for over 35 years in Information Technology. He held several positions in IT from Software Development to Data Architecture and Governance. He mentors both new and existing members of Toastmasters about speaking and leadership opportunities. He has judged Toastmasters International Speech competitions in the past Joseph Verhelle: Graduated from Oakland University with a major in English w/ Secondary Education and a minor in History. He is currently working as a teacher at Troy High School. He teaches 9th and 10th grade English, along with Creative Writing. Public speaking and communication skills are key components of our state-wide curriculum and he enjoys establishing those very important skills in our youth. Architha & Priya welcomed the judges and went over the rules of the competition. VTSeva Detroit Director Srinath & VTSeva National Secretary Sudheer explained about VT Seva, Nethra Vidyalaya Schools & Tribal Schools. Greg, Chandrasekhar and Sudheer gave trophies to the winners. Thanks to Chandrasekar and Greg for sponsoring the competition and giving a hall. Thanks to Nandini (Detroit Communications) for her continuous support in publishing content provided by event leads in all our Social media channels from the start to the completion of the event. Wonderful volunteers who helped from start to end were Setup (Youth): Anvika, Sneha, Sreenika, Setup (Adult): Chandru, Jyothi, Vanitha, and Vijay Emcee: Harish Time Keepers: Venkat, Jaisankar, Sreenika Photography : Keerthi Public Speaking Committee: Priya , Archita, Chandrasekhar & Vijay Blog written by: Priya Jaisankar Blog posted by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

In this first of its kind event, friends and supporters of VT Seva organized a Food Stall at Liberty Park Subdivision on September 11th 2021 from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM in order to raise money for the visually challenged and tribal area school children. There was overwhelming support from enthusiastic volunteers who came forward to support in the areas of Planning, Set-up of Stalls, Cooking Equipment, Cooking, Serving & Distribution, Cash Register, Crowd Management, Safety & Security, Photography, Parking, Wrap up and cleanup. This event was very well received by the Liberty Park community and everyone pitched in with their contributions either through volunteering or through their contributions to buy food from the stalls. The response to the event really surprised everyone since it was a festive atmosphere throughout the subdivision. An estimated 300 people attended the outdoor event. This was a great opportunity to come outdoors, have a safe & delicious food made on the spot and contribute towards a great cause. We were able to raise enough money to support 10 children in total to benefit Nethra Vidhyalaya & Tribal School children with the support of great friends, family & LP community. Krishna ji, HOA lead and our hosts - Divya ji & Venkat ji, Liberty Park Residents, were extremely gracious to provide their Driveway to set up the Donation Stations, Tents and Food Stations. Their neighbors were also so kind to lend their driveways as well for any spillover stations, storage, etc. The entire Liberty Park community extended their helping hand so amazingly and embraced the event to make it their own. In the run-up to the event, Liberty Park Subdivision HOA and VT Seva Team met several times to discuss the logistics, supplies, location, volunteers, Safety precautions and menu items for the Food Stall. These pre-planning meetings were very important to ensure all the above aspects and much more are taken care within the community and the event location. There was a variety of food options – Plain Dosa, Podi Dosa, Onion Dosa, Pesaratu & Upma Dosa, Ghee Dosa, Cheese Dosa, Pongal, Kesari, Coffee, Masala Chai & Samosa. The Dosas were served with hot Sambar and Chutney as well. All the food items were sold out by 4:30 PM . At the conclusion of the event, every individual specially encouraged us to have this kind of an event every year and that they were eagerly waiting for the next one to happen soon! VT SEVA DETROIT IMMENSELY THANKS EACH & EVERY INDIVIDUAL WHO MADE THIS EVENT A GRAND SUCCESS & CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS THE CAUSE! Photos from the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1AxcPgx6xCY9aT4S9 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VTS DETROIT 2021 FOOD DRIVE FOR GLEANERS FOOD BANK AND CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN WITH THE HELP OF KROGER NOVI STORES SOLICITATION FINISHED OFF VERY SUCCESSFULLY VT Seva Detroit has always been proud to partner with Gleaners and Capuchin Soup Kitchen in any community service initiatives. Gleaner Food Bank is committed to end Hunger in Southeast Michigan along with their partner agencies as a part of Feeding America program. “Child” & “Hunger” are the two words that should never go together. To solve this complex problem Gleaners always collaborates with other agencies to find solutions for a hunger-free community. Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s mission is to tend to people's basic needs, especially the need for food and strives to stimulate minds and nourish spirits, and works to understand & address root causes of social injustice in our community. VT Seva Detroit has partnered with these two amazing organizations in many past Food Drives and Community Initiatives and have contributed immensely towards positively impacting the local community. As a part of this Food Drive, we collected 12 Boxes of Food donations and over $682.00 in CASH for the Food Banks from generous customers who shopped today (08/22/2021) at Kroger Novi store from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Amazing help from all our wonderful volunteers who were there on all shifts and tirelessly worked for this great success. Our youth volunteers and adult volunteers had all guns blazing throughout their shift slots reaching out to all the customers, distributing flyers, speaking about VT Seva Detroit and explaining the reason behind the food drive. They were spot on with their impeccable customer friendly skills and approach. We did see few people who were un-responsive towards their efforts but our Volunteers never gave up, continued to do their duties with the same energy and smile. We sincerely thank each one of these wonderful Youth and Adult volunteers who participated in the Food Drive. Youth volunteers: Sai Karnati, Sai Sahasra, Aditi, Hiba, Kaustubh, Pranav M, Dhruthi, Rashmitha ,Anand, Siddharth Adult volunteers: Srinath ji, Srivardhan ji, Nivedhita ji , Zahara ji, Vamshi ji, Raghunath ji, Suresh ji, Brijesh ji , Asha ji, Vanitha Amazing 👏👌 help by Brijesh ji, Suresh, Zahara ji, Raghunath ji , Asha ji in making boxes, sorting, packing, loading , unloading boxes Amazing help by Srinath ji , Srivardhan ji , Nivedhita ji, Vamshi ji in making boxes, sorting, packing during the morning hours till noon🙏 Special shout out to Asha ji for going home in-between of her volunteering shift at 4:00 pm to make some refreshing Masala Chai for Adult volunteers and treating our Youth volunteers with Lemonade, & Cup Cakes. After the collection, the Gleaners Food Bank associate drove all the way to our coordinator’s residence and picked up the food donation boxes & he was so appreciative and whole heartedly thanked for our efforts. We also delivered the remaining food donations boxes to Capuchin Kitchen Services, Detroit. Pastor Dijan was very kind to appreciate our efforts. We take this opportunity to also sincerely thank Kroger Corporate Executive, Stacy for approving VT Seva Detroit solicitation application and granting Novi Store to do food drive for Metro Detroit foodbanks to alleviate hunger in many families across Michigan. We plan on continuing to do the food drive every year with the help of Kroger. We received the below appreciation emails from Gleaners Food Bank! Thanks so much to you and all of VT Seva Detroit! You all make such a difference in our community. We very much appreciate the wonderful support we receive from VT Seva Detroit – you all have been such longtime and wonderful supporters! Thank you for organizing a food drive to benefit Gleaners Denise M. Leduc Director of Volunteer Services & Partner Support Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan Blog created by: Vanitha Gopalan Blog published by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (Detroit Communications) Thank you Detroit Communications for your support in Social Media updates. Thank you letter from Gleaners Food Bank. Please visit our Facebook Page for more info. https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/4960791387281184 Please Like, share to promote VTSeva Detroit efforts. Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

𝐕𝐓 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭s 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐌𝐈 June 19, July 28th 2021 About Crossroads Community Garden: Crossroads Community Garden is owned by the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Walled Lake. Crossroads Community Garden provides all their organically grown vegetables for the Hospitality House Food bank and others in need. They have a huge community garden whereby they let anyone willing to grow their own garden in or more garden plots. They will provide the land and water. Also, there is another way that one can join the fun to work in the community sections of their garden. One can volunteer to plant a whole assortment of fruits and vegetables from cabbage to zucchini. They will lay out a to be done list for each day so we just go and help them out in their gardening efforts towards supporting the Hospitality House Food Bank and other food banks. VT Seva Detroit Volunteers collaborated with them and got this wonderful opportunity to help their community garden & help for their good cause for the Hospitality House Food Bank. VT Seva Detroit 1st Event at Crossroads Community Garden on 06/19/2021 from 10 am to 12 pm. We helped Bobby and her associate in planting Butternut Squash, Buttercup/Winter Squash, clear out weeds, and till the ground using Rototiller. It was perfect weather to work outdoors in the garden until it started drizzling by the time we finished off all the assigned tasks. It was quite an enriching experience for all the youth & adult volunteers to learn how to till, make mounds to sow seeds using all the different garden tools. All in all, we had a great time outdoors helping the community. The produce from the garden will go to Hospitality House Food Bank in Walled Lake, Michigan where they will be distributed to those in need while maintaining the utmost respect for the dignity of the individuals. These are our volunteers who came and helped today. Youth Eashan Daram Nirvan Daram Rohan Patil Rashmita Raghunathan Shrikha Atchutuni Yug Patel Adult Savita Patil Manisha Daram Suresh Rajan Vanitha Gopalan All in All it was a great day serving outdoors doing gardening for Crossroads Community Garden, Walled Lake, MI. VT Seva Detroit 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟴𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭 What a great evening spent volunteering outdoors from 6pm to 8 pm sweating, toiling and getting hands dirty by 12 of our wonderful youth and adult VT Seva Detroit Volunteers at the Crossroads Community Garden, owned by the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Walled Lake, MI. Our Group helped planting Bush Beans, Early Cabbage, Weeded out a lot of weeds, trimmed and pruned down all eggplants plants ; sprayed organic fertilizers to all plants; Rototilled the soil & mowed the lawn and finally helped them at the end in organizing their garden tools and cleanup activities. It was quite an enriching experience to all our youth & adult volunteers and everyone enjoyed working as a group outdoors. Bobbie and her associates were full of praise about our awesome YOUTH and amazing adult volunteers for their efforts. These are our wonderful volunteers who came and helped today. Youth volunteers Anand, Hrudya, Hiba, Srihari H, Rohan, Abhinav, Yug. Adult volunteers Savita ji, Asha ji, Bhanu ji, Kishore ji, Vanitha Zahara ji & Phani ji were gracious enough to stop by for few minutes and encourage all our youth volunteers during the event. These are some of the feedbacks which we got from Bobbie at Crossroads Community Garden. “Please tell your volunteers that the beans they planted have sprouted and still protected with the wire fence. The eggplants are doing well thanks to your volunteers. And the weeds are down - also thanks to your volunteers. The green peppers, basil, potatoes, onions, and eggplants are all safe from the deer (so far). We will harvest these during August. We brought green peppers and basil to the Hospitality House - totaling almost 20 pounds.” We really appreciate all our wonderful VT Seva Detroit Volunteers who all participated for their time and help at the community garden. The vegetables grown were all distributed to the Hospitality Habitat Foodbank at Walled lake. We are also looking forward for any Fall cleanup activities with them later this year and continue our services next year as well. Thank you very much Crossroads Community Garden for giving us this opportunity. Blog created by: Vanitha Gopalan Blog published by: Nandini Cheemalamarri (Detroit Communications) Thank you our Detroit Communication Team for your support in publishing our blogs in FB and Websites. Please visit VT Seva Detroit Facebook page for more events, like and share to promote VT Seva activities. https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/4766764396683885 https://www.facebook.com/vtseva.detroit/posts/4897578726935784 Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

VT Seva Detroit conducted its first-ever Chess Camp . Youth Board member Tarun is passionate about Chess, participated in many tournaments and won them in State level competitions and is a leader in his Chess club. He wanted to help Nethra Vidyalaya kids with his passion. Tarun conducted our 1st ever chess camp online from Aug 2nd to Aug 4th, 2021. Tarun has his own website “ Need4Needy.org ”; he created the registration page on his website for this camp. Thanks to Harish for creating a flyer for this camp. 9 students registered and learned chess curiously. They were all enjoying the class thoroughly and liked to continue learning and playing chess. This camp did create a spark in them. All 9 participants were joining the camp each day happily and explored the tools and learned the techniques. Tarun was able to raise $365 which will help one student’s education for a year. VT Seva Detroit Youth Board thanks Tarun’s passion and contribution and would like to extend the thanks to Tarun’s mom Sowmiya & dad Rajesh also for their support from the beginning to the end of this camp. Thanks to our Detroit Communications team (Nandini) for her support in publishing content provided by event leads in all our Social media channels ( Whatsapp, Facebook, VTSworld Blogs, and Event logs) from start to the completion of the event. Message from camp organizer Tarun: Hello! My name is Tarun Rajesh and I’m going to be an incoming junior at International Academy East . I held a chess camp during the summer of 2021 in order to teach some of the basic fundamentals of chess of all ages. There were approximately 10 kids and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. This camp was held for three days with interactive quizzes and puzzles and collected $365 and the collected money was donated through VT Seva to Nethravidyala schools in India. I chose Nethravidyala , specifically, because these blind children don’t have many opportunities to live a successful life. Last summer, I held a similar chess camp and displayed all the details on my website: Need4needy.org. I still remember me as a 7 year old being introduced to the game of chess. I wish I could relive those moments and see how far I have come, but I know that I wouldn’t be the man I am today without chess. Lastly, I would like to thank VT Seva during this process and I hope to impact the community in other ways as well. Thanks, Tarun Blog Created By Priya Jaisankar Blog Published By Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)

The VT Seva Detroit Youth Board initiated their first-ever charity walkathon in 2021 . Not only was it a first for our group, but it was also a hybrid walkathon , taking place both virtually and in person. Walkathon participants were able to head to vtwalk.org, a custom website designed for this event. Rather than walking for just one day, the walkathon lasted all summer and supported two amazing causes. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, money becomes another issue on top of everything else. Angels of Hope provides financial assistance to Michigan families in need due to cancer so families can focus on supporting their loved ones. COVID-19 has hit India extremely hard, and the entire nation is in desperate need. VT Seva Bharath has been working relentlessly to support the nation with its fight against the pandemic. All the proceeds from this event were donated to Angels of Hope and VT Seva Bharath . It was a very successful Walkathon, raised $3214 and splitted equally with both organizations. We received a Thankyou letter from Angels of hope . So proud of all youth volunteers who made a difference in so many people's lives. The first step was building a brand new website for participants to register at and track their steps on. Weeks before the walkathon, the Detroit team worked with the Dallas team to create this website. It was amazing to collaborate with other branches and the website was done very professionally. A special thanks to Dallas Branch Director, Uttam for his dedication and support towards our website development and thanks to Harish, Oviya & Priya for doing the QA testing and load testing. Thanks to Harish for creating a flyer for Walkathon. On June 18, 2021 , vtwalk.org was launched at our Walkathon Kickoff Meeting . We had a ton of youth board volunteers in attendance, allowing for an interactive discussion to better understand our hybrid walkathon and the responsibilities associated with being a team lead. The youth board members who signed up as team leads created their own teams for the walkathon and motivated their team members to actively walk and track their steps. 29 team members 162 participants, 43 days walked more than 20 Million steps (1000+ miles) VT Seva Detroit has always wanted to contribute towards its healthcare pillar. In 2020, the VTS Detroit Youth Board started off by supporting the St. Mary Mercy hospital in Livonia by raising money to fund the purchase of N-95 masks and other COVID-19 treatment supplies. In 2021, the youth board continued this mission by supporting Angels of Hope and VTS Bharath’s COVID-19 relief activities. All of our 29 team leads worked incredibly hard to promote the cause and get more people to join their team. This event’s success could not have been accomplished without these team leads. Our wonderful Team Leads were Hiba, Oviya, Harish, Kaavya, Sanjith, Amogh, Supraja, Udhayaa, Srihari H, Niharika, Hrudya, Rashmitha, Nikita, Siddharth, Sai Sahasra,Abishristi, Pranav T, Saisha, Arya, Teja, Shrikha, Eesha, Kalki, Chakrika, Rohan, Sanjana, Genea, Aditi & Peter Genea , a company that provides property tech solutions, partnered with us to support our causes. 15 of their employees joined us virtually and supported our cause. Peter Trajkoski’s family also joined in his memory to support our cause. Linda Auge’s family from Trinity Health also joined us to support our cause. All of our team lead family members and friends participated in our first walkathon and made it a real success. Special shout out to Chandrashekhar ji for donating towards this great cause. For the first 42 days, all the volunteers walked virtually and motivated each other with friendly competition by logging their steps at vtwalk.org. On the 43rd day, they all met for an in-person walkathon. Suzie Jovcevski and her family also joined us in representing Angels of Hope. In-Person Walkathon was conducted on July 31, 2021 at Shiawassee Park, Farmington . Starting at 8 AM, volunteers helped with the set-up, check-in, snack distribution, and cleaning. Suzie and her family members set up a stall to explain about Angels of Hope and distributed promotional materials. Our set-up volunteers made a balloon arch, tied the balloons and ribbons on the trees in the park with the VT Seva Walkathon Flyers, arranged the tables for check-in, a t-shirt stall, and a Gatorade stall. All of our VT Seva Detroit members who all showed up chipped in all of the activities made this a true family event. Our check-in volunteers did an awesome job at the registration desk by going through the COVID-19 questionnaire and checking in walkers. Once the check-in was over, our snack table volunteers handed out gift bags to the registrants. Once again, without our amazing team, it would not be possible to hand out gift bags filled with water bottles, apples, snack bars, and hand sanitizer. Special shout out to Zahara for sponsoring water bottles , Vani for apples , Architha for snack bars and Priya for hand sanitizers. Geetha sponsored the Gatorade bottles to sell during the event. Architha & Venkat for printing out certificates for the winners. Priya for printing out the flyers to distribute in stores and parks. Sudheer for getting balloons for the arch. Our RAAS promotion volunteers were doing an awesome job in explaining our annual fundraising event RAAS to the newcomers and our t-shirt stall was handled by our treasurer and the youth volunteers. Our volunteering coordinator Vanitha made sure all of the tasks had been done properly. Priya Jaisankar , the VT Seva Detroit Youth Board Director, started our walkathon with her welcome speech. Each one of our participants walked 3000 meters! The park was lively, buzzing with happy chatter and beautiful morning weather. Many youth members began to race down the track, inspiring other adult participants to start racing to finish their 3Ks. This event was insanely fun, jovial, and light-hearted. All the moments were captured beautifully by our Media volunteers. Our wonderful volunteers who signed up to help with In-Person Walkathon were, Youth Volunteers: Amogh, Arya, Eesha, Harish, Hiba, Hrudya, Jethri, Kaavya, Oviya, Sai Sahasra, Sai Karnati, Shruthi, Siddharth, Teja & Udhayaa Adult Volunteers: Architha, Nandini, Suresh, Durga, Anitha, Geetha, Kishore, Vani, Bhanu, Sreenivas, Anand, Veena, Vanitha, Srinath, Jyothi, Sudheer & Priya Whole team was doing such an awesome job entering their steps every day during the virtual walkathon, even though it was virtual there was a friendly competition going on to see who walked more steps each day. Every night there was a statistics posted in the walkathon group to provide updates on walkathon statistics. Our special guests Latha and Suzie handed over the certificates to our winners Top 3 teams who had more steps were Hiba, Siddharth, and Genea Top 3 individuals who had more steps were Abhinav, Zahara, and Zareena Top 3 team leads who had more participants were Peter Trajkoski, Harish, and Genea Detroit Branch Director Srinath and National Secretary Sudheer and Youth Board Director Priya gave a thank you speech appreciating all the volunteers The clean-up volunteers did an amazing job at taking down all the decorations and stalls, leaving the park even better than we found it. Thanks to our Detroit Communications team ( Nandini ) for her continuous support in publishing content provided by event leads in all our Social media channels ( Youtube, Whatsapp, Facebook, VTSworld Blogs, and Event logs) from start to the completion of the event. Even though we had volunteers sign up for specific tasks, lots of our volunteers and participants pitched in any area without any hesitation. They made this event feel like a family event rather than a charity event. Our Detroit Team rocks without any doubt they will keep rocking and shake the world with their compassion! Watch the compilation of the VT Seva Detroit First-Ever Virtual Walkathon Video below. Please visit our Facebook page for the Live Videos ( Round 1 and Round 2 ) captured on the event day, and also for other VT Seva Detroit events and activities. Please do like and share and spread the news about VT Seva. Blog created by: Priya Jaisankar Blog Published By: Nandini Cheemalamarri (VTSeva Detroit Communications)