Moments from the journey
A glimpse of the events, relief efforts, grants, and milestones across the years and across our centers.
2015 Nepal earthquake
VT Seva volunteers assembled relief packages costing just $32 each and donated collectively to victims of the May 2015 quake.
Singing competitions
Fundraising through music — pictured, a 2018 singing competition in Detroit.
2018 PayPal grant
PayPal granted $4,000 to procure digital colposcopes for cancer screening camps in India and Nepal.
Friends of children with special needs
VT Seva Bay Area trained volunteers to support children with special needs.
Chess clubs and competition
Charlotte launched a chess club for fundraising in 2017; Bay Area added chess competitions in 2018.
2012 Chase Community Giving
VT Seva placed 3rd of 2,500 applicants in Chase Community Giving, winning a $100k grant via popular vote — funding Care on Wheels and education tech.
2015 Chennai / Cuddalore floods
Raised $30,388 for immediate and long-term flood relief.
2018 City recognitions
Honored by the City of Fremont and Dallas for community contributions.
2019 Suicide prevention walk
Seattle held a 5K walk and seminar, with all funds donated to NAMI Seattle.
Free education to tribals
Sponsored remote-village schools providing free education and food to nearly 3,000 tribal children a year.
2014 & 2016 LinkedIn grants
Two $10k LinkedIn grants funded digitized curriculum and the Arogya Vikas mobile app.
Playing for a cause
Volleyball, cricket and chess tournaments bring the community together while raising funds.
Adopt a Street
Volunteers periodically clean streets across Lewisville, Irving, Southlake, Bay Area, Seattle and San Antonio.
2015 Child obesity walkathon
San Antonio held a 1-mile walk with a dietician lecture and trainer demos to raise obesity awareness.
Burritos for the homeless
Making burritos and meals for homeless shelters is a beloved, regular youth activity.
2018 Bake sale for local cops
North Jersey held a holiday bake sale at the NY ferry station to benefit local police.
2009 Andhra floods
Distributed 5,000 relief kits to 10,000 families across 100 villages, 300 boats to fishermen, and 20 tons of corn seed ($100k).
Old age homes & senior living
Volunteers serve food, read, and play games with seniors at care homes.
From hundreds to thousands
From a couple hundred volunteers in 2008 to 23 US centers, a presence in 5 countries, and thousands worldwide.
2014 HudHud cyclone
Raised $30,000+ and donated Rs. 10 lakh for Andhra Pradesh relief; volunteers distributed food and clothes.
Thanksgiving & Christmas canned drive
Since 2010, thousands of pounds of canned food collected yearly for homeless shelters.
2017 Refugee service visits
Charlotte volunteers began teaching children at a refugee service center.
2017 Yoga day with Baba Ramdev
VT Seva DC teamed up with Ramdev Baba for International Yoga Day celebrations.
2015 Hurricane Joaquin
Donated $10,001 toward South Carolina's 1,000-year flood relief.
2017 Hurricane Harvey, Katy
Delivered 300 hot meals door-to-door, water, and house cleanup in the Katy area.
2017 Record meals cooked
The Virginia team cooked a record 5,400 meals for the homeless.
2013 Phailin cyclone
Donated kerosene lanterns to 600 families in Kotha Buxipalli village, Odisha.
Microsoft micro-volunteering
Nearly 40 joined a Microsoft GIVE event to make photo-magnet frames of sponsored kids.
Animal shelter
Several centers took up animal shelter volunteering over the decade.
2018 California fires
Donated toiletries and warm blanket kits to those affected.
Holiday community service
Volunteers serve at community centers on Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and other holidays.
Presidential Volunteer Service Awards
As a certifying organization, VT Seva helped 350+ youth receive the PVSA from the White House.
Red Cross blood drives
Volunteers organized and joined blood drives with the Red Cross.
Miracle League baseball
Cary volunteers assisted special-needs kids at a 2018 Miracle League baseball event.
2018 Habitat for Humanity
Bay Area and Atlanta volunteers built homes and shelters for the underserved.
Garage sale donations
Volunteers raised funds creatively through garage sales.
International Yoga Day
Yoga days, workshops and 30-day challenges raise health awareness and bring community together.
Christmas food bank
Each year volunteers help sort food at local food banks.
Books for Africa
Atlanta volunteers sorted books at the Books For Africa warehouse for African schoolchildren.
Christmas greeting cards
Minneapolis youth made greeting cards for a local hospital in 2018.
2012 Vasantham, first benefit event
New Jersey's first benefit event educated 172 tribal students — sparking annual events: Tarangini, Utsav, Bloom, Prerana, Mamatha and Raaga.
Bone marrow drives
Awareness drives began in New Jersey in 2011 and continue, signing up potential donors.
Support to visually challenged children
Over the decade, 2,500+ visually challenged children received free education, food and clothing.
Dance competitions
Dance competitions across the nation promote culture while raising awareness.
2018 Stanford cancer research
Donated $51,479 to Stanford for small-cell carcinoma research in memory of Mr. Srini Eravelli.
2013 United EcoSkies grant
A $5k grant helped Houston make local ISD schools greener.
Science fairs
Houston and Katy launched the first science fair in 2018; North Jersey and Dallas joined later.
2010 Haiti earthquake
Boston held a benefit movie screening, donating all proceeds to UNICEF for affected children.
2017 Hurricane Harvey
500+ volunteers served 20,000 meals over 20 days, cleaned 200 homes, gave out 100,000 water bottles, and donated $25k to Houston's mayor.
Java & computer learning
Volunteers taught Java, databases and Hadoop to high schoolers.
2011 Japan tsunami
Donated about $44,000 to the Japan government for tsunami relief.
2017 nVidia grant
A $50k grant funded 116 cancer screening camps in 2018 — reaching 60,000 people and screening 10,602 women.
Speech competitions
Regular speech competitions build a competitive mindset and prepare youth for the future.
2019 First eco challenge
#MotherEarth had youth teams run 90-day environment projects; 'Death by Trash' won the popular vote.
Cancer awareness seminars
Multiple seminars on breast and cervical cancer were held across the USA.
2018 Packaging shoes
Detroit volunteers packaged 500+ pairs of shoes with a local church to send to children in Africa.
Tree plantations & farm visits
Many centers took up tree planting and farm visits to support the environment.
Annual picnics
Annual picnics bring the community together for food, games, yoga and fun.
2019 New website
VT Seva moved to a modern, mobile-friendly site with a centralized calendar and self-serve event/blog model.
2012 Hurricane Sandy
Volunteers donated 547 relief boxes, 9,000 meals, and sorted clothes for kids.