Last month, a group of 15 volunteers from VT Seva Boston served at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Given this was our first time at the food bank, we were given a tour of the facility by the manager. Everyone was amazed by the vast storage room with endless boxes of food piled high. Everything was organized and packaged very neatly making it clear they have an impressive system for keeping track of the supplies. Afterwards, we were led down to the packaging room where diligent volunteers were already at work. We were impressed by the dedication of the volunteers and the managers of the food bank. For our task that day everyone worked together in an assembly line to prepare family meal boxes for those in need of assistance. Each volunteer was in charge of one or two food items to the box and passed it along the conveyor belt to the next person. From adding food items to the boxes, unpacking large quantities of food, and lifting heavy boxes, everyone had a job to do. Two volunteers at the end of the line sealed the boxes and stacked them four boxes high so they could be sent to other locations to be distributed. The family meal boxes included milk, juice, rice, pasta, beans, peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit and veggies, and more. We put together 13,980 meals for families with a total weight of 15,600 pounds. We all enjoyed volunteering at the Greater Boston Food Bank and can’t wait to come back soon!

BLOOM has been a flagship program to raise funds to further the causes of education for underprivileged students and Mahila Arogya Vikas.

K-12 Students participated in the Virtual Public Speaking Contest. Based on their grade, the students spoke about how their lives have changed because of the pandemic, an influential historical figure they want to spend one day as, their thoughts on the Black Lives Matter Movement, or another major events in the past year. The participants got the opportunity to research, practice their public speaking, and share their thoughts.

Volunteers created a lesson plan and taught dance to students virtually.

Community members donated unneeded clothes in good condition to the Ashland Emergency Fund to help those in need during these trying times.

Cookies were baked and delivered by volunteers to raise funds for education in tribal school.

VT Seva conducted an online virtual walkathon between the dates of August 15th and August 23rd. Along with encouraging people to exercise, the purpose of this walk was to raise money for tribal schools and improve the quality of education and healthcare in impoverished communities in India and other countries.

Despite these troubling times, children continue to grow in intelligence and creativity. Through this online camp led by youth volunteers, we helped foster this growth through various lessons and activities, keeping kids engaged. Each week consisted of a lesson plan with an interesting theme and subject. To name a few, we had a research week, fiction writing week, science week, and paper crafts week. Students from grades 1-5 were all taught according to their individual levels so that all students were able to get the same learning experience. Our youth volunteers not only led and taught this camp but promoted the camp, created the entire curriculum, and performed administrative duties. Both the students and the youth volunteers gained valuable information from this experience that can help them with their future endeavors.