Amidst the recent pandemic, VTSEVA’s Seattle branch collaborated to create Coding With Compassion, an online program made to support students affected by the stay-at-home order and challenge them to continue using their problem-solving and interpersonal skills. Through this program, we taught 100 students various programming languages and leadership skills needed in the work industry and raised money to provide underprivileged children with a free education.
Thank you to our flawless teachers and volunteers (Kiran Vanagala, Santhi Kanumuri, Sethu Srinivasan, Praveen Bantwal, Upendar Sandadi, Pavan Vovveti, Priyatham Burgadda, Uttam Indukuri, and Aditi Srinivasan) who put in countless hours making lesson plans for different age groups throughout the entire summer. We created weekly curriculum's, slideshows, and various activities that would keep the kids engaged in both aspects: coding and leadership.
Twice a week, teen and adult volunteers taught students coding languages such as Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript over a course of a few months on Webex. Along with these technical courses, a leadership curriculum was incorporated to equip students with the essential interpersonal skills required to work in a group environment successfully. Children from across the nation were able to sign up through our website and enjoy coding/leadership lessons from the comfort of their homes. It was remarkable to know that our lessons on both these disciplines would serve as a strong foundation for the kids’ diverse future goals and endeavors regardless of their chosen field.
With our online presence, we were able to attract kids from Washington, Texas, California, Nevada, Ohio, North Carolina, and many more. Furthermore, many participating kids were motivated to follow in the footsteps of our volunteers and support others in their community, increasing VTSEVA’s footprint across households throughout the nation.
Thank You,
Aditi Srinivasan
VTSEVA Seattle
! I am Aditi, and I have been a youth board Lead at VTSEVA Seattle for four years. At first, I joined this unique organization as a selfless volunteer after being inspired by my grandfather. He continued to help his community by being the Secretary of the Indian Red Cross even during his retirement life. What really drove me to stay committed for multiple years at VTSEVA was the open-mindedness of the adults who respected and incorporated the youth’s ideas into our events and the variety of societal issues we address: education, healthcare, disaster relief, etc. Coding has always been one of my interests. I have recently been passionate about conducting research at the intersection of computer science and linguistics to create technology that effectively bridges gaps in communication. It was such an honor to establish and organize the Coding With Compassion program alongside our adult volunteers and pass on my programming knowledge to such bright and promising kids. The fact that the money we raised through this program helps underprivileged children pursue their education makes this experience twice as satisfying!
Volunteering shouldn’t be about the service hours required for school or the National Presidential Service Award. It should come from the heart, and I hope to see many more youth join VTSEVA, bring ideas to the table, and create a memorable impact on our community!
Our Team
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