aug 2022, Vol. 5, No.2

Dear supporters of Sevalaya USA,

As we celebrate five years of Sevalaya USA we want to thank our supporters and volunteers for our continued success. We cannot sustain this amazing work without your generous

contributions and the work of our volunteers who have helped us with legal advice, coding,

fundraising, website redesign, administrative work, etc. Thank you!

Upcoming fundraisers include:

1. Sevathon 2022 Aug 28, at Vasona Park, Los Gatos Run/Walk/do Yoga/Dance: 

Please register at http://konnectme.org/event/join/3451499/?ref=3266697  and make sure

"Sevalaya US" is selected in the "Sevathon-2022 Non-profit partners" drop-down

menu.

2. RunWalkForSeva 2022 - Sevalaya USA's Virtual Run/Walk from August 26,2022 - September 05, 2022. Please register at: https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/Cupertino/RunWalkForSeva.

Since January 2022, Sevalaya USA’s Project Education has supported the education of 354

students at the Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School. Food endowments have been set up to sponsor free breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the students and seniors. We are proud to announce that all 147 XII STD students at Sevalaya's Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School passed their final exams. Best wishes to all of them in their future endeavors.

A generous donation of $4000 ensured that students were provided regular training in various sports on campus. These funds were also used to support students participating in tournaments. 97 boys and 72 girls participated in the sports camp offered at school in May. The girls’ basketball team won 2nd place in Thiruvallur district basketball championship. Congratulations to the team!

Our longtime supporter Vijaianand from Texas raised $5300 to support the education of 25

students in Sevalaya for a year. He has also set up 11 education endowments to provide sustained support for Project Education.

Many thanks to Hindu Cultural and Community Center for a grant awarded in March 2022 and for their continued support.

Here are some additional updates:

Sevalaya Chennai has been offering various health care services to the tribal communities at Samaritan Hospital in Gudalur, Nilgiris District thanks to our donor Arjun Vijayakumar.

Board Member Anandi Lakshmikanthan visited the Sevalaya Campus in Kasuva and met with Sevalaya founder Mr. Muralidharan, staff members and teachers of Sevalaya. She also visited the Pattinapakkam Community Center, a tsunami-affected area of Chennai, where fishermen and their families live. With a very generous donation from a donor in 2021, a corpus fund has been set up to support the operating expenses of the center.

At this community center, we support various classes for children. Participation is open to both boys and girls- computer (16 attendees), karate (30 participants) and tuition classes (25 attendees). There are also classes for adults, especially tailoring classes for women with 25 participants.

We also want to showcase the progress of the construction of the senior home in Zamin Endathur.

We need your support to continue our work. One easy way to support Sevalaya is to shop on smile.amazon.com. It is the same Amazon you use, and the products and services are the same. Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and select Sevalaya USA from the charity list. Whenever you shop on smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

We are also looking for volunteers to join our team. For additional information, please visit us online at sevalaya.us and facebook.com/SevalayaUSA.

Sincerely,

Sevalaya Team

Jan 2022, Vol. 5, No. 1

Dear supporters of Sevalaya USA,

Happy New Year! As we reflect on 2021, we are thankful to our Sevalaya supporters for their generous contributions. This new year brings some new changes and some not so new challenges.

In 2021, Sevalaya USA’s Project Education supported the education of 543 students at the Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School. In addition, a generous donor funded two projects (upgrading the kitchen and pantry areas in Kasuva campus), where around 2000 students and a hundred seniors are served free lunch everyday. Funds were also provided for buying sports equipment for the students.

A big shout out to Vasavi Seva Foundation, San Francisco Bay Area, for funding two humanitarian projects, the renovation of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Senior Home in Kasuva campus and the installation of pavements at Image, a home for mentally challenged in Thevaram, Theni, Tamil Nadu.

Thanks to a generous donation from a supporter, Sevalaya, India has undertaken a construction of a 5044 sq. ft. new senior home, accommodating 30 senior citizens, in Zamin Endathur in Tamil Nadu. The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the home was performed on March 24th, 2021.

We are excited to announce ​​the funding of a new project, Vocational Training Centre at Pattinampakkam, a neighborhood in Chennai, where most of the residents depend on fishing for their livelihood. With a very generous donation from a donor, a corpus fund has been set up to support the operating expenses of the center. Sevalaya India conducts computer training classes and tailoring classes for young men and women, enhancing their employability. The center also conducts tutoring and karate classes for children.

In October 2021, 48 supporters signed up for the RunWalkForSeva virtual fundraiser and ran in the rain, climbed mountains, hiked trails in Africa, and walked on local roads and in local parks. They raised enough funds to support seven students for one full year, which includes school supplies, classroom materials, uniforms, books, extracurricular activities and also support part of teacher salaries.

Board Member, Anandi Lakshmikanthan, visited the Sevalaya office in Chennai and met with Sevalaya founder Mr. Muralidharan. Mr.Muralidharan shared that the schools, which have been closed for in person instruction for more than a year after the Covid-19 breakout, have reopened and that children are being given masks and are practicing safety protocols to keep everyone safe.

Thank you for your overwhelming support for our Holiday Fundraiser for the San José Family Shelter. We donated pillows, comforters, sheets, bath mats, sanitizers, groceries, and other items worth $2000.

We need your support to continue our work. One easy way to support Sevalaya is to shop on smile.amazon.com. It is the same Amazon you use and the products and services are the same. Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and select Sevalaya USA from the charity list. Whenever you shop on smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

We are also looking for volunteers to join our team. For additional information, please visit us online at sevalaya.us and facebook.com/SevalayaUSA.

Sincerely,

Sevalaya team

Aug 2021 VOl. 4, No. 2

The second wave of COVID-19 in India has had severe consequences in the form of increasing number of cases and reduced essential supplies. There is a critical and immediate need for oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators in government hospitals and COVID Care Centers. In addition, the lockdown restrictions have resulted in unemployment for many, particularly the daily wage and migrant workers. Supply of dry ration is also affected as lockdowns can significantly impact the ability of families to afford meals. In Chennai, Sevalaya is undertaking relief activities with the support of donors and corporations and distributing dry rations and pre-cooked food. Sevalaya members have been working with hospitals and primary health centers in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpet, Tiruvallur and Nilgiris, procuring and distributing medical supplies. Sevalaya is also operating ambulances and distributing oxygen concentrators with help from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

To support these efforts, Sevalaya USA has set a fundraising goal of $50,000 to get Oxygen concentrators and personal protection kits. A total of $ 33,000 has been raised so far. Sevalaya would like to thank all the donors who made this possible. We also would like to acknowledge the following donors:

● Ankitara Foundation, USA for their donation towards the purchase of 6 Oxygen Concentrators for Government General Hospital, Tenkasi.

● Board member Venkatesh Prasad, USA for his donation towards the purchase of 3 Oxygen Concentrators.

● Donor and supporter Mr. Dhamodaran and his friend Mr. K. Venkatesan for organizing, coordinating with Vasavi Seva Foundation and delivering 6 oxygen concentrators to Sevalaya for distribution to hospitals.

In addition, the 1983-1987 batch of the College of Engineering, Guindy raised funds for an Oxygen Plant at the Gudalur Government Hospital with 100 LPM capacity. This project was implemented by Sevalaya members and ensures that 20 hospital beds will get access to permanent oxygen supply at Gudalur.

Since the lockdown of 2020, the Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School has been closed and the classes have transitioned online. This has created urgency around the need for appropriate devices for students to allow them to participate in distance learning. With the help of donors, Sevalaya raised $600 towards the purchase of Smartphones for use by students. Four students from Standard IX and XII were selected from Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School and presented with a smartphone in July 2021.

We also wish to express our deep gratitude to the following:

● Mr. Vijaianand for his endowment which supports the education of 9 students.

● The Hindu Community and Cultural Center of Livermore for a grant of $500 to continue efforts.

● The team of Preethi Srinivas, Yunhan Wang and Paul Irish for volunteering their time to redesign the Sevalaya website.

One easy way to support Sevalaya is to shop on smile.amazon.com. It is the same Amazon you use and the products and services are the same. Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and select Sevalaya USA from the charity list. Whenever you shop on smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

We are also looking for volunteers to join our team. For additional information, please visit us online at sevalaya.us and facebook.com/SevalayaUSA.

Sincerely,

Sevalaya team