CSS 9th Anniversary Celebration

CSS 9th Anniversary celebrations - 2nd August 2015- Vinobha Hall - Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya School

CSS’s stepping into 10th year was an enthusiastic and yet a sorrow filled happening due to demise of People’s President and Youth’s inspiration Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. This gentleman had passed away few days ago hence we at CSS dedicate our 9th Anniversary event to this Gentle Giant.

The guest of honour was Mr. Palanidurai and his family; they along with Sathish Kumar of CSS lighted the Traditional Lamp.

A two minute silence to departed souls who have led their lives as an example for future generation to aspire for, a small Audio Visual on Dr. Kalam, Followed by an elegy on Dr. Kalam by Jagadish and followed by mention of Sasi Perumal Ayya’s demise fighting for Prohibition.

The program was hosted at Vinobha Hall in Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya.

1. The Next on agenda was CSS Annual report which was presented by various team leaders.
2. This was followed by Poetry recitation and below are the Poets and their poems
1. Mr. Magesh
2. Mr. Sakthi
3. Mr. Keerthivasan
4. Mr. Arun
3. The next was a presentation by Dr. Sumatha on food which we consume and how they are related to our body’s main organs and how they benefit us.
4. A energetic dance performance by Gowtham Shana
5. Awesome duet performances  by Pritivi and Swami Sir
6. CSSians skit on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

CSS had the privilege of honoring best performing Volunteers over the year and were categorized as Volunteer of the Year and Star Volunteer

Star Volunteer - Their support is reflected in their commitment towards the team projects they had taken and accomplished over the year. They have been volunteers for many years and their continued presence gives the Organization strength and enthusiasm to carry on with many more activities and projects.

1. Mr. Ashwin Kumar

2. Ms. Akshaya

3. Mr. Arun Prasad

Volunteer of the Year - The volunteers have shown promise and also dedication to the task assigned to them. They have committed to the particular task and were proactive in volunteering for activities as and when time demanded. Thanks to you all.

1. Mr. Gowtham

2. Mr. Surya Prasad

3. Ms. Kanchan

4. Ms. Sowmya

5. Mr. Karthik

6. Mrs. Lakshmi Rekha

7. Ms. Pavithra

Special Appreciation Award - These volunteers and Corporate Organizations were immensely supportive of our initiatives like Vegam 2015, Nal Olluka Payirchi volunteering, Supporting our Nutritious Drink distribution, Sponsoring for our events and above all standing shoulder to shoulder in times of need.

1. Mr. Yuvaraj

2. MOP Vaishanv College for Women

3. Williams Lea

4. Mrs. Rekha Selvakumar

5. TCS Spencer Plaza

6. Outreach Cognizant Technology Solution

9th Anniversary celebrations Income and Expenses Report

Venue Charges- 5500

Venue Extra charges- 700

Electricity Charges- 500

Food expenses- 6000

Mementos- 9500

Total expenses incurred- 22200

Donations received in Kind

Mr. Sathish Kumar- 6000

Ms. Sruthi- 3000

Mrs. Asha Sridhar- 3000

Mr. Madhu Gupta- 2000

Mr. Praveen Kumar- 500

Thanks to all the volunteers who have given their time and energy over past one year in organising and being part of many activities. Hope to see same kind of support for this new year too.

Photo album Link:

https://goo.gl/photos/FMUkt8JFc79SizRDA

Stepping Stone for a Park

We planted trees and distributed saplings. We also wanted to clean the roads. But, we decided to let the politicians do it. We instead enjoyed a wonderful meal at Ashwin’s place.

Now here are the details of the entire activity…..Ashwin, his family, and his neighbors have worked over years to convert a waste land to a park. They have successfully made the land ready for the park by clearing the land of thorny shrubs, increasing the level of the land and so on. On December 21, 2014, an event was organized to kick start the construction of the park. The counsellor and Panchayat head were the chief guests and a lot of families were the audience. CSS distributed plant saplings among the families and helped the chief guests plant the trees.   

Now, to get the park ready, they are planning to construct walking pathways, compound walls, play area and of course plant more trees. So this is a wonderful example of how we should convert waste/barren lands to beautiful parks. Our passionate volunteers made a hectic activity look like a `walk in the park.'

And we also put up a poster about child safety in a temple.

Thanks to the volunteers:

• Ashwin
• Akshyaa
• Jaffer
• Sai  
• Surya
• Arun
• Mahesh
• Kanchan  

Photo Album link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.878354598863052.1073741866.100000655597076&type=1

Child Abuse Prevention - Brainstorming Session

An awareness/brainstorming session was conducted on Novermber 16, 2014 among CSS volunteers on how parents can play a better role to prevent child abuse. The main purpose of this session was to have a discussion with the parents in CSS before conducting awareness session among the general public on child safety.

Attendees

Ponmurugan, Venkat, Charu, Ashwinkumar, Meenakumari, Akshya, Akshya’s mother, Sasikumar, Sasikumar’s wife, Rathi, Lakshmi Rekha, Saiyasodharan, Swaminathan, Muthukutti, Manohar, Pavithra, Kanchan, Kothandapani and family.

Session by

Venkat, Pon Murugan, and Kanchan

Number of Parents: 6

At the start of the session, the parents present there stated their expectations from the session. Next, a written survey of 20 questions was conducted to understand how parents interact with their kids.

Next, a discussion was conducted on the responses to the survey questions. The parents explained their responses. Other parents and volunteers gave their opinion on the recommended approach for each question. 

Following were the key takeaways from the survey:

• Children also watch television while their parents are watching. In some families, the children watch television in their own rooms. This is a concern as it may be difficult to monitor the child’s activity. Children try to imitate what they watch on television. For example, Watching WWF or some fight scenes in cartoon shows encourages children to do similar acts. Parents also stated that they avoid switching channels when some awkward scenes are shown.
• Children emphasis on parents following rules. For example traffic rules.
• When children make mistakes, parents talk to them and give them opportunities to correct them. Only then do they shout or beat the child.
• Parents appreciate their kids for their achievements and usually answer queries of the child.
• Parents usually treat their own parents in a respected way in front of their children.
• In some families, fights between spouses in front of the children is a concern. The recommended approach was to take efforts and avoid such fights in front of the children as these fights have a negative impact on the child.  
• Some parents try to monitor their child’s online activities. Monitoring the activities was recommended.    
• Parents are not comfortable using the actual names of private parts. However, it is recommended that parents need to educate their child with actual names of private parts.
• A couple also expressed their opinion on how they find it difficult to monitor their child’s activity when she visits her neighbor.  

Next, Pon Murugan made a presentation on how to prevent child abuse. The presentation focused on why and how parents should talk to their children regularly and empower their children to prevent sexual abuse. Pon Murugan also showed a sample video on how to educate children about sexual abuse.

The session concluded with the participants sharing their opinion on child abuse. Ashwin also recommended that it is essential to educate boys about sexual abuse, and break the myth that boys are not sexually abused.