Heavenly Diwali Celebrations at Home of Hope, Thirunindravur

We are too excited to share the happy and safe Diwali day moments that we celebrated with the cute and enthusiastic kids of Home of Hope, Pakkam village, Thirunindravur...

 

I. Event Schedule

1. We all gathered at the home around 11 AM.
2. Quick introduction of the kids and volunteers.
3. Kids were divided into groups.
4. Kept sand and water beside the area where crackers were to be busted
5. Busted crackers under volunteer's supervision
6. Delicious vegetarian and non-vegetarian lunch served around 1:30 PM
7. Back to Bursting crackers continued till 5 PM.

Complete Pics @ 
http://goo.gl/ylaKPA

II. Highlights

1. The mythology behind Diwali celebration nicely delivered to kids by Venkat
2. Started with bursting 2000 wala and ended with a 1000 wala :)
3. Crackers sponsored by Vidhya (Nandhini's sister), Thomson Reuters and CSS.
4. Sweets sponsored by Mithila and Vidhya (Nandhini's sister)
5. Tasty Gulab Jamun by Surya's mom.

III. Special Applause

1. Cute poem (Kavidhai) delivered by Jagadish about Teachers to encourage kids on how and why one should respect teachers.
2. Nice little toys sponsored by Aravind Sudarshanan, his father and brother.
3. Special cheers to the elders who took part in the event at remote area despite heavy rain showers and difficult transportation. We appreciate your enthusiasm:)
4. Tiru to take pain in buying  crackers at the last hour (late night) despite his busy office work.
5. To all the volunteers for ensuring kids safety.

We hope you all had a heart felt satisfaction in spending time with the kids. There are lots more to happen in future… Please stay on track… We will keep you posted...

Kindly feel free to share your feedback, as they are valuable for any further improvisation.

IV. Volunteers and Sponsors

27 Volunteers:

Ashwin, Haribabu, Ponmurugan, Parthiban, Usha, Nandhakumar, Jagadish, Sai, Sai’s Mom, Surya’s Mom, Sasikumar, Little princess Keerthana, Dhivya, Mithila, Her Dad & Mom, Akshaya, Arvind Sudarshan, His Dad & Bro, Srinivasan, Jeyabalan, Bonthu, Venkat, Tiru, Charu and Mahesh.

Sponsors:
Radha Shivakumar, Varshitha Nagarajan, Sanjeevi Kumar, Akshaya & friends, Anitha, Mithila, Prasana Ilangovan , Srinivasan, Jeyabalan, Aishwarya, Arvind Sudarshan, Parthiban, Haribabu, Ponmurugan, Sasikumar & Friends, Nagappan, S. Indra, S. Aravind, Tapan Kumar Das, S. Prabhu, E. Murlirajan, R. Aishwarya, K. Vatsal, K. Sakthivel, V. Subramanian, M. Jeyasree, G. Omnivas, D. Dhandayudhan, M.N. Chitra, P. Dhanapal, T. Kalyani

V. Finance

Total Sponsored Amount = Rs. 32250

Expenses:
Lunch - Rs. 7000
Crackers - Rs. 3650
Transport - Rs. 500

Total = Rs. 11150

Balance transferred to CSS Account: 32250 - 11150 = Rs. 21100 (handed over to Venkat)

PS: The funds collected shall be used towards Mr. Satish's hip replacement surgery.

VI. Closing

A very special applause to all the donors for their generous contribution and we wish this continues forever...

On behalf of Team Aravanaipu, we thank all our seniors for their constant guidance and thank our fellow volunteers for helping us in making the event a memorable one.

Last but not least, we conclude with a special thanks to all sponsors, and our members who have participated in the event and helped the team. :-) :-) :-)

Arvanaipu Team is back with a banging bash - A day with HIV infected kids

We are too excited to share the experience that after a long time we had fun with kids!

As requested by couple of CSS volunteers & appeal from many homes, we have restarted the event "A fun day with needy kids for sparkling smiles on their faces" with the approval of CSS board.

HIV infected kids around various villages of Tiruvallur district were gathered @ Annai Gnanambal Social Service Centre headed by Sr. Prabha, former in-charge of Arunaima Illam, Egmore. Delicious lunch by our caterer Kannan (more tastier than ever), fun filled games & lot more!

There were approximately 80 kids; with their parents / care-takers, a total of 130 attended the event.

Total No. of volunteers turned up: 14
Rathi, Jaishankar, Jayalakshmi, Vimal, Deepa, Niraikula Pandiayn,
Ponmurugan, Sasikumar, Almas, Venkat, Tiru, Swami sir, Charu and Mahesh

Event schedule

• Members Arrival at 11:00 AM
• Kids introduction
• They were divided into groups (Team A-F) headed by 2 volunteers each. Various games like dog & the bone, tail game, story telling, ball throw, singing, etc were conducted among the groups and scores were recorded
• Yummie Lunch (sambar rice with poriyal, curd rice with pickle, egg masala) served at 1:30 PM, followed by prize distribution for the winners & participants.
• Post lunch - A self composed song for kids by Mr.Kumaravel was launched on stage. Kumaravel, a kind hearted person, who himself is +ve, taking care of these kids with lotto positive attitude & energy.
• Dance Talent exhibits - by group of girls for famous hits songs
• Enthusiastic songs by Swami sir, captivated the crowd

Session ended by Sr. Prabha's speech and put her request to CSS in distributing health mix (MANNA) to these kids on a regular monthly basis.

Manna is a nutritious health mix with ingredients Ragi, Bajra, Maize, Jowar, Wheat, Fried gram, Rice, Green gram, Barley, Soya bean, Sago, cashewnut, Badam and Cardamom. Proved to improve the immunity (which is the major drawback in HIV patients); CD4 counts (which is essential to fight against infections) are tested & proved effective for manna.

Suggestions

1. We can fund for buying manna from retail shops on bulk basis
2. We can prepare the health mix manually;

which ever is feasible & cost effective could be finalized... Other details shall be discussed in board, further helping to decide on how we can help them

Special request for immediate attention:

1. Miss Thulasi, 20yrs - 10th pass, who lost her parents in childhood, has a small brother, mentally challenged.
2. Mr & Mrs.Latha (20yrs) 12th pass. Her husband is 29yrs,10th pass & diploma ECE discontinued.

All three need a job for their living (@ departmental stores/house keeping etc... please suggest if you know any). They belong to a village near arakkonam

Departure at 3:30 PM

Biscuits distributed by Sasi before Departure

Accounts

Cash
Thomson Reuters - Rs. 5000
Sasikuamr - Rs. 2000
Swami Sir - Rs. 500
Ponmurugan - Rs. 100
Total = Rs. 7600

Expenditure
Lunch - Rs. 5000
Conveyance to kids - Rs. 1500
Paper plates and ball - Rs. 384
Total = Rs. 6884

To CSS Account: 7600 - 6884 = Rs. 716 (handed over to Venkat)

A very special applause to all the donors for their generous contribution and we wish this continues forever...

Highlights

• Kids had enormous fun, as this was the first time they are exposed to such an event-filled day (as mentioned by Sr. Prabha)
• A song staged by Mr. Kumaravel
• Swami sir's energetic performance
• Tiru's ever green ever loving ever cheerful ever enthusiastic interaction with kids
• A special mention to Jai as he was equally sparkling jolly time with kids...I think he would be Tiru's junior in future :-)
• Mr.Venkat's support in organising groups which helped in peaceful conduction of games/managing the huge number
• Pon / Almas / Rathi / Sasi / Nirai / Vimal / Jaya / Deepa serving lunch without any chaos.

Special Applause

• Ponmurugan who has arranged sponsor of 10,000 towards Mr.SATISH'S surgery, thank you lots Pon.
• To Jai for sponsoring biscuits to all the kids in the morning.
• To Thomson team for sponsoring lunch
• To Sasikumar for sponsoring biscuits to all kids
• To all our senior members and friends who came for the day and shared their valuable time with kids.

*** Note: No photos shared considering the kids privacy ***

We hope you all had a heart–felt satisfaction in spending time with the kids. There are lots more to happen in future… Please stay on track… We will keep you posted...

Kindly feel free to share your feedback, as they are valuable for any further improvisation.

On behalf of Team Aravanaipu, we thank all our seniors for their constant guidance and thank our fellow volunteers for helping us in making the event a memorable one.

Last but not least, we conclude with a special thanks to all sponsors, and our members who have participated in the event and helped the team. :) :) :)

Vegam 2014

Venue: Singaram Pillai School, Padi

Date: February 8th, 2014

The Start and Preparation

Volunteers started pouring in from 7.30 AM onwards. All plans, sketches are already done. Each CSS Volunteer knows exactly what their role is and everyone started working on the tasks assigned to them, with occasional guidance from the Senior members. The Vegam Stand was put up, the shamina were decorated with color ribbons, Registrations Desks put in place, systems booted and kept ready, energy drinks being prepared. The whole ground was very active with the Volunteers pitching in and actively engaged in final minute preparation for the Grand event, Vegam 2014.

Around 8.30 AM, Students, Teachers and Parents started coming. They registered themselves in Student Registration Desk and took their seats in allotted places. New volunteers registered themselves in Volunteer Registration desk and allotted to different teams as per the needs and the volunteers interest.

Start of Events

At 10.30 AM, the torch relay started with our volunteers and the light was lit by our Chief Guest "Paalam" Kalyanasundaram Ayyaa.

The first event was started around 11 AM. Its a running race event and the kids participated with full enthusiasm. Everyone was cheering, photography experts shooting the images with full life, the judges waiting at the other end and carefully watching the kids, so even an error of the order of millisecond doesn’t occur and the refreshment committee volunteers waiting with jugs of energy drinks to give to event participants.

As and when the events are completed, the results are reported to MC Desk, certificates are written with the names of winners, runner ups and immediately the children are awarded with medals and certificates. Things were going exactly as planned in advance. As the events are completed, time advanced to 2 PM and all the events are halted for Lunch.

Pure Organic Lunch

The special feature of this Vegam Lunch its almost pure Organic. Starting from Salt, Rice to Vegetables and other ingredients, everything is carefully handpicked to be organic items from various states and even other countries. Yes, Organic Asafoetida was imported from Afghanistan. Its just organic and healthy, but the taste was splendid, that everyone had several rounds of Sambar rice. Big applause goes to Organic Depot for providing everyone with special Organic Food for the day.

After Lunch and relaxation, the events restarted around 3 PM. 4 track of events were happening at a time and there seems to be very little idle place in that enormous ground. The Sun’s heat couldn’t do anything to us. The energy level, the enthusiasm of the kids and Volunteers were soooo high that the Sun itself felt the heat from Vegam.

Closing

The events neared closing by 5 PM and the events were officially closed by inspiring, motivational speech by the School Principal, who supported us by providing the Ground for Vegam 2014.

Prizes for individual events are given now and then and Its time for bigger awards, “The Overall Champion” and “The best cheering team”.

After much hype and tension, the Overall Champion award was given to “NIEPMD, Muttukadu”, for they topped all Gold, Silver and Bronze than the other schools. The runner up for Overall Champion was given to "Premavasam School, Girugambakkam" And the best cheering Team award was given to “Premavasam School, Girugambakkam“.

Overall Vegam 2014 was a grand success. Thanks to the Volunteers, Donors, School and the children. Its been just a month since we conducted Vegam 2014 and we are already looking forward to Vegam 2015.

This table summarizes the achievements of each school that participated in Vegam 2014:

No	School Name	Total Of Points	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1	NIEPMD, MUTTUKADU	530	16	20	18
2	PREMAVASAM, GIRUGAMBAKKAM	295	9	11	10
3	LITTLE HEARTS, SHOLINGANALLUR	250	13	4	3
4	ASHA SPECIAL SCHOOL, EGMORE	225	8	8	5
5	SPASTIC SOCIETY, OLD WASHERMANPET	135	5	4	4
6	SPASTIC SOCEITY, TARAMANI	135	5	4	4
7	ARVIND FOUNDATION, K.K.NAGAR	110	3	4	5
8	SPASTIC SOCEITY, AYANAVARAM	110	2	6	4
9	VISHWAS SPECIAL SCHOOL, KILPAUK	90	3	3	3
10	MEENAKSHI MATRICULATION HR SEC SCHOOL	85	3	3	2
11	VIJAY HUMAN SERVICES, K.K. NAGAR	80	4	1	2
12	VIJAY HUMAN SERVICES, MYLAPORE	30	2
13	SSA Chetpet	30	1	1	1
14	KUMARAN SPECIAL SCHOOL, ENNORE	25		2	1
15	SSA THIRU VI KA (4th Zone)	25	1	1
16	HOPE SPECIAL SCHOOL, AMBATTUR	20	1		1
17	MANASA SPECIAL SCHOOL, PERUNGUDI	20		1	2
18	ATHICHUDY ADYAR	15	1
19	ATHICHUDY, ADYAR	5			1

Limca Record

Another highlight of Vegam is that it is nominated for Limca Records for holding maximum number of Events in a Single day for the differently abled.

Facts and Figures

1. 19 Schools in and around Chennai.
2. 483 Participants
3. 180+ Volunteers
4. 200 Parents, Teachers and Caretakers
5. 73 Events
6. 216 Medals given
7. Overall Expenses 82,676 INR
8. Donations Collected 1,14,400 INR

Volunteers

Full credits for the grand success of Vegam 2014 goes one and only to the dedicated volunteers...

1. Cheering team (Master. Varun (Rathi's son), Venkat's amma & appa)
2. Feedback/suggestions (Pazhanidurai sir, Balasubramanian sir, Swami sir)
3. Photographs/videos (Sruthi, Lakshmi Narayanan, Satish bonthu, Saravanan)
4. Parking (Aadhiseshan)
5. Transport (Anand)
6. Volunteer registration desk (Harshini, Nagappan, Ishwarya, Nandani, Tamil Selvi)
7. Student Registration desk (Pavithra, Lalitha, Haritha, Aarya, Almas)
8. MC desk/certificate (Rathi, Sudhakar, Narayanan sir, Mahesh, Prithvi, Sathish Kumar)
9. Water/Health drink team (Saiyasodharan, Suryaprasad, Thanigaivel, Alagappan, Dinesh, Nivaas, Shravan, Sathya sir, Bala mam, Banu Prakash)
10. Food team (Sasikumar, Anand, Paul, Sruthi)
11. Events Organisers (Jai Sankar, Charu, Venkat, Haribabu, Lakshmanan, Bala mam, Ponmurugan, Tirupathaiah, Gayathri, Raghav, Era Karthik, Ishwarya, Lakshmi Priya, Thilak)
12. Sanitary Help (Ashwin)

Outside Support - Volunteers

More than CSS volunteers, volunteer’s support from other organisations proved very helpful in terms of Volunteer strength. They are

1. The Contingent
2. Cognizant Technology Solutions
3. Thomson Reuters
4. Orchid chemicals
5. SRM college students
6. Sathyabama college
7. Women's christian college
8. Ashok Leyland
9. Healthy family fitness centre
10. Smile Web Radio
11. Many more individuals on their own interest (via from Facebook & "The Hindu")

Outside Support - Monetary

Special thanks to following organisations for their generous monetary supports

1. Cognizant Technology Solutions
2. Sruthi Lakshman
3. Chakrawarthy
4. Thomson Reuters
5. Britto
6. Balakannan
7. Sivakumar
8. Bala Sankar
9. Jaganya
10. Premkumar
11. Meeta Asthana
12. Mahesh
13. Nagappan
14. Mahesh
15. Vyshnavi
16. Shravan

Thanks to the generous donation from our supporters that we received 1,14,400 INR

Vegam Photo Albums:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.747343781957523.1073741833.560706850621218&type=3

https://plus.google.com/photos/106306275468259124452/albums/5992975631067687473