A great milestone!

 LUCKNOW, U.P.

The day will soon arrive! The 100th student home of AIM for Seva, specially chosen by Pujya Swamiji Dayananda Saraswati, is to come up in Lucknow, nearly 30 kilometres from the city's railway station. The home will be constructed on 15,000 square feet of land, and is designed by architects Sri Raj Deep Gupta and Smt. Sashi Gupta. Among the educational institutions near the home are a school and a couple of colleges: Heera Lal Yadav Inter and Degree College and the Ambalika Institute of Management.

The Bhumi Puja for the home was held on February 28, with the blessings of Pujya Swamiji. Among the participants at the function were Dr. Asha Seth, who initiated and funded the project, her nephew Sri Sandeep Seth, the principal of the nearby college, the pradhan of the village, and some of Swamini Tattvajnanananda Saraswati's Vedanta students. The yajamanas of the Bhumi puja were Smt. Deepa Bhargav and Sri Viswamitra, students of Swamini Tattvajnanananda. The first bricks for the historic building were laid by Sri Lakshmi Rastogi of the Rohtas Construction Group to the sounds of the Sankatanashana Ganesh Stotram, Saradha Stotram, and Guru Stotram. The Rohtas Construction Group has been magnanimous by lending its logistic and technical help to AIM for Seva as part of their seva activities. Suri Associates, the builders, sponsored the refreshments at the event. The function was ably organized by Smt. Sudha Hansraj, student of Swamini Tattvajnanananda Saraswati. An auspicious beginning to a noble milestone!

Thanks Houston for helping us raise $ 150 K !

Hello Houstonians!

AIM For Seva Fundraiser - 2012
Houston - Sep. 22, 2012

(Click on links below for more details)

Rukmini Vijayakumar and party
-- Quick profile  (Rukmini's web-site)
-- Wikipedia
-- NY Times article
-- Video
-- YouTube
-- Rukmini on Facebook 
-- KollyTalk interview - Role as Rajnikant's sister in film Kochadaiyaan

Why AIM For Seva?

Nayani Trailer with brief intro by Poojya Swamiji

NAYANI was held all over the USA.

Together, we raised close to 1.4 million dollars across all cities!

1. San Francisco, CA: September 8, 2012
2. LeHigh Valley, PA: September 15, 2012
3. New Jersey, NJ: September 16, 2012
4. Houston, TX: September 22, 2012
5. Dallas, TX: September 23, 2012
6. Chicago, IL: September 29, 2012
7. Detroit, MI: September 30, 2012
8. Elmira, NY: October 6, 2012
9. Fort Wayne, IN: October 13, 2012
10. Atlanta, GA: October 14, 2012

A Track Record of Houston Seva!

Summary of Houston contributions (in reverse chronological order):

8. 2015 Funds raised = $ 122,772 - "SUNDARA KAANDAM" by Anitha Guha group, and Neyveli Santhanagopalan

Maintain many chAtrAlayAs (Free student homes)

7. 2014 Funds raised = $ 140,000 - "MEGHADOOTAM" by Bombay Jayashri, Shijith Nambiar, and Parvathy Menon

Maintain many chAtrAlayAs (Free student homes)

6. 2013 Funds raised = $ 130,000 - "PRABHAVATI" by Rukmini Vijayakumar

Maintain many chAtrAlayAs (Free student homes)

5. 2012 Funds raised = $ 150,000 - "NAYANI" by Rukmini Vijayakumar

Maintain many chAtrAlayAs (student homes)

4. 2010 Funds raised = $ 227,500 - "Shanti - A Journey of Peace"

Maintain the following 11 chAtrAlayAs (student homes):

- Tamil Nadu - Mohanoor, Uchimedu, Satyamangalam, and Nagercoil

- Andhra Pradesh - Bobbili, Kamalapuram, and Gudivada

- Gujarat - Limkheda

- Karnataka - Belgaum, Mysore, and Udipi

3. 2008 Funds raised = $ 74,026 - Dayaanidhi "Utsav"

Maintain 7 chAtrAlayAs for 1 year (2008-2009); See details below.

A. Construction of 2 chAtrAlayAs (student homes):

a. AIM for Seva Student Home for Girls, Semmangudi, Tamil Nadu

Date inaugurated: 8th August 2008
Pre-inauguration visit photos

Inauguration photos

b. AIM for Seva Student Home for Boys, Uchimedu, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu

Date inaugurated: 9th August 2008

Inauguration photos

B. Maintenance of 7 chatralayas:

1, 2 - Kamalapuram and Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh

3, 4 - Limkheda and Amreli in Gujarat

5, 6 - Kolli hills and Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu

7 - Dharwad in Karnataka

Bobbili photos

2. 2006 Funds raised = $ 75,967 - Public Talk by Poojya Swamiji

Constructed 2 chAtrAlayAs (student homes)

1. 2005 Funds raised = $ 22,500 - Single Anonymous Donor

Constructed 2nd Floor of Kolli Hills chAtrAlayA (student home) in Tamil Nadu

Shanti: A Journey of Peace Raises Over $227,500 to Benefit AIM for Seva

BY KALYANI GIRI

MARCH 19, 2010

HOUSTON: It was a feat of Herculean proportions, a display in creative eloquence. The stage at the Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston inundated with a cast of 220 singers, musicians, and dancers, the hall resonating with voices in soul-stirring melody, and capacity audiences moved by the messages of global peace and harmony. Shanti – A Journey of Peace, the brainchild of Cincinnati-based musicologist Maestro Kanniks Kannikeswaran, teamed a coterie of richly enthusiastic vocalists from the local Indo American community with the United Nations Association International Choir (UNAIC) in a unique multi-culturally diverse and interfaith endeavor. Serving as choral and orchestral conductor to Kannikeswaran's opus was Eric Esparza, Interim Conductor of the UNAIC. Two presentations of Shanti on March 13, 2010, at 5.00pm and 8.30pm respectively, drew capacity audiences and raised over $227,500 in ticket sales and donations for the visionary philanthropic organization, All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva).

The programs began with welcome addresses by Mistresses of Ceremonies for the evening, Bhavani Iyer and Rohini Chandrashekar, who also acknowledged the presence of dignitaries in the audiences. They included Consul General of India Hon. Sanjiv Arora, Mayor of Pearland Tom Reid, spiritual heads of diverse faith – based ministries, and leaders of local social, educational, and community organizations. Projected onto large screens flanking the stage were video presentations of humanitarian work being done in India by AIM for Seva. The movement founded and spearheaded by His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswati in the early 2000's, touches the lives of over 2.5 million people in 1,000 rural and tribal villages across 15 states in India.

AIM for Seva is a movement that Shanti's creator Kannikeswaran resolutely believes in. He made several trips over the past 18 months to this city volunteering his creativity and time for the worthy cause. The performers, many with fulltime jobs, were so inspired and energized by Kannikeswaran's commitment to the project that they dedicated thousands of hours in preparation for the stage show. Shanti is a monumental representation of 5,000 years of India's living traditions through music and dance. It reiterates India's spirit of inclusiveness that allowed a plethora of faiths to co-exist harmoniously for centuries. The presentation celebrates the human mind when it transcends differences and diversity and empowers itself to see goodness and likeness in all beings. A master craftsman conversant in the classical western and Indian forms of music, Kannikeswaran has built Shanti on that tensile fabric with multi-textured hues of harmonizing in tandem. Rather than a Broadway presentation that transports participants from city to city, Shanti incorporates local talent pertinent to the city of performance.

The objective of AIM for Seva is to make education possible to every child in inaccessible and rural areas through the concept of chatralayas, or student homes. Student homes are located near existing schools and each student is provided with clean living quarters, food, health check ups, books, vocational training, after school activities, all free of cost to help them get ahead in life. The goal is to have at least one home in each of the 600 states. The charitable trust has more than 122 projects that include 83 chatralayas, 20 schools, five hospitals, 17 health care centers, 11 medical clinics including seven mobile units treating about 200,000 patients each year.

More than 20,000 hours of volunteer work went into the making of Shanti. The stretch goal locally is to raise $500,000 dollars to educate, and to emotionally and physically care for children in India.

For more information or to donate, visit www.aimforseva.org. For more information about Shanti – A Journey of Peace, visit www.shantichoir.org

AIM for Seva Home brings the best out of these students!

This is an article published in "The Hindu"

Sruthi Krishnan

It provides holistic education to the needy free of cost

BRIDGING THE GAP: Students at the Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Students Home at Kadalur in Kancheepuram district.

CHENNAI: At the sound of a shrill whistle 22 pairs of feet scamper to stand in four lines. With the short burst of the next whistle, the children lay flat on their backs. After what seemed like three seconds of relaxation, the next beep sees legs lifted off the ground forming a sharp L-shape. The legs stand poised in the air, waiting for the next call, which lets them relax again.

“It is called Sarvangasan,” explains N. Bhupalan. At 6 a.m. everyday, this is one of the yogic exercises performed by children at the Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Students’ Home in Kadalur village in Kancheepuram district. Bhupalan studies in the ninth standard in a school eight km away from the hostel. He goes there in a van with other children.

Two years ago, his life was quite different. Bhupalan hails from a family of nine at Palaverkadu. His father is a fisherman. “I used to keep roaming and whenever we felt like, my friends and I used to run away to the seashore,” he recalls. When his mother found out about the hostel where facilities were provided free of cost, she decided to send him there.

Hopes kindled

“I cried for a month or so, because I wanted to go back,” says Bhupalan. “But then I began to like it here. They counsel me, teach me yoga and also teach me how to pronounce English properly.” He is sure he will become the Collector of Kancheepuram district. “I’ll make sure all children come to the Home.”

It is the routine and the discipline of the hostel that he likes the most. Bhupalan’s day starts at 5.30 a.m. and is filled with studies, play and school. Nutritious meals, three times a day, yoga and extra-curricular activities such as sports and music are a daily feature. It is a far cry from the life he was used to.

Other children in the Home have similar stories to tell. They say that they would have dropped out of school and started working in the unorganised sector if they had not come to the Home.

The high drop-out rate, almost 60 per cent in tribal and rural areas, prompted Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a Vedanta scholar, to start the All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva), says Sheela Balaji, secretary of the organisation. “Children were not going to school for a lot of reasons. The question was how we could help these children.”

Gains in popularity

By setting up the Student Homes near schools, the organisation found a way. It was difficult convincing parents to send their children to the Homes at first, says Ms. Balaji. “They were concerned about safety.” Slowly and steadily, seeing the transformation in children, the parents were convinced. From basic hygiene to academics and value education, the children were provided a holistic education free of cost. Today, parents approach the organisation to enrol their wards.

Starting with a Student Home in 2001, today AIM For Seva runs 60 such Homes in 14 states across the country. In addition, the organisation is involved in running schools and healthcare centres. The entire operation is run on voluntary donations, says Ms.Balaji. It costs Rs.1,250 a student per month and so the annual expenses on 3,000 students comes to Rs.4.5 crore. “The local communities also participate, once they know how much it benefits the children.”

The aim of the organisation is to bridge the urban-rural divide, says Ms.Balaji, adding that they own the land on which the Homes are built. “There is a sense of permanence… We are here for the long haul,” she adds.

For information visit www.aimforseva.org.