WELCOME TO SAYVA
Northern VA, MD, DC
SAYVA TEENS: 8th - 12th Grade
JUNIOR SAYVA: 3rd - 7th Grade
Learn more about SAYVA from our Executive Team
SAYVA'S MISSION
Service. Awareness. Leadership.
With small, and sometimes large, acts of kindness, everyone can make a difference!
WHAT IS SAYVA?
South Asian Youth Volunteer Association
(residing in VA, MD & DC )
SAYVA is a nonprofit, community service organization (501 c3) founded and led by teens serving others in the community to make a difference. "Seva" is a Sanskrit word meaning to serve selflessly and with dedication. SAYVA teens & ambassadors make a difference in their community through service and advocacy.
Cofounded in 2011 by former director Sumedha Mongia, MD.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
UPCOMING EVENTS...
Our graduates interviewed dozens of applications from the incoming juniors and seniors who applied for a leadership position. We are excited to announce our 2025-2026 leadership team below. Congrats to everyone!
This summer these leaders will be busy getting ready for the following year planning events and activities that give back while having fun! So stay tuned for dates and events coming soon.
In the meantime:
1. Please REGISTER TODAY! The 2025/2026 Ambassador form is now open and will close July 31st. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. SPONSOR US! SAYVA teens has a large South Asian based community, with our newsletters and social media reaching over 3000+ viewers in the DMV area. Sponsoring us is a great way to reach this an amazing, supportive, and connected audience.
3. AWARDS:
The President’s Volunteer Service Award is on a temporary pause, as decided by AmeriCorps. We have no further information as to when the award will be available again. Please continue to log your hours for the new SAYVA National Volunteer Service Award to recognize all of your hard work for the last year.
Going forward all registered, interested, and motivated ambassadors, aged 13 and 1/2 through 24 years old, may participate in the Congressional Award by setting and achieving individually challenging goals in four program areas: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness and Expedition/Exploration. More details on the registration process and links can be found
4. Need SSL service hours for your school? Send us an email
our 2025- 2026 executive team
CEO: Alisha Durbhakula
Co-COOs: Avni Patel & Shaan Khanna
Co-CAOs: Riya Wedam & Shreya Kella
CMO: Jaiden Bhargava
CFO: Kanav Kachoria
OUr Committee leaders
Editor & Chief SAYVA Speaks Blog + Website: Tara Bansal
Director of Fundraising: Aarav Chawla
Director of Outreach: Devan Charaipotra
Director of Sustainability: Kareena Gupta
VP Senior Friends: Diya Khetan
VP Party Project: Sohan Kilaru
VP Social Media Marketing: Aarav Shah
VP Advocacy Committee: Saanvi Lamba & Kriti Hota
VP Health & Wellness: Aakash Reddy & Arjun Jain
VP Cultural Committee: Nina Krishnan & Aashna Shah
VP Community Service: Kushi Rangnath & Malvika Patel
VP SAYVA JUNIORS: Neera Vyas & Asha Kolluri
Thank you to our 2024-2025 Sponsors!
Upcoming 2025/26 EVENTS:
SEPTEMBER
9/21/25 SAYVA Launch Event (Details Pending)
OCTOBER
10/26/25: SAYVA Walk for Johns Hopkins Cancer Resource Center
C&O Canal, Potomac, MD 20854
NOVEMBER
11/15/25: SAYVA DIWALI Mock Wedding
Time: 6:30-11PM
Stacy Sherwood Community Center, Fairfax, VA
DECEMBER
12/07/25: SAYVA Holiday cookie and gift wrapping party
JANUARY:
1/31/2026: SAYVA Polar Plunge with Special Olympics,
10:00 AM
Sandy Point State Park/ Annapolis MD
FEBRUARY:
Game Night/Day with Grandparents
MARCH:
RISE AGAINST HUNGER
APRIL:
4/26/2026: Holi and Earth day
MAY:
5/17/2026: End of the Year Banquet and Senior Sendoff
OUR IMPACT
In the 2024–2025 school year, SAYVA youth made a tremendous impact through their compassion, leadership, and community service efforts.
Their achievements include:
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Fundraising Excellence: Raised a remarkable $30,000 for meaningful causes, including over $10,000 for the Tyanna Foundation, helping fund a nurse navigator system and a diagnostic imaging machine for breast cancer patients.
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Hands-On Service:
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Prepared 200 sandwiches and 250 snack bags for the Seva truck and local homeless shelters.
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Paid for and packaged 17,000+ meals through the Rise Against Hunger Diwali Mock Fundraiser.
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Provided groceries for refugee families, supporting vulnerable communities.
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Donation Drives:
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Collected 200 bags of clothing, essentials, and supplies for refugees and individuals experiencing homelessness in the DMV area.
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Human Connection & Outreach:
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Organized birthday celebrations at homeless shelters to spread joy.
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Entertained residents at nursing and group homes, bringing smiles and comfort.
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Advocacy & Awareness:
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Raised awareness for critical local and global issues such as homelessness, the LA wildfires, devastating earthquakes, and climate change.
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SAYVA youth continue to embody the spirit of service, empathy, and social responsibility, making a lasting difference in their communities and beyond.
PAST IMPACTS
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SAYVA Alumni College students mentored teens on the college admissions process, study abroad programs as well as Q&A about the college experience.
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SAYVA Giving Day: National Center for Children and Families (Bethesda). Teens organized a Halloween birthday themed party for 30 children and their mothers who are currently living in a shelter.
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51 SAYVA teens, juniors and families participated in the Race For Every Child, raising a whopping $5311 towards research and treatment of childhood diseases. Congrats to top fundraisers J&J Dayal, Aria & Jaya, Alisha and Asha. Congrats to Jaiden B. (15 yrs old) completed the race in 21 minutes coming in 4th place for boys aged 15-19 yrs. So proud of team SAYVA!
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SAYVA Giving Day: National Center for Children and Families (Bethesda). Teens organized a special Bollwood Diwali themed party for 30 children and their mothers who are currently living in a shelter at the National Center for Children and Families. We donated South Asian clothes, played games, taught dance, had Henna tattoos, made Diya lamps, and tasted new Indian sweets with the children at the center.
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DIWALI MOCK WEDDING: This year's Diwali Mock Wedding was an incredible celebration! It was filled with decorations, speeches, food, dancing, and celebrating this joyous event! 🎉 We learned how to dance garba, learned about the different parts of an Indian wedding, and developed an understanding of the celebration of Diwali. We are so incredibly grateful for all of the sponsors and families for supporting this event to help us raise funds for Rise Against Hunger. Thank you to to all of our sponsors for making this event possible. (see images below and on IG!). Funds from this years event will go towards feeding 16,000 families with food insecurity.
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SAYVA Ugly Sweater, Cookie Making, Gift Wrapping Holiday: This year, we had our annual holiday party, cookie making, and gift wrapping holiday celebration. This year, SAYVA was able to donate, wrap, and deliver 60 gifts for Children at NCCF. Additionally, we made and delivered 220 snack treat bags for Seva Truck at the SAYVA Holiday party. SAYVA's holiday party was a great success and we are so grateful to all the families and sponsors that helped organize this event
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SAYVA GIVING DAY: Valentine's Birthday Party at NCCF
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SAYVA Pajama Party Game Night + Shoe Drive: Thank you Aryana Bajaj for organizing! We learned how micro-enterprises help alleviate poverty in developing nations from student ambassador Jaiden Bhargava. We learned from our guest speaker Dr. Bajaj how radiation masks were turned to works of art to help cancer patients. We collected 250 lbs of shoes for Funds2orgs and St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
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SAYVA Rise Against Hunger Flagship Event: Thank you to Community Service leader Riya Budhrani for organizing! SAYVA Teens packaged 15,120 meals!
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SAYVA GIVING DAY COLOR THEME: HOLI/EASTER Party at NCCF
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Annual Holi Event + Olympic Games: Raised funds towards the National Center for Children and Families shelter. Leaders organized Olympic events for all attendees. Members learned about the importance of sustainability and Earth Day.
PAST EVENTS
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Over 116,000+ meals packaged and sent to impoverished countries
$152,800 raised
for our community partners
20,000+ teen service hours and counting!
SAYVA'S COMMUNITY PARTNERS
