September 5 , 2007

Dallas, Texas: Telugu Association of North America (TANA) along with the Telugu Association of North Texas (TANTEX) has donated 400 backpacks and school supplies like notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, folders and glue sticks to needy school children in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area.

“This is one of your annual community service projects to help out needy school children in different areas. I thank both Dallas and Boston area TANA leadership for taking initiative and making the project very successful. We are very committed to serve the needy not only in our motherland but also in our adopted land where we live and earn” said, Prabhakar Choudary Kakarala, President, TANA

Prasad Thotakura, Secretary TANA in a press release stated that “it gives us an immense satisfaction to see the light in the eyes of young children when they pick up their choice of color bags with all smiles. We feel this is our moral responsibility to merge into the mainstream and help out the needy in whatever ways we can. TANA is always in the forefront in community service projects both in USA and India”

Ram Yalamanchili, Joint Secretary, TANA coordinated the Dallas event successfully where we have donated backpacks to more than 120 needy children at Rapturea Church. Dallas City Mayor Tom Leppert attended the event as a Chief Guest and appreciated the efforts of TANA to come forward and help out the underprivileged children in the Dallas City area. Mayor Leppert and Dallas City Council member Vonciel Hill distributed backpacks to school children.

Sridhar Reddy Korsapati, TANTEX Vice President, Murali Vennam, Backpack program local coordinator, Ram Yalamanchili, TANA Jt. Secretary, Prasad Thotakura, TANA Secretary and Navaneeta Krishna Gorrepati, TANA past president who is a big supporter of this project attended the event.

TANA has also distributed more than 150 backpacks and supplies to HEB ISD school supplies closet. Needy parents and school children visit this closet place and get their needed items like sweaters, shoes, clothes, school supplies etc. all year round. HEB ISD Superintendent Dr. Gene Buinger attended this event as a Chief Guest and thanked TANA for its continuous community involvement and giving highest priority to education related activities. Raja Reddy, TANTEX President and Prasad Thotakura, TANA Secretary along with Dr. Buinger distributed backpacks to children at this place.

Murali Vennam, Backpack program local coordinator and Stephanie Jackson, Special Projects coordinator distributed over 100 backpacks to needy children of Fort Worth ISD.

Prasad Thotakura, TANA Secretary thanked Navaneeta Krishna Gorrepati, Ram Yalamanchili, Raja Reddy, Murali Vennam, C.R. Rao, Sridhar Reddy Korsapati, K.C., Sri and all who have donated and volunteered to make this community service project very successful.

Boston, MA : TANA and Friends Foundation together donated 200 backpacks along with supplies like note books, pens, pencils, crayons and glue to the students at Chandler Elementary Community School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Chandler School is a local community school, where more than 90% of children are from poor and working class community of an old industrial city Worcester. The Worcester City Mayor Mrs. Konstantina Lukes attended as a Chief Guest of the event. She was very happy in distributing those bags and thankful to TANA and Friends Foundation for their generosity and thoughtfulness to the children. She compared Mohan Nannapaneni, TANA and Friends Foundation as guardian angels of this school. She also hoped that the backpack distribution would continue in the future to benefit the children of local community.

Few parents came along with the children to receive backpacks were amazed with the quality of the bags and the generosity of the Indian community. They were very appreciative in receiving those backpacks while speaking to local TV Channels.

The principal of the school Mr. Mark Berthiaume also very pleased with the generosity of Friends Foundation and TANA. While talking to the press he mentioned that this backpacks would be wonderful gifts to the children at the beginning of the academic year. Mr. Purna Rao and Mrs. Shama Nannapaneni were among the other volunteered and participated the event. Suren, Hima, Swathi and Pranay helped in packing the backpacks with stationary supplies and distributing to the children.