The Frances McClelland Youth Group Vision Award is given to honor a youth leader or group of leaders who are working towards improving the well-being of children, youth, families, and community. The youth embody the strength, dedication, vision and passion that Frances McClelland exhibited throughout her life and youth. This award is for a youth leader or a group of leaders who inspire hope for Arizona’s future.  Frances overcame adversity through her life and manifested resilience. We are looking for youth that embody Frances’ spirit of valuing her immigrant roots, overcoming adversity, and demonstrating resilience in the face of challenges. We are looking for future professionals who will work with individuals and families in careers of family, health, criminal justice, psychology, social work, healthcare practitioners, teaching, and other related fields. The youth leader or group of leaders should be between 11-22 years old.

Seva Squad is a group of teenagers who met as youth volunteers for India Society of Southern Arizona (ISSA), an organization dedicated to the promotion of awareness in the community, the spread of diversity, and the continuation of Indian tradition. The word “Seva” literally means “selfless service,” which is exactly what these girls wanted to do when their community needed it the most.

When COVID-19 first hit in March of 2020, Seva Squad quickly mobilized to gather, create, and donate resources to provide the required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Tucson community. They purchased sewing machines, learned to sew, and supplied over 1000 masks to healthcare workers and Tucson community members. They also created face shields and 3D printed the mask holders. Seva Squad provided PPE to Paloma Pediatrics, El Rio Community Health, TMC One, Paloma Medical Center, Summit Healthcare, NW Healthcare, Banner Health, and Catalina Foothills High School.

Seva Squad also offered help to at-risk community members by making grocery and medication runs, providing educational services to kids struggling with online school, and providing catered lunches to healthcare workers. Seva Squad continues to help the Tucson community in their latest efforts to clean up Tucson and provide fresh produce by working with local volunteers with home gardens to grow fresh produce that will be distributed to those in need.

Director:​ Ananya Munjal, a junior at University High School, loves playing piano and is a trained classical dancer. She is president of Seva club at her school and also co-leads the TedED club. In her free time, she loves photography, travel, baking, and playing with her dog Mozzie. She aspires to be a physician and also continue her dancing.

Technology Officer:​ Mallika Sunder is a sophomore at Catalina Foothills High School. She is passionate about advocating for social causes and is involved with the Pima County Teen Court and her speech and debate club at school. In her free time, she loves working on animations and playing the bass guitar.

Project Advisor:​ Fida Bijin is a sophomore at Basis Tucson North. She is a member of her school’s theater and loves music. Fida plays the piano and violin and sings. She hopes to continue to bring happiness to those around her with her music. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, painting, and learning about historical art, all as a means to advance her knowledge little by little every day.

Creative Manager:​ Meena Caputo is a junior at BASIS Tucson North. She is an officer in Junior Classical League and Social Media Manager of the Student Council. Outside of school, Meena is a leader at her Taekwondo school and holds a second degree black belt. She loves yoga, running, lifting weights, and playing the piano and hopes to continue pushing her physical and mental limits in the future.

Communications Specialist:​ Tanvi Narendran is currently a junior at University High School. She plays tennis competitively, enjoys playing the piano, and is an avid participant in mock trial. In her spare time, she helps run a tennis clinic for young children and tutors. Tanvi hopes to play tennis in college and go on to law school in the future.

To learn more, please visit https://www.facebook.com/sevasquadtucson.