Founders

sasthatamilfoundation@gmail.com

Mr. Velu Raman, is a visionary in the Tamil community. He, along with Mrs. Visalakshi Velu co-founded Plano Tamil School in the year 2001. Mr. Velu Raman, a visionary and a leader by nature, expanded his service multi-dimensionally by founding Sastha Tamil Foundation, in 2010, the first independent non-profit Tamil organization in the DFW area. Velu has brought his passion for Tamil to the United States. It is no surprise he was keen on expanding his reach to help the community for the greater good of the underprivileged back home in Tamil Nadu, India and locally in Dallas, Texas. He has been leading, changing, and growing community organizations since his 20’s. Born in a family that extends a lending hand for anyone in need, giving back to the community was in his blood. He has previously served as the Secretary of a temple in Tamil Nadu, India for 9 years. He has actively volunteered on the administration side, and as a teacher in a spiritual educational organization in Dallas since 2003. He saw how quickly Plano Tamil School, now a subsidiary of STF, was growing. As a means of stabilizing the growth and to create a larger reach in a more impactful way, he started the non-profit Sastha Tamil Foundation. Mr. Velu’s vision is to continue to inspire many people to volunteer since volunteering creates fulfillment in one’s life. His goal is for STF to be a channel for good, to help those in need, to create an opportunity for everyone to serve others, along with providing a platform for the community to grow to unite the Tamil community for the betterment of Tamil through instilling the values of the Tamil culture and literature. To this effect, STF conducts Thirukkural & Tamil Thiran Competitions every year. It was his novel idea to introduce the “$1 for 1 thirukkural” program wherein every thirukkural recited correctly and with full meaning will be awarded $1. The program has been continuing to run since 2008. Several Tamil institutions throughout the US and India have recognized him for his contribution to Tamil, and Tamil Society.

Mrs. Visalakshi Velu started Plano Tamil School in the year 2001 with just 7 children around a dining table in her house, with the initial goal to get children to speak in Tamil to their parents and grandparents and to read basic signs in Tamil. She is a trained Montessori teacher, with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and is a teacher for about 30+ years now. She has been a Teacher of spiritual education classes since 1999 and has been a Service project coordinator for North Dallas Sai Seva Organization since 2001. With her background in teaching spiritual education classes, and a passion for teaching young children, she harbored the growth of Plano Tamil School from scratch. She continues to serve not only as a Director for Plano Tamil School, but also on the Sastha Tamil Foundation Board. She has served on the American Tamil Academy as Governing Council Board Member between the years 2013-2019, as Executive Committee Member & Joint Treasurer between 2016-2017 & Governing Council Directorial Board between the years Jan 2018- Dec 2019. She has also served in other national non-profit boards in the past. She was conferred the Social Entrepreneur Award by the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) in the year 2018 for her continued and sustained efforts in contributing to the Tamil community. Her passion for Tamil is evident in the work she does for the community. Mrs. Visalakshi Velu is a dedicated woman who devotes her time everyday to run Sastha Tamil Foundation and Plano Tamil School. Coming from a family that has a history of helping the community, she too constantly looks out for ways to help those in need. Mrs. Velu facilitates the operations of the organizations, and ensures that both organizations run smoothly.

Founders

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