TEAM - FAQ

  1. What is the expansion for TEAM?
  2. How was the name TEAM selected?
  3. Why do we do projects for rural elementary schools?
  4. What are the prime objectives of TEAM?
  5. Why help a government run village school?
  6. What basic facilities are lacking in these schools?
  7. How to Donate If I am not a member of TEAM?
  8. How did we form TEAM?
  9. What are the objectives of TEAM?
  10. What are the methodologies to meet our objectives?
  11. How do we select schools?
  12. Can we provide facilities to multiple schools?
  13. Can we exceed $500? If so, how much?
  14. How do I execute Projects?
  15. What to do after executing your project?
  16. What are the TEAM executed/Ongoing projects?
  17. How is TEAM managed?
  18. What are the events happened so far?
  19. How do I reimburse from TEAM?
  20. Is the donations are tax exempted in USA?
  21. How does TEAM monitor the project progress?
  22. How does TEAM know that the money was spent properly?
  23. Can anybody join TEAM?
  24. Can I join right now?
  25. What are the responsibilities of coordinators?
  26. How to contact TEAM if you are member of TEAM?
  27. When do I get receipts for my donation?
  28. Whom do I contact for TEAM activities?
  29. Where should TEAM member send the money?
  30. Should I be a member to donate?
  31. What will happen if I (Members) go back to India?.
  32. Whom should I contact for any other questions if you are not a member?
1. What is the expansion for TEAM? Top
Team For Educational Activities In Motherland.
2. How was the name TEAM selected? Top
TEAM is independent of Caste, Religion, Age, Sex and language. We wanted to have a name that would not reflect on any of the above.
3. Why do we do projects for rural elementary schools? Top
In India government run village high schools are given more preference (i.e. they constantly aided). Whereas the village elementary schools are neglected and most of them are poorly maintained and lack the basic necessities. Aid is rarely given to government run village elementary schools. Hence it is our duty to help them.
The projects can be carried out at:
  • The elementary school where you studied.
  • The elementary school in your native village.
  • The elementary school of the village from where you have your roots and ancestry.
  • Help any one government run Panchayat Union Elementary school in your native place (that you randomly choose). If you live in a town or city, the Municipality Elementary school or Corporation elementary school can be aided.
4. What are the prime objectives of TEAM? Top
  • To promote the development of government run elementary schools in villages namely Panchayat Union Elementary School . To also the promote development of government run elementary schools in towns(Municipality Elementary school)and in cities (Corporation Elementary School)which may lack the most basic facilities.
  • To provide basic and essential facilities for the school children in these schools, such as giving stainless steel water drum, plywood screen partitions, steel benches and steel desks, ceiling fans, visual aids such as maps and charts, blackboards, steel racks, steel bureau for the school office.
  • To encourage, facilitate and enable Resident and Non Resident Indians of Indian origin to donate essential and basic things to a government run elementary school in India that is situated in their own village / town / city.
5. Why help a government run village school? Top
Government run schools in villages of India lack the most basic and essential facilities.
Few examples are:
  1. The children sit on the floor. There are no benches or desks.
  2. Three or four classes are conducted in one big hall without any dividing screen partitions. The schools do not have adequate number of blackboards.
  3. The teachers do not have adequate visual aids like globes, geography maps and science charts.
  4. The school office does not have steel bureaus or steel racks.
  5. The classrooms are hot and do not have fans.
  6. The classrooms do not have water drums to keep drinking water for the children.
6. What basic facilities are lacking in these schools? Top
  • BENCH: In most of the village elementary schools the children do not sit on a bench . They sit on the floor.
  • Floors are usually broken and uneven. Concrete, sand, and stones are continuously loosening out from the floor on which they sit.
  • On rainy days the school children walk with bare feet in the outside puddles and slush and enter the classroom with their wet, dirty , muddy legs, make the floor moist, dirty, muddy and then they sit on the same floor.
  • Its painful and tiring for the children to sit on the rough floor continuously for about 6 hours a day, everyday.
  • Sitting down with folded knees and with their bony ankles continuously rubbing against the coarse floor is painful.
  • Sitting at a lower level as the floor, their neck gets exhausted when they have to constantly look up at the teachers face who is standing or at the blackboard which is at a higher level.
  • DESK: Writing in the notebooks without a desk to put the notebooks on is also very difficult. These unfortunate small children keep their notebooks on their laps or in between their laps, or on the floor in front of them when they write, do math, or draw. Plywood screen partition: Majority of village elementary schools do not have separate classrooms for each class. In one big hall, three classes or sometimes four classes are held simultaneously. There is lot of mixing of noises from all the three or four classes. The students are unable to hear and listen to what their own teacher says. The teachers find it difficult to teach .This is a frustrating situation for both the teachers and the students.
  • VISUAL AIDS: The classroom walls are bare and plain without any charts and maps to be used as visual aids for learning. They do not have globes, world maps , India maps, State maps, Science charts.
  • BLACKBOARDS: In some schools blackboards are not functional. The teachers adjust for many years with the blackboard that does not write well. Sometimes the number of blackboards is inadequate. For a total of five classes, some schools will have only two or three blackboards. It is difficult for two teachers to share a blackboard.
  • STAINLESS STEEL WATER DRUM: In most villages there is sufficient water supply, but the village elementary school does not have proper and adequate water drums to store drinking water for the school children. The village school children are very poor to purchase and own a plastic water bottle that will enable them to bring water from their homes. Without drinking water in the school the children remain thirsty, hot and dry for the entire day.
  • CEILING FAN: Most of the schools have asbestos roofs for the classrooms. Under the asbestos roof the classroom becomes very hot during February, March, April, June, July, and August. It is very difficult for both the teachers and the students to be inside the hot room for about six hours a day.
  • ESSENTIALS FOR SCHOOL OFFICE: In some schools there is no steel rack to stack school registers. Registers are now piled up on the floor in the rooms corner and on broken benches. There is no steel bureau (with lock and key) to safeguard important school records, visual aids like globe and maps. The Principal's table does not have 2 more extra chairs for visitors to sit during school visits. Visitors to the school are usually given a wooden box to sit as there are no extra chairs in the school.
7. How to Donate If I am not a member of TEAM? Top
Click on donate
8. How did we form TEAM? Top
Click on About Team/history.
9. What are the objectives of TEAM? Top
Team's objectives
10. What are the methodologies to meet our objectives? Top
Click on About Team/methodology.
11. How do we select schools? Top
Click on Guidelines/selection.
12. Can we provide facilities to multiple schools? Top
Yes, you can provide basic facilities to multiple schools. But make sure you select elementary schools.
13. Can we exceed $500? If so, how much? Top
You will be alloted only $500.00 from TEAM. But if you wish you can add any amount from your pocket to execute the project. Most members have put extra money to execute the projects.
14. How do I execute Projects? Top
Click on Guidelines/execution.
15. What to do after executing your project? Top
Click on Guidelines/reporting.
16. What are the TEAM executed/Ongoing projects? Top
Click on projects.
17. How is TEAM managed? Top
Click on Board.
18. What are the events happened so far? Top
Click on Events.
19. How do I reimburse from TEAM? Top
Click on Forms.
20. Is the donations are tax exempted in USA? Top
Yes, your donations are tax exempted.
21. How does TEAM monitor the project progress? Top
TEAM believes in TEAM effort. Since you are the one to execute your project, TEAM is sure that you would do your project in your native place as great as possible through your parents. So you and your parents only do and monitor the project when your turn comes. So everyone of us take care of our native project, we don't need any third person to monitor. So *YOU* are the one to monitor your native school project.
22. How does TEAM know that the money was spent properly? Top
Maximum you can receive from TEAM is 500.0$ when your turn comes. That is not others money. It is yours. If you don't do the project, your native place is only the looser. So we are all educated and matured enough to make sure that we would spend the money properly. Not only that after doing your project, you have to submit the receipts, photos and other evidences for TEAM records since it is 100% tax exempted organization.
23. Can anybody join TEAM? Top
If you want to join TEAM, please click here to contact.
24. Can I join right now? Top
Please click here to contact.
25. What are the responsibilities of coordinators? Top
  1. Making sure that their team is well informed of TEAM's activities.
  2. Collecting money from his/her team members and sending to TEAM treasurer.
  3. If anyone of his/her team member leaves TEAM, taking appropriate action to have the same strength in their team.
  4. See the question "What will happen If I leave the TEAM?.
  5. He is the contact point for his/her members to TEAM board of directors.
  6. If members want to suggest something, please contact your coordinator.
  7. Monitoring the project of their team people, when his/her team members do projects.
26. How to contact TEAM if you are member of TEAM? Top
Just bring all your concerns to your coordinator.
27. When do I get receipts for my donation? Top
Members get receipts at the end of every tax year. All other donors get immediately after TEAM receives your money.
28. Whom do I contact for TEAM activities? Top
Contact your coordinaters.
29. Where should TEAM member send the money? Top
Send the money to your coordinator when he informs you.
30. Should I be a member to donate? Top
Not necessary. Just click on donate and follow the procedure mentioned there.
31. What will happen if I (Members) go back to India?. Top
When you leave TEAM, there are three options.
  1. You pay remaining money of total 500.0$ and can keep your membership. So you receive your money when you will get selected by the lot process. Even though you are not virtually in USA, you can track what is happening by TEAM egroups or you can keep in touch with your coordinator. So it is guaranteed that you would receive your money within 50 months.
  2. You can recommend some person from your relative or from your native place to replace you to your coordinator. So he can start to pay on behalf of you. Since he is from your native or from your relative, the new person gets the money of 500.0$ when the new person gets selected. Since the person you recommended gets selected, that money will be spent your place only if he is from your native. It is like you and your friend shared to do the project for your native place.
  3. If you don't recommend, the coordinator will replace with some other person. Even if some third person gets selected, that money will be spent for a school which was referred by that new person. So even though your village is not getting benefited directly, somehow you helped some other village school indirectly. That means you did share the money with the new person for some noble cause.Assume if the selected person wants to leave team, he has to pay remaining money in 500.0$ since he already got 500.0$ from the TEAM.
32. Whom should I contact for any other questions if you are not a member? Top
Please click here to contact.


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