Two area students are organizing donation collections for nonprofit organizations in the area.
Jenna Modi, a member of Girl Scout Troop 71525 for 12 years, is working on her Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. A rising senior at High School South, she is collecting slightly used sports equipment for donation to Trenton’s Little League and Recreational organization. She plans to donate the equipment as well as work with the girls’ softball teams in Trenton to encourage sports in young girls’ lives and to introduce them to the opportunities sports offer.
She has already collected from Lightening Lacrosse and West Windsor Little League. Modi has a collection station at the West Windsor Municipal building for additional donations from area residents.
Aneesha Raghunathan, a rising senior at High School North, created Hope Line, a nonprofit organization to empower women. She came up with the idea during a summer vacation in India where she witnessed sweatshop conditions.
Born in Connecticut, Raghunathan has lived in Plainsboro since first grade. Her father is a computer consultant and her mother is a housewife. She volunteers with the tutoring club at North, is in the National Honors Society, and serves on Plainsboro’s Human Relations Council. She is coaching tennis at North this summer.
“We are learning how to work in nonprofit organizations, fundraise, sell, and advertise,” she says. “It’s the most important thing I’ve done.” Future plans include a trip to New York City to meet female CEOs and joining One Laptop per Child, an organization that distributes laptops that teach people to read and speak English.
Hope Line often partners with Girls Helping Girls, started by a college student. They co-fund projects involving microlending to benefit poor women beginning their own ventures. They distribute sewing machines and supply uniforms and textbooks for young girls in rural, impoverished schools. She has involved many teens in the area in fundraising, grant writing, and advocacy. She also organized fashion shows at North this past spring.
To raise funds the group is selling shirts made by women in India. A family member owns a factory and hired the women chosen by Raghunathan. “They are paid and then extra money is put into a fund to be divided among them for good causes.” The group has sold close to 50 shirts so far. While the project manager is seeking school, community, and cultural places to sell the shirts, they are available for $9.99 on the website, www.hopelinefashions.org.
