Eesha Avula

I am Eesha Avula, a freshman at Vista Ridge High School, and I have been very passionate about community service for the past three years. This is why I started my own non-profit organization, Eesha Foundation, to support many social causes. I was excited when I found out my DECA club had a community service module in one of its project management categories. One of its requirements is to raise funds for any non-profit group, so I chose Akshaya Patra.

Akshaya Patra (AP) runs the world’s largest non-governmental organization (NGO) school meal program.  AP provides hot, nutritious lunches to over 1.8 million children in 19,300 schools across India every day. Its mission is to feed 5 million children each day by 2025, to eliminate classroom hunger in regions of India, and to encourage kids to stay in school.

As a kid, my parents always reminded me of how fortunate I was compared to other kids in the world, especially India. When I saw the good AP was doing for Indian children, I wanted to get involved. I’ve seen these kids suffering from malnutrition and the devastating effect it has on their lives. Therefore, I became a Brand Ambassador in 2019, raising money and giving presentations to corporate executives. My main goal was to raise a significant amount of money and to spread awareness, which is why this year, I raised five thousand dollars.

I raised this large amount of money by getting contacts from my dad and then reaching out to different realtors, business leaders, and organizations. I am grateful for their generosity that will feed thousands of kids and help keep them in school. I also want to thank the Austin Akshaya Patra team for their support and dedication to this noble cause.