Brothers start a nonprofit!
Westminster students Rohan Anand and his brother Rishab recently received ESPN’s Billy Jean King Youth Leadership Award of $2,500 for their nonprofit, Rise ’N’ Reach. The student- run organization works with local centers to provide sports lessons and health education to underserved communities.
“We feel that sports have provided invaluable life lessons for us and want to help kids who don’t have access to coaching and equipment,” says Rohan.
In 2023, they reached out to the Clarkson Community Center and began volunteering. “We had so much fun that we wanted to keep going, so we began doing afterschool workshops,” says Rohan.
Working in tandem with the Emory School of Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative, the brothers, along with a growing group of volunteers that includes sports experts and medical students, began providing a variety of sports lessons and nutritional workshops. Word spread, and today, Rise ’N’ Reach is a global organization with 10 centers in the U.S. and India.
How do a rising senior and a rising junior make the time? “We couldn’t do it without one another because we’re able to split the work. We also have over 30 volunteers with unique expertise,” says Rishab. Prakhar Saxena, a classmate, who has been extremely helpful with the organization by developing all our health lessons,” He is the organization’s Volunteer of the Year.
The group is planning an online fundraiser to hopefully raise $20,000 to broaden their reach.
RISE ’N’ REACH
risenreach.org
@rise_n_reach
