Students at EHS have founded and progressed nonprofit organizations, from care package initiatives to technological innovations. 

Create for Kids, Minnesota Chapter

Create for Kids is an international non-profit organization aiming to organize donations to purchase art and craft supplies for hospitalized children. Senior Elly Doscotch established the Minnesota chapter for the organization. Seniors Indra Khariwala, Ally Adair, Eloise Molepske, and Owen McLain are also members of the chapter. 

The organization hosted a local drive during September and plans to continue hosting monthly drives through the following months. Marketing and outreach were an initial struggle within their program, according to Adair. “At the start, it was kind of hard to figure out how to get started and the best way to get the donations, but hopefully we can figure that out better from here on out,” Adair said. 

The Drone Kitchen Project

Founded by senior Micah Bozic and co-led with freshman Stelios Brilakis, the Drone Kitchen Project works to send student-built drones to the Amazon Rainforest to record deforestation and illegal activity. The program provides three classes tailored towards middle and high school students, where Bozic and Brikalis teach the fundamental skills in drone-building, including soldering, drone theory, and C++—programming for drones. 

The organization has contacted a peace corp that plans to deliver the finished drones to indigenous groups in the following months. 

“We have a lot of people and they’re really excited about it, but it’s still hard to find more,” Brilakis said.  “But [Micah and I] have been working together really great.” 

Light 4 Kidz

After attending the Johns Hopkins Global Health Program the summer before her sophomore year, junior Pranika Kumar said she was inspired by the shared interest of other participants to create a nonprofit organization centered around supporting hospitalized individuals. 

“There were a lot of like-minded students who were looking for some way to give back to the community but also put their work in a more tangible form,” Kumar said. 

Light 4 Kidz, founded by Kumar, is a program with 11 chapters across the country that works to support hospitalized children through organizing drives and fundraisers. The organization also creates care packages for the children. 

With multiple chapters, Kumar said that it was initially difficult to connect with all members, and her goal for the organization is to move towards a “less stratified” program with an intended impact. 

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on Dec. 19, 2024