Today we’d like to introduce you to Saatvik Sunkavalli, Braiden Aaronson, Harish Sridharan, Ivy Liang and Amy Guan.
So, before we jump into specific questions about your organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere) was founded in 2004 by a group of high school students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Sciences in Denton, TX, with the intention of making volunteering more commonplace and accessible. Over the years, HOPE has undergone many changes. Because HOPE is a TAMS-based organization, there is a completely new set of students involved each year. Executive positions have been passed down, events have morphed into new ones, and new committees have popped up and disappeared.
Through all of that, though, our central message has stayed the same: creating as many opportunities for community service as possible. As the current HOPE executives, we intend to not only continue but further HOPE’s legacy of service and compassion in this community.
Has it been a smooth road?
HOPE is proudly the largest club at our Academy, and that has means that there has been a long journey to get to where it is at now. At the start, there were definitely a set of obstacles to overcome concerning logistics and outreach to establish our first opportunities, especially as the first and only student-run organization in our TAMS community solely dedicated to community service. However, through persistence, HOPE was able to successfully establish itself as a service organization while also expanding to include more events throughout the years. Each new event we incorporated came with a new set of struggles, but nothing has prevented us from executing them with the help of hard work.
Currently, COVID-19 has unsurprisingly interfered with the way we offer volunteering, which has traditionally consisted almost entirely of in-person interactions. These past few months, we have been hard at work to transition our volunteering to online and remote formats, and we are excited to say that this abrupt transition has actually allowed us to expand our reach in Texas and internationally. Through our online volunteering, we are able to help teach biology and environmental science in Houston area schools and even teach classes in places as far as Tajikistan. Even though COVID-19 has made life more difficult, we are very glad to say that we have been able to remain true to our goal, and we’re honored to serve our community in the midst of this crisis.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
HOPE is the largest student-run organization at the Texas Academy of Math and Science in the University of North Texas and establishes community service as an integral aspect of student life. Our goal is simply to stay true to our name and help other people everywhere. We specialize in offering a large variety of volunteering opportunities in anything ranging from building houses for charity to providing kids across the world with high-quality English instruction. To this end, we have established 18 committees that each provide a specialized volunteering opportunity, cumulatively serving over 10,000 volunteer hours every year.
Additionally, we have actively searched for ways to make an impact outside of just our local community. We hold four-yearly blood drives in collaboration with Carter BloodCare, raising about 100 units of blood or 300 lives saved at each drive. Last year, in the three blood drives before COVID-19, we raised 283 units of blood for a total of 849 lives saved.
Furthermore, we hold the annual HOPE Auction fundraiser, which is not only consistently voted “Best Social Event of the Year” but also typically raises at least $10,000 in donations. At this talent show fundraiser, members of the audience bid on performances, with all proceeds going to a different charity each year. Last year alone, we raised $17,000 for the Rainforest Trust.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We think Denton is a great place to start a business. All of the local organizations have been incredibly supportive. Virtually every time we’ve reached out to one of them to set up volunteering, they have been receptive. Having a community that props up its organizations is something that has definitely been invaluable to our success.
Additionally, being situated at the University of North Texas is a blessing for any nonprofit or organization trying to provide community service. The students provide immense support to local businesses, both in funding and volunteer hours. Having such a large population so eager to serve the community was one of the things that really allowed us to thrive here.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1705 W Sycamore St. Denton, TX 76201
- Website: https://www.tamshope.org/
- Email: thehopeexecs@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.hope.vlog/
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