Check Out Varsha Vasu’s Story

Losing my summer internship in 2020 due to the pandemic was one of the best things to happen to me! It gave me the opportunity to establish Virtual Arts for Humanity (VAH), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that unites philanthropy with performing arts. COVID-19 exacerbated food insecurity for families and children across the nation. I’ve always been passionate about feeding hungry people, as I believe it’s a human right. Simultaneously, I witnessed fellow performers losing performance gigs as the world shut down. While being a performer is in itself rewarding, I knew that arts had more potential beyond entertainment. With that belief in mind, I designed the blueprint for my organization’s work and recruited a team of passionate youth and young adult leaders in the performing arts community. From there, VAH was born! We provide a platform for performing artists of all artistic disciplines, while accepting donations to feed hungry families through our partners at Feeding America. We’ve continued to expand our reach as we strive to “make a difference, one performance at a time!”I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Hosting virtual performances 1-2 times a week had its challenges! Technical difficulties and ever-changing social media guidelines have compelled us to be resourceful and think on our feet. But one’s team is what makes that road so much smoother! I am forever grateful for my diverse team, The VAH Team, who bring unique perspectives and experiences to address issues and expand our impact. Hosting in-person shows in 2022 brought new struggles, especially with fundraising. With added costs of auditoriums, lighting/sound, food, decorations, compensating performers, and transportation costs, we’ve had to think creatively to raise money. While this is a struggle, our current donors and supporters understand our mission, which keeps them coming back to support us (Want to help us? Please donate at linktr.ee/virtualartsforhumanity). Maintaining online opportunities and introducing in-person programs completely changed the game for us; it has expanded our reach and multiplied our impact on our cause. It has also positively impacted performers because performing live is a special experience in itself. We are among the first youth in our community to put together the first of its kind, in-person Performing Arts Charity Gala by ourselves. While most organizations have a youth wing consisting of event volunteers, we have reversed the roles; we are a completely youth/young adult-led nonprofit organization, and occasionally bring in adults to volunteer!

Since June 2020, our VAH Team has featured 250 performers of all cultural and artistic disciplines from ages 6-70 years on our merit-based platforms from the United States, Asia, and Europe. We’ve expanded to in-person workshops and performances starting in 2022. We’ve enabled over 110,000 nutritious meals and have expanded to provide monetary compensation for our performing artists. We’ve also published original video productions by collaborating with performers from across the world. VAH has united youth and young adult leaders to strive towards a humanitarian goal by providing both leadership opportunities and summer internship opportunities for middle school, high school, college, and grad students, along with full-time young working professionals. VAH has formed a united community of over 3,000+ performers, leaders, partners, and donors. VAH has allowed me to identify disparities in merit-based opportunities in my own community and work with a wonderful team to actively implement sustainable solutions. The leaders on The VAH Team bring diverse perspectives and hard work to make a difference in the lives of those we serve, and we are always striving to learn and grow. My team is the reason behind why VAH is where it is today!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I am currently reading a new favorite, “Autobiography of a Yogi.” It cleverly exemplifies the oneness of humanity and has expanded my own thoughts on what’s possible when intentions, values, and actions align. I am also constantly learning from others in areas such as arts, yoga, and health. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have allowed me to watch my favorite dancers and musicians experiment and push their creativity. VAH actively features these inspiring role models on our social media pages. It’s primarily due to social media that VAH has and continues to reach thousands of performers and supporters across the globe! Social media  puts the virtual in “Virtual” Arts for Humanity, and alludes to how we started in a virtual world during the pandemic. All in all, I have found people near and far, from celebrity performers and my teachers, to my own VAH team, to be my inspirations!