Today we’d like to introduce you to Maitry Shah.
Hi Maitry, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I believe the foundation was laid in my childhood; since I watched my parents selflessly serve all those around them. They immigrated from India to the US in the early 70s with me, and they spent the next 20 years settling both sides of their large families, all while working full time, managing businesses and raising my brother and I.
So I learned at a young age that seva (selfless service) is just a part of everyday life: you help as much as you can, and serve anyone and everyone – not just when it’s convenient or when you’re older. I took this idea with me when raising my own children, and kept volunteering in various capacities. Throughout all those times, I had many friends and family asking if they could volunteer with me and to be sure to let them know when they could join me.
So that’s when I come across the realization that people want to help, but are unsure where to go, how to start, and what to do.
Which all came natural to me because of my background and love of serving .
My defining moment came in 2023, when I finally decided to take a leap of faith to put my idea of connecting people to volunteering out into the universe! With a ton of support and blessings, I built Charities2Love from the ground up. I made my own website with the idea to share about the needs of nonprofits and to show volunteers how they could help local charities.
In our first year, we had almost 500 people of all ages volunteer with us over 14 volunteer events. It proved to me that my inherent belief is true: that people are genuinely looking for ways to make a difference, but may just need guidance.and a community to serve with.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Launching a new venture in any field is not for the faint of heart. Passion and perseverance is crucial. For me, the desire to use my knowledge and skill set and be a force for good for the community outweighed the moments of doubt and imposter syndrome that would creep in. Additionally, as an Indian immigrant woman raised in the United States, being in a position to amplify the voices of other minority and women-founded nonprofits was a key motivating factor in pushing through the initial hurdles. I keep a visual reminder of these reasons on my desk to keep me going on the especially difficult days.
However, after the initial months flew by, I felt energized and grateful for the doors that kept opening, seemingly on their own. It reiterated my inherent belief that when you genuinely pursue an idea for the right reasons, the universe conspires to help you (also a quote from “The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – one of my favorite books).
Since launching in 2023, the growth and opportunities that have come my way have far exceeded my expectations. I am profoundly thankful to everyone who saw the potential in my vision and helped propel Charities2Love to where it is today. It truly takes a village, and mine is the best: from my husband, Urmesh and all of our parents, to our adult children and our wonderful family. Their constant encouragement and hands-on support have been essential in bringing the vision for Charities2Love to life.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Charities2Love is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that I founded in 2023. We are dedicated to connecting people with meaningful ways to volunteer in the local community, whether in person, virtually, at their workplace with their team, or any group they are a part of.
In addition, we bring visibility and awareness to nonprofits across our key focus areas of: hunger, homelessness, women, children, seniors, health, and wellness and the environment.
We have 3 primary programs that open doors for volunteers to serve in the community!
The first is our community volunteer experiences, where we volunteer together as a group either at a nonprofits facility or one we have curated based on their needs. We love to collaborate with other nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations.
Our events are free, inclusive of age and ability, and hugely successful bc not only are people having fun while they are volunteering, but also learning about the cause and the charity they are supporting. At the end of every event, we have an awareness portion where the founder or representative from the charity comes out to speak to the group. This piece is what volunteers have said really clicks with them, and has helped them understand the importance of their time and effort, and what keeps them coming back.
Our 2nd program is our virtual volunteering program, which is immensely popular not just locally but with volunteers who find us from all over the country! It started as a call to action the first winter for snack bags for those experiencing homelessness, and since then has grown to year round opportunities to serve many causes. Since then, our volunteers have donated over 3,000 snack bags! If you are looking for ways to make a difference from home, please check out the virtual volunteer page on www.charities2love.org.
Finally, our 3rd program is for purpose driven organizations and groups. For example, We have companies who have invited us to their workplace to organize a volunteer event during their workday and have even done so for a youth conference. It’s amazing how much impact a dedicated group can do in just over an hour! 750 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be made. 200 care bags for cancer patients or women in domestic violence shelters can be made. So for your readers, if you have a team at work or a group that would like to add fun and impactful volunteering to what they do, please reach out.
We believe that anyone who wants to give back should have the opportunity to do so—and we’re here to make that possible.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I believe that being a lifelong learner, being persistent by working towards my goal everyday, and keeping the bigger picture in mind have contributed to my journey.
Since I love to learn, when the time came to create a website/brand/blog/social media channels and all of the other hundreds of logistics that come with starting a new venture, I resorted to reading, taking online classes, and learning about them as much as I could to educate myself. Some of those tasks I decided to do myself, even though I did not have the background for it (most notably making and maintaining my own website). Most of these activities were outside of my comfort zone and skill set, but that is where working towards my goals daily made a big difference.
Being persistent and moving ahead, even if it was slow, is the key. Even on days where there were many other things needing my attention, I made sure to work on some aspect of building and growing Charities2Love every single day.
Finally, I believe the reason I was able to keep pushing ahead is because I kept reminding myself of the bigger picture: Why was I launching? Who was going to benefit? Will I be helping others? Since the answer was a consistent yes, it helped keep me going even during the difficult times. And I truly believe that will be what keeps Charites2Love successful in the future.
Pricing:
- All of our community and virtual volunteer events are free, and provided as a public service to serve our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.charities2love.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charities2love
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Charities2Love
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maitry-shah-5845b6276
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@charities2love
