Marquette Students Aim to Make a Global Impact with Humanitarian Fundraising

Marquette High students Advik Nadikota and Ishaan Vitthala first connected two years ago around a shared mission.

Vitthala, a junior, was impacted by his video conference sessions with students in Africa through the SmartKids Ghana program, tutoring children half a world away in robotics and other STEM topics. Nadikota, a senior, drew on his family’s experience after his grandfather in a rural area of India suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away after not receiving care in a timely manner.

Both students wanted to see what they could do to help benefit rural, under-resourced areas in the United States and all around the world. They started holding fundraisers around the community and, over this past summer, started connecting their efforts with the local chapter of Direct Relief, a California-based international nonprofit that aims to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies.

Nadikota estimates that he and Vitthala have raised more than $10,000 since they first started two years ago, with around $2,000 going to Direct Relief over the past few months. That money, in turn, multiplies through Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx program, which provides medical supplies in the form of prescription medications, trauma kits and acute care items to communities worldwide.

“It’s something where I feel like we’re lucky to be able to do this,” Nadikota said. “I feel like I have a responsibility to give back to those communities and people who aren’t as fortunate as we are. I hope to make an impact in other people’s lives.”

The two Marquette students have recruited around 50 school-aged volunteers to be fundraisers for their local St. Louis Youth for Direct Relief chapter. The students hold virtual meetings around once a month to go over their activities since the last time they met and plan the course ahead.

The goal for Nadikota and Vitthala is to continue recruiting members to the cause and multiply the positive impact their student-led humanitarian effort is making worldwide.

“Joining this initiative is a really unique opportunity to make an international impact,” Vitthala said. “I love when we can inspire people to do the same things and make an impact in the community because I can see other people then go out and take these actions. Helping all these people in rural communities and helping increase their quality of life is really important. You’re achieving that happiness where you’re helping other people.”

In addition to fundraising at local parks and libraries as they have since the beginning of their efforts, Nadikota and Vitthala have also started applying for grants from other charitable organizations.

“It puts a smile on my face to see we’re making a difference,” Nadikota said. “It’s been inspirational to me to see that we started something small that was just between me and Ishaan, and we’ve been growing and scaling it over the past few years and making an impact. A few years ago, if you were to tell me that we’d get this far, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“We don’t have a certain number we’re trying to reach,” he added. “We think it’s going to keep going the rest of our lives, honestly, however long we can take it.”