NEST4US - A Youth-Led Global Giving Movement

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Millions of people in the world don’t have access to basic necessities and support systems. This is proof that the world needs people to spark change and build a better future. So, we thought, why couldn’t that be us?

That’s the reason why we, Shreyaa Venkat and Esha Venkat, a 20-year-old junior at Georgetown University, majoring in global health, and a 17-year-old senior at Broad Run High School, founded 501©3 nonprofit NEST4US, which was formed as a philanthropic platform built upon kindness, generosity, and social good. Through our five core programs, we tackle over 14 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a plethora of societal issues including global hunger, climate change, quality education, poverty, mental health, equity, and more. Our mission is to make the world better through kindness by mobilizing volunteers worldwide to advance progress on societal issues and spark equitable solutions for the greater good. What started as just two sisters with a simple goal of helping those in need has now become a multifaceted global organization fueled by 5000+ volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who altogether have contributed over 2.1 million dollars in value of volunteer hours.

But how did it begin?

Service has been an integral part of our lives. We started giving back from a very young age, especially with our mom who would bring us along to volunteer at school and community events even back in elementary school. That was when we were first introduced to the world of community service. We had so much fun giving back in the community, especially with our own family, that we wanted to create opportunities where other families and friends could volunteer together and explore their passions! We think that’s what was key: we were so passionate about volunteering right from the beginning. That’s what led us to form NEST4US, through which we offer a multitude of volunteer opportunities where people of all ages and backgrounds can discover their service “niche” and be part of the solution!

By catalyzing our extensive volunteer network on multiple fronts, we’ve curated an extended program framework, with five core programs each consisting of multiple issue-oriented subprojects that provide a vastly dimensional blueprint for mass mobilization of volunteers to take action. NEST Nurtures tackles global hunger, poverty, and food waste through feeding the hungry initiatives, food rescues, and hunger-based service projects. Through NEST Tutors, we ensure personalized, continued quality education for people worldwide by supplying academic resources, cultural awareness, scholastic guidance, ESOL lessons, and emotional support. The goal of NEST Kares is to instill kindness as a lifestyle rather than a one-time action within the greater community through engagement in blessing bag projects, the creation of kindness notes, and the execution of random acts of kindness. Through NEST Buddies, we give underprivileged kids the opportunity to celebrate their birthdays, regardless of socioeconomic status with customized birthdays-in-a-box consisting of handwritten cards, treats, gifts, party favors, gift cards, etc. Finally, the goal of NEST Inspires is to network, empower, succeed, and transform communities globally via the facilitation of engaging workshops that foster intergenerational conversations about important topics such as leadership, mental health, climate change, mindfulness, sustainability, and kindness, as well as professional development sessions that build meaningful changemaker networks.

At NEST4US, we not only supply essential resources such as nutritious meals, blessing bags containing toiletries and PPE, and academic materials, but also societal awareness through interactive workshops, and social media engagement to spur words into action. Most importantly, we foster a sense of community fueled by love and compassion, by providing an overarching support system for each and every individual we come across. This dual approach of awareness and action enables us to fulfill our vision of empowering people of all demographics to create a more inclusive world.

But we couldn’t do this alone.

By collaborating with businesses, schools, and organizations globally, we’ve impacted tens of thousands of people in over 30 countries across 6 continents.

Till date, NEST4US has:

*Recruited 5,000+ volunteers of all ages and backgrounds

*Contributed 2.1+ million dollars in value of volunteer hours

*Served 250,000+ meals

*Rescued 850,000+ lbs of food, equivalent to $1,445,000+ in value of meals donated & 712,000+ lbs of carbon emissions saved overall

*Donated 20,000+ books globally

*Empowered 100,000+ youth worldwide

*Reached 300,000+ on social media pages

*Provided 5,000+ school supply kits

*Assembled 85,000+ blessing bags

*Engaged 7,500+ tutees & tutors worldwide

*Impacted 500+ schools

*Organized 250+ engaging workshops

*Assembled 1000+ Birthdays-In-A-Box

*Created 25,000+ kindness notes

But this didn’t come about easily.

Since childhood, we have experienced many forms of discrimination because of our race, gender, and age. We were told that it was wrong to be proud of our duality, of our Indian heritage and American home. We soon realized we weren’t the only ones being treated this way. Millions worldwide face judgment and scorn for simply being who they are. And that’s absolutely unacceptable. When people judge you based on things you can’t control, like your skin color or background, it’s often hard not to feel angry or hurt. However, through these experiences, we've learned how important it is, especially with all the negativity in the world, to join together and look at people’s differences as strengths that unify us as humans rather than things that set us apart from each other.

Additionally, when we started NEST4US, we continued to face these challenges, as many organizations doubted the ability of youth to make a true difference. After all, we were only 13 and 10, how could we make an impact? Despite facing these adversities, we’ve fostered a community where both the people we serve and serve with are treated with mutual respect and empathy. As young female entrepreneurs of color, we show people that you don’t need to be an adult, have any special skills, or even be a superhero to make a positive impact on someone’s life.

But how did we pursue our passion?

We’re constantly seeking new humanitarian opportunities to enrich our lifelong endeavors through the formation, development, and expansion of NEST4US by spreading awareness, advancing dialogue, and taking action in local, national, and global communities. By providing volunteer opportunities for anyone and everyone, we inspire people of different races, ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses to follow their passions and serve in meaningful ways.

To us, leadership isn’t only motivating others to act a certain way, but also allowing others to lead, cultivating the next generation of leaders daily. As Points of Light Youth Network Leaders, UN CSW66 Delegates, Clinton Global University Initiative Mentors, Rare Beauty Rare Impact Ambassadors, Giving Tuesday Spark Chapter Heads, Be Strong Global Representatives, Steelcase Social Innovation Fellows, Good Deeds Day Ambassadors, Civics Unplugged Fellows, DoSomething Representatives, ICANHELP Shark Tank Judges, Rileys Way Mentors, and Global Peace Delegates, we empower people worldwide to actively shape their future through engagement in nondiscriminatory grassroots movements!

Additionally, we’ve advocated for the Global Goals at hundreds of renowned global conferences, panels, and summits, including The Clinton Foundation, The King Center, United Nations, L’Oreal Paris, Gates Foundation, Points of Light, Victoria’s Secret PINK, Lead National Conferences, Giving Tuesday, PeaceJam, Lead India Foundation, Intrepid Museum, Youth Service America, etc., and shared our story across many notable media outlets, including Forbes, People Magazine, Good Morning America, Today Show, NY Times, Reader's Digest, Thrive Global, Variety, Scholastic, Born This Way Foundation, Daily Mail, Global Heroes Magazine, etc.

As Indian American members of Gen Z, our background yields a unique assimilation that combines Indian heritage with Western culture. However, we’ve learned to utilize these two starkly different cultures as a tool to diversify our perspectives on societal issues, adopt a more empathetic attitude, and capitalize on opportunities that drive us towards pursuing our passions.

According to us, transforming the future involves innovation, hard work, and cooperation between diverse communities, paired with compassionate leaders, cohesive teams, and collaborative cultures in order to achieve the common goal of a united and just world. We believe that there’s no such thing as too big of a problem or too small of an action, especially when we ALL work together to tackle such issues. All it takes is one tiny step, which, when taken by all of us, can turn the world in the right direction.

Imagine if all 8 billion of us on planet Earth did one act of kindness every day. Think of how much brighter and better the world would be, if compassion and generosity became the norm. We believe that peace, love, and equality will drive our world to a positive future. For us, success is best measured by hard work and dedication; thus, we want to be known for the impact we make on people’s lives, not for personal recognition. We also hope to leave behind a legacy defined by love and kindness, with people remembering us as leaders who led from the heart and truly made a difference in the world!

NEST4US Social Media:

Website: www.nest4us.org

Instagram: @joinnest

Facebook/YouTube/TikTok: @NEST4US

Twitter: @joinnest4

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nest4us

https://linktr.ee/nest4us