A junior at the Coppell High School has created a nonprofit organization called Project Querencia. The Spanish term “Querencia” means a place where one feels safe.
Shraavya Pydisetti, the teenage founder of the organization, says she started it to give back to the community that has provided for her. The group offers online tutoring as a way to raise money for its charitable projects.
According to its website, “the mission of Project Querencia is to work together to serve our locality through service endeavors and purposeful initiatives.”
The group of high-schoolers aims to make a difference in the world by giving back. The organization has completed 50 unique initiatives and is still going strong.Â
The students wanted to do something good for the holiday season to show gratitude for all of the hard work school employees put in throughout the pandemic. In one week, the group had collected enough contents to donate 700 care packages for school staff.
The care packages were given out to bus drivers, cafeteria employees, and janitors in the Coppell school district. Teachers in their school system who played important roles in the lives of students in the organization were given packages as well.
The nonprofit also supplied hygiene kits to homeless individuals and collected over 300 cans of food for the Metrocrest Services holiday food drive.
So far, the organization has logged over 3,000 volunteer hours and 550 tutoring hours and created over 3,500 care packages. The teens intend to develop larger projects to help the DFW area in the future and leave a valuable, permanent impact on the city.
Pydisetti told NBC DFW, “As high schoolers, we know that making a difference is possible, and that we are the ones who can achieve it.”
Project Querencia has been featured on NBC DFW, Fox 4 News, Star Local Media, and more. Visit the Project Querencia website to see more accomplishments and stay updated on their projects.
