COMPASSION The Unstoppable Amitabh Shah Amitabh Shah - Compliled by Jayana Shah The Unstoppable Compiled by Jayana Shah
“Charity is the best form of prayer. Do whatever you can to help the not-so-fortunate” - Amitabh Shah
At a fundraising event in Los Angeles in October 2023, a friend of mine introduced me to a gentleman my son’s age. “Jayana, meet Amitabh. You two need to spend some time together. You both have similar passion and interest.” The minute we started talking,
I felt so comfortable as if I had known him for years. I was so impressed by his humility and
dedication to Seva that I decided to write an article about him. I read a lot about his achievements at such a young age; but what fascinated me most was his simplicity which came through in all his interviews. He has this amazing ability to convey his message and connect to the audience with both colloquial ease and Ivy league sophistication as the situation demands. He truly believes that inspiration finds you if your eyes are open. His compassion and motivation are innate, and Yuva Unstoppable – the NGO he founded - is a real example of it. I hope this article gives you glimpse in this amazing personality and inspires you as much as it has inspired me.
In 2005, at the young age of 23, after receiving his MBA degree from the prestigious Yale University, Amitabh declined a lucrative Wall Street job offer from JP Morgan. Why? Because he wanted to make a difference in the lives of the people by working on the Real Streets of India. His motivation came from a visit to his childhood Nanny’s home. He was saddened by seeing how she was mistreated and neglected. He took care of her and then settled her at an old age home. He had found his higher purpose.
Yuva Unstoppable Amitabh decided to not return to the US and started an NGO - Yuva Unstoppable - in India to help the senior citizens and the children. His family expressed some concern and suggested that he should do the community work after he has earned money. For the next few months, he took them for multiple visits to old age homes, public schools, and orphanages. These trips helped change their minds and now they are his biggest cheerleaders. Amitabh started Yuva Unstoppable as a volunteer movement along with a group of zealous individuals as a youth-led and youth-driven organization with an aim to positively change the lives of children and youth in need. He asked people to just give 2 hours of their time every week to go to schools and orphanages and teach any of the school subjects. Thousands of volunteers across India participated in this program.
Driven by a Higher Purpose The United States of America is known as a country where people from all over the world come to fulfill their dreams of prosperity. However, once in a while we find young ambitious people turn away from the opportunities of a lifetime to make it big in America and use their talents for a higher purpose. Amitabh Shah is one such rare individual. 8
Amitabh strongly believed that education must assume the highest priority in India’s development mission; but through the volunteers, he learned about
