ESSENTIAL GIVING

Kina Desai began traveling at a very young age. Visiting multiple continents with her family, she nurtured a love of other cultures, food and people.

While Kina, age 17, has traveled to numerous conferences in New York, Vancouver and Berlin for Model United Nations, the most impactful destination she encountered is McAllen, Texas, and other cities along the United States–Mexico border. Just 13 years old at the time, she was the youngest person in an academic field study where she learned about immigration issues and saw firsthand the hardships facing immigrants.

The experience that stuck with her the most during that trip was meeting and working with children from Central America. She learned that many were without basic necessities such as underwear, which is rarely donated and cannot be donated used. “We think so much about toothbrushes and socks, but underwear doesn’t cross people’s minds. I didn’t think about it either until that trip,” says Kina. “I tried to look for existing organizations, but I couldn’t find anything. That’s when I decided to take action.”

She founded Draws For A Cause during the coronavirus quarantine in 2020. Kina successfully developed a business plan and started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $11,500—a goal she accomplished. For every piece of underwear sold, another is donated to a child in need.

Kina traveled to Antigua, Guatemala, and visited the surrounding villages two years ago to distribute more than 2,000 pairs of underwear with the help of The God’s Child Project. She specifically remembers a woman and her five children walking over 3 miles to get the underwear.

Going forward, Kina would like to get Draws For A Cause underwear into more shops in the South Bay and even Northern California, along with Etsy. If that plan is successful, she’s hoping to take another trip to Guatemala next summer to distribute more underwear.

“I have always been a problem-solver, and I’ve been happy with how things have turned out and all the support I have had along the way,” shares Kina. “While some things were trial and error, I couldn’t have done it without so many people.”

Down To Earth

As a young child, Graham Galusha loved animals. He started an Earth Club with friends where they learned about animals that lived around them, as well as endangered species. That love for animals turned into a love for the planet.

The 17-year-old is currently president of the Chadwick Sustainability Council. He has coordinated a student workshop with guest speakers from the Environmental Protection Agency, hosted an educational program for Chadwick families addressing sustainable practices at home, and participated in a school fair to debut green products for home use.

“We have an ethical and moral obligation for everyone to live a great life,” says Graham. “I would love a world where humanity can coexist with nature. I want that to remain strong.”

In February Graham traveled to Songdo, South Korea, with one other student—thanks to Chadwick’s collaboration grant—to work with sister school Chadwick International to reinforce sustainable practices on both campuses. While in South Korea, they met with Greenpeace East Asia, the United Nations Green Climate Fund and urban planners in Songdo.

Graham is so devoted to the environment that he traveled to South Korea on a low-emissions flight on Asiana Airlines. “It’s so exciting to learn about their processes and try to implement some of the ideas we talked about and saw firsthand,” he says.

Graham recently submitted a proposed piece of legislation to Congressman Ted Lieu in favor of retail waste reduction. Graham is just one of 22 students who are part of Lieu’s Youth Advisory Council that meets monthly. While he was intimidated when interviewing with one of Lieu’s staffers last May, he’s been amazed since becoming a part of the council in August.

“I feel so lucky to have a powerful voice listening to us,” he says. “Maybe one day I can be in that same position.”

Food For Thought

There is a photo of Noelle Nelson sitting in a doctor’s office, holding a corn muffin with icing and sprinkles on it. Why? Noelle is not your typical teenager—she loves AP chemistry, speaks three languages and aspires to be a pediatric surgeon. But like many other teens and people of all ages, she has a plethora of food allergies.

The picture was from an oral food challenge Noelle completed in seventh grade, when she tried eating baked dairy for the first time. “It was a different world to grow up in,” she says, recalling her struggle with diagnosing her food allergies. “But it connected me to the medical field and really taught me empathy.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two students in every classroom have food allergies, yet the severity is often downplayed. Noelle is working to change that. The Notre Dame Academy junior is a teen advisory group member for Food Allergy Research & Education, a board member and staff writer for Just Allergy Things digital magazine and an ambassador for the nonprofit Red Sneakers for Oakley. She is also the founder and creator of Teach Teal: Food Allergy Awareness, a learning program for fourth and fifth graders.

Originating as a Gold Award project through the Girl Scouts, Noelle says Teach Teal is “teaching kids about food allergies, empathy and compassion.” The three-day curriculum features teaching guides, videos, textbooks, activities and anecdotes from students with food allergies.

The program strives to help kids develop greater empathy skills. “That’s extremely important—not just with food allergies but with any difference,” Noelle says. Her latest project with Teach Teal will be a summer camp for kids who are dealing with this condition.

Hearing other students share stories similar to her own inspired Noelle to write a young adult novel, Teal Together, which will be released this spring. “I wanted other kids with food allergies to see themselves in a book,” she says.

Despite her challenges, Noelle sees the positives in her experience. “Having food allergies taught me how to understand people better and be kind to everyone—because you never know what someone is going through.”

Getting Creative

Every Wednesday when Armand Taylor walks into school at Da Vinci RISE High, he can’t help but get excited. It’s time to do something he loves: work with different kinds of art supplies and cameras.

Armand takes advantage of the opportunity given to him by the Creative Wisdom Tools program developed by Rafael McMaster, the founder of Resin gallery and the South Bay Artist Collective in Hermosa Beach. Armand spends close to 14 hours a week thinking about what he wants to accomplish every Wednesday.

He uses spray paint to create his artwork and also loves photography. He gets ideas everywhere he goes. “While I always enjoyed the arts, it’s never something I thought I’d get the opportunity to pursue,” he says. “I’m unable to buy the supplies myself, so had it not been for this program I never would have found this creative outlet.”

Da Vinci RISE High in Hawthorne meets the unique needs of youth navigating foster care, housing instability, probation and/or other circumstances that have caused disruptions in their academic journeys. The 17-year-old was born in Sacramento, moved to Los Angeles about seven years ago and has been in the foster care system for about six years.

Armand’s art has drawn the attention of many of his teachers and their friends and families. He’s sold nearly 15 of his spray paint-based paintings—one even purchased by a buyer in Boston. He’s also sold an entire set of paintings for $450.

“Armand has a newfound love of the creative arts and has continued to evolve the more he’s been able to work on his craft. And now his artistic and photography skills are off the charts,” says Rafael. ■

Our Promise. Your Future.

The South Bay Promise offers an outstanding college education – debt free!

If you’re a first-time, full-time college student we’ll waive your first and second year enrollment fees. Get personalized services to make sure you graduate in two years with the degree you need.

Learn more at www.elcamino.edu/southbaypromise.