5 minute read
Local Heroes
Local Teen is a Charitable Entrepreneur
By Jackie Schatell
Supratik (Deep) Ghosh, of Millburn
Supratik (Deep) Ghosh, of Millburn, is an enterprising young man. At 17, he is starting his second company in four years. In addition, he has donated most of his profits to charity.
Four years ago, Deep built his first computer and needed a keyboard. He wanted a special mechanical one that was expensive, but instead of buying it, he sat down and built one for himself. He realized there was a niche market for this type of keyboard and started a company that earned $250K last year. He plans to donate all the proceeds to charity.
This year, while he was traveling in Europe, he saw fashion accessories and timepieces that intrigued him. Again, instead of purchasing the expensive ones he saw, he decided to build his own. He says he was intrigued by its workmanship and the intricacies of its inner workings. He then launched a company this summer to sell his custom designed fashion accessories.
Deep says he believes that “when you pursue something you are passionate about, you will have success.” This entrepreneur is also passionate about being charitable. While in India visiting his grandparents, he met a local philanthropist who was setting up mini schools in small areas. Deep said this opened his eyes to realizing how lucky he was to have the opportunities he has. This led to him to donate $10,000 from the money he earned from his business to World Central Kitchen, Khan Academy and to schools in the US through DonorsChoose. He says he felt great making the donations but that he had expected to receive updates and progress, but he didn’t. It got him to start his own charity called stemGoals, which is funded by his keyboard business. Here, he can make a direct impact with his donations.
When he got home, Deep began reaching out to schools to see where he could make a difference. He says that because of his age, he doesn’t think some of them took him seriously. However, one school in particular, Paterson School 16, an elementary school, did take him up on his quest. He spoke to the administration and learned that because of the pandemic, the children had fallen behind in math and sciences. Deep made a $20,000 donation to the school and helped design a hands-on, project-based STEM program for the students. One such project was building a garden where 30 students learned about area, volume and the like. He says the kids really thrived. “The garden boosted their engagement and they actively wanted to participate,” says Deep.
The program ran through the 20212022 school year. The program was so successful in bringing up the kids’ grades that “the principal told me that it is being added to the school’s permanent budget,” says Deep. “It was gratifying to see the donated money used for such a great cause. It meant a lot to me to see the impact my donation made and to know that it will outlast my modest donation.”
Next, he is donating to a program that will get projectors into the schools in Uganda to stream subjects and topics that are otherwise out of reach due to lack of qualified teachers. He is also looking for matching donors.
To learn more or make a donation, go to stemgoals.org.
Supratik (Deep) Ghosh hands a check to the Vice President of PS 16 School, Kenneth Roman
Family Promise Union County is Helping to Address Family Homelessness
By Jackie Schatell
When Family Promise began, it was a local response to a problem in Union County, New Jersey. Thirty years later, it is a national movement involving thousands of volunteers, which served more than 187,000 people in 2021. There are more than 200 affiliates across 43 states making it the leading national nonprofit addressing the issue of family homelessness.
Family Promise Union County (FPUC) Executive Director Geleen Donovan says, “Family Promise provides meaningful volunteer opportunities for people to make a difference for families in their community and empowers families to maintain employment, housing, and hope.”
FPUC provides many programs to Union County residents, such as homelessness prevention and shelter diversion, to ensure that families stay housed. Other services include providing temporary emergency shelter apartments; a congregational building and retrofitting program where congregations rent their unused space to low-income families; and a new program called Open Table, which pairs families with a group of volunteers from many community sectors including business, education, faith communities, and healthcare. They work with clients using their vast relational capital and social networks to impact the social determinants of health for clients.
When the pandemic hit, FPUC pivoted to handle the immediate needs of the community, which included the transformation of their emergency shelter program. Geleen explains that “in the former rotational model, people were in a congregate setting, moving every two weeks, which is hard on families, especially children. In the new model, families can remain living in one place, while the organization helps them figure out long-term plans.” Aside from providing housing and professional services, FPUC also supplies clients with basic needs like Shoprite gift cards, transportation, and childcare. The case management team assists with obstacles in finding permanent housing.
Once a family is on solid ground and can move into their own place, FPUC cleans and repairs the temporary shelter apartment, and the next family in need moves in. When a family is ready to exit the shelter program, FPUC works with over 100 landlords in Union County to obtain long-term housing. It benefits families because they can stay in one place and it benefits landlords because they receive guaranteed rent from a solid organization. “We’ve seen a few times that once a family was ready to move into permanent housing, landlords asked if they may rent directly to the family because they had developed a wonderful relationship and felt the family would be a great tenant,” says Geleen.
Finding temporary housing can be difficult and Family Promise’s program for creating congregated space helps combat this. One location they are working with is St. Andrews Episcopal Church in New Providence. Geleen says, “St. Andrews has been working on retrofitting a ‘Carriage House’ building, located on their property. FPUC is currently renting a 1-bedroom emergency shelter apartment from St. Andrews at this location. Part of the plan is to renovate two more 2-bedroom apartments to rent to lowincome families.”
