Contributed by Angels Among Us | Lebanon Trail High School DECA, TX
A group of students took it to the next level when they got a chance to showcase their philanthropic skills through DECA, and from there, Angels Among Us, a nonprofit for medical awareness, was formed.
“Originally, it all started with DECA. There was a corporate challenge called the NPCF Social Impact Leader of Tomorrow Challenge, where we had to record our marketing campaign. It was a team of four; Rohit, Shawn, and I all participated in that, and we ended up placing third. We raised 6-6.5K for that organization through door-to-door fundraising mainly.” - Nikhil Kotta, Junior
Through this, they were inspired to turn it into something real and keep going.
“To see how much that grew inspired us to keep pushing, and we got a sense of fulfillment from it.” - Kotta
After the early origins of the organization were formed, they started spreading their mission.
“So right now, we’re branching out, and it all started here at LT. We have several chapters getting set up, like Independence and Prosper, and right now, we’re trying to expand more so we have a bigger outreach. - Shawn Sebastian, Junior
Spreading awareness is an integral part of Angels Among Us as a whole.
“A big part of our club is raising awareness, so we teach these people about the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and once they learn, they can tell other people. It’s like a chain, and we hope to raise a lot of money towards the end and awareness too.” - Sebastian
The members of the organization took multiple steps to fuel their outreach.
“So we started by developing a marketing plan to reach out to local areas, and that started by using social media. We did a lot of posts about what we were doing and why it was important, and from there, we also started using [word-of-mouth] and verbal communication to get the word out, and that helped create a lot of impact and bring a lot of volunteers to our events.” - Aneesh Chintala, Sophomore
However, it hasn’t always been smooth for the Angels Among Us. They’ve experienced many setbacks and had to persevere through the difficulties.
“Setting up chapters has a lot of roadblocks. We are trying to guide people and fundraise, and need contingency plans.” - Sebastian
Throughout the journey, determination has become a much-needed trait for the nonprofit. The officers have navigated many obstacles and been equipped to handle all types of situations.
“Prepare and prepare, that’s the most important thing.” - Sebastian
Follow Angels Among Us on Instagram @aau_fundraising.
