At Olentangy High School, students are not solely focused on academics and extracurriculars, but also make a difference beyond. Many students have taken their passions and personal experiences to create a non-profit organization, with the goal to make a change in their community. With missions like care to hospitalized children, promotion of healthcare and diseases, access to education and more, these student-founded initiatives show the leadership and compassion students have. Through service projects, fundraisers, and community partnerships, Olentangy students show us how even in our youth we can make impacts that last

Create for Kids

Create for Kids is a youth-led non-profit that supports hospitalized children. In our school, we focus on cards and kits and donate them to Nationwide Children’s. The main goal of Create for Kids is to bring out joy in children with personal and thoughtful gifts while they are in the process of care. Members dedicate time during school meetings and events to make kits and cards to show a message and donations are made with care. With their kind service and collaboration, the organization turns these small acts into meaningful moments.

“The main goal of our nonprofit is to uplift children in hospitals by providing them with cards, kits, and other fun activities. We have acted on our goal by creating cards to put in kits and through fundraising initiatives to raise money for kit creation,” President Allegra Chua ‘28 said. 

Her words showcase how Create for Kids turns compassion into action. They combine creativity with their fundraisers; the group ensures that each card and kit is thoughtfully made and provided. This allows the organization to continue to give comfort and encouragement to young patients throughout the year.

Sun Safe Society

Sun Safe Society is a youth-led non-profit organization whose goal is to promote skin cancer awareness and teach others about sun safety. They host fundraisers and accept donations for skin cancer research. The non-profit’s primary goal is to reduce the risk of skin cancer through sun safety education at its simplest. Sun Safe Society hosts fundraisers, donations to foundations and social media outreach. Through these initiatives, members continue to get educated and help the organization with their goal of widespread awareness. 

“We started our nonprofit because we have firsthand experience with how it feels to deal with skin issues in the past. We decided to make good of these issues we have dealt with by promoting the concept of skin safety and spreading awareness to skin cancer,” Co-founder Diya Karthick ‘28 said.

Karthick’s statement reveals how the organization’s mission has grown from personal struggles. They do not just provide facts; Sun Safe Society aims to connect with students and our community on a personal level, to demonstrate how everyday habits can have long-term effects on health. To transform awareness into action, the group hopes to build a community that is informed, engaged and committed to establish sun safety as a lifelong priority

Coloring brighter futures

Coloring brighter futures is a youth-led registered non-profit that supplies school supplies for underprivileged children who don’t have access. They donate to students in homeless shelters, underfunded schools, free stores, etc. They make pouches that include small supplies like crayons, pencils, and glue. They raise funds through events and fundraisers and have so far raised over $6,000 and donated 3,000 pouches. 

“The two siblings that I tutored were there eager to learn, but I started to notice that they relied on the librarians to provide them with basic school supplies like pencils, erasers, and computers. It was simply unfair that students who worked hard didn’t have the right supplies,” Co-founder Nayana Paturi ‘27 said. 

The real-life experiences Paturi has had highlight the educational gaps that a variety of students face. From the exposure of motivated learners who struggle without basic materials, the founders recognized how a lack of resources limits the students’ ability to participate and succeed in school. This realization is what sparked the realization to start Coloring Brighter Futures, which inspired them to provide supply pouches and secure students with the tools they need to learn and have opportunities to the fullest.

Brighten Initiative

The Brighten Initiative is a nonprofit that was started to look at healthcare inequality across Ohio. Their focus is to give access to basic necessities like hygiene and health essentials. As they built plans and thoroughly researched, they founded the organization that works to support homelessness and those who have limited access to healthcare, they specifically contribute to those at Open Shelter on the south side of Columbus.

“Our main goal is to provide equality for everyone in Ohio and show the less fortunate that we care about them and they are not alone”, Co-founder Suganth Natarajan‘26.

As the Brighten initiative has grown, they have raised funds and collected essential items like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and other hygiene products. They contribute thousands of supplies to shelters. Through recognition on news outlets and partnerships with many shelters, their nonprofit continues to expand as they work further to ensure basic health needs are given as a right, not a privilege