Troy nonprofit raises money for Flint elementary school

TROY — Not everyone in Troy may have heard of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, but the teens of the Hindu faith-based and sociocultural nonprofit have been working hard for several years to help ensure those in an underfunded school get an education.

For the fifth time in seven years, HSS has organized volleyball tournaments in the city of Troy to raise money to benefit an underfunded school in Flint. This year’s annual volleyball/throwball competition fundraiser took place Aug. 28.

“Ever since we started the tournaments, we’ve been donating to the same school to see if we could make a visible difference there,” said co-lead volunteer Deeksha Hadagali, a junior at Troy High School. “I think we definitely made a difference. We saw the smiles on their faces. They told us the donations would go toward the teachers and do something special for them. They also mentioned that literacy rates and scores have been improving at the school, and I think we have helped them achieve that result.”

The organization chose Doyle-Ryder Elementary School in Flint to help. They delivered the funds raised from the tournament Oct. 14.

“We picked this school because it lacked resources,” explained co-lead volunteer Shrusti Basarkod, a sophomore at Troy High School. “Their water was bad and their library was lacking materials. This would make a real difference for their school and would help their students study efficiently.”

As a result of the tournament, and with the help of over 150 participants, HSS raised $1,261 as well as a large collection of school supplies.

“It went really well this year,” said Basarkod. “We had over 16 teams in the volleyball fundraiser, and there were six to 10 people on a team. A lot of people attended.”

“We started the tournament around 8 a.m. and we had different volunteers running it and offered breakfast. It ended around 1 p.m.,” Hadagali added. “We had it at Firefighters Park in Troy and we had great weather that day.”

Both remarked that they had been worried if this year’s program would be as successful as those in the past, since they had to skip two years due to COVID-19.

“We started planning around May to see if people would be interested to do it this year, since we haven’t done it since COVID,” Hadagali said. “Shrusti and I asked other kids, and we sent a flyer out and urged everyone to either play or donate, because it’s a great cause. They are in need of our help, especially after COVID, and I think we achieved a lot.”

Both have visited Doyle-Ryder Elementary and spoken with the staff, who have told them that HSS has made a big difference for students in the last few years.

“Every time we go back there, we can see the improvements they are making, and it’s great to see how much we are helping students in need,” said Hadagali.

“They only have one hallway of classrooms, and we have such great facilities on three floors in Troy,” Basarkod added. “Despite not having much to work with, they are still finding ways to achieve, and that is really inspiring.”