By: Vaishnavi Josyula
While the pandemic has negatively impacted people around the globe, many organizations and students at MHS have taken the time to think about community-wide problems and effective solutions. One such organization is SAMP, an unofficial nonprofit founded by Senior Rajvee Patel. The group strives to cultivate a sense of unity among people of all backgrounds.
SAMP, which translates to “unity” in Gujarati, attempts to help others in need and hosts events that cater towards unity, senior Lladro Valle, Vice President of Design and Connections for SAMP, said in a Google Meet interview. Patel recognized the hardships of the pandemic and wanted to change it for the better, and she reached out to Valle and others, he said.
Over the summer, SAMP started Project Gratitude, for which the members wrote about 3,600 thank you cards in various languages to frontline workers, according to the SAMP website. “We’ve contacted frontline workers from the local fire departments, like the Fremont Fire Department, San Jose, and Milpitas. We’ve also done the police stations and hospitals, such as Kaiser and the Valley Medical Center,” Valle said.
Valle recounted the virtual meets they organized over the summer. They also conducted Q&A sessions with professionals, such as a physician assistant, people from the fire department, transfer students from community college, and college students from UCLA, Columbia University, and other colleges, he said. The organization fulfilled its goal of acting as a bridge between students and professionals all over the country, Valle added.
“Another project is Project Connect, which has two subdivisions: Senior Sessions and Konnecting with Kidz,” Valle said. “[For the Senior Sessions] we record videos … and send them to the Milpitas Senior Center where they distribute them. In Konnecting with Kidz, volunteers have meetings with kids to get them going and being engaged. They have a book club, arts and crafts, and more.”
SAMP distributes flyers and publicizes events on social media, Valle said. They have fundraised $600, which they’ve donated to a local institute for cancer research, he said. V
While Valle and his team faced obstacles, they overcame them by communicating with each other, he said. “One of the main challenges was making sure everything was planned out,” he said. “For example, when we had to drop off donations, it was a little rough in the beginning because no one knew how it was being delivered, but then we gathered a group chat.”
Valle said that SAMP had a tremendous impact on him as it was rewarding to see smiles and know that he made an impact on the community. Valle also hopes to officially get nonprofit status for SAMP in order to offer community service to students. He is also considering branching out to different areas and people to expand SAMP’s impact.
