ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Eshika Taya doesn’t take getting an education for granted.
Although the Asheboro High School junior has been raised in America, she also considers North India home and visits there often.
“Seeing a lot of impoverished kids and families in my community, especially where I live, it’s kind of hard to see,” she said.
Taya wasn’t satisfied with just being aware of the problem, she wanted to do something about it and thought her school clubs, DECA, and the mental health club she founded, would be good places to start.
“I decided that I could work together with both organizations, DECA and mental health, and create something that I could raise funds for a charity,” Taya said.
Taya decided to sell treats.
She did the baking, and two classmates helped with the packaging.
“The two desserts that we chose were India’s most popular,” she said.
“One of them is the national dessert, so Jalebi, which kind of resembles funnel cake and the other one is called Gulab Jamun, which is donuts covered in rose syrup, and we decided to sell both of them and raise all of the funds and hopefully donate it to the organization.”
Taya wanted the funds to go to the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
“Their main goal is to cook hot meals and package them around their area, so where they’re headquartered is also near where I live,” she said.
After going to houses and organizations in the Asheboro community to sell the desserts, around $1,020 was raised.
Taya appreciates that fundraising was not the only valuable aspect that came out of the experience.
“While we were going door-to-door, friend-to-friend, we were also able to talk on the issue while selling it,” she said.
“We had a lot of fliers around downtown, the school, but through social media, a lot of our friends wanted to support that cause, and they felt very heartfelt doing it, so just buying the desserts, also having a good snack to feed on, they just felt very proud of their classmate.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.
Read the full article here
