Bengaluru boy honoured

Akansha, Shrey Gupta's group of student volunteers, helps school children

A Bengaluru schoolboy has won the Young Achievers Award for his work with less privileged children.

Shrey Gupta, 18, was felicitated for his work with Akansha, an education initiative he started during the pandemic last year. The Indian Achievers Forum, based in Delhi, honoured him recently.

The initiative aims to provide an equitable education to students in Bengaluru going to both private and government schools. With a rolling community of over 200 volunteers, Akansha has already conducted virtual workshops for thousands of primary and high school students. They also provide extracurricular support to organisations like Teach for India.

‘Uber’ for volunteers

Going forward, Shrey Gupta wants to use his platform to impart skills and promote social entrepreneurship.

“Every person can choose a cause, connect with the relevant organisation through our network, and use our support to achieve their goals. We want to be the ‘Uber’ of the volunteering world,” he says.

The dream may not be far away. Akansha has now been selected by IIM-Bangalore’s startup incubation cell, NSRCEL. “This is helping us approach the right organisations,” he says.

Shrey has also been felicitated by Points of Light, an international nonprofit organisation based in the United States.

To become part of Akansha, students can fill in the registration form on akansha.org.in.