Arjun says the end goal of his philanthropy is quality education
Arjun Alva, a rising senior at Skyline High School, has become a beacon of hope and change through his volunteer organization, Bettering Ann Arbor. With a passion for community service and a drive to make a difference, Alva has raised an impressive sum of over $21,000 in the past few years.
Bettering Ann Arbor’s reach extends far beyond its namesake. Under Arjun’s leadership, the organization has supported local families with essential needs, contributed to educational initiatives both locally and internationally, and even bolstered the Skyline DECA program through business sponsorships. From providing food and clothing to Skyline families to supporting GED certification efforts in Detroit, Alva’s work touches lives across various communities.
In this Q&A, Arjun delves into the inspiring journey of Bettering Ann Arbor, sharing the driving force behind his commitment to social good.
What inspired you to start Bettering Ann Arbor, and how has the organization evolved since its inception?
My family has always been involved with Alpha House. I remember going to Alpha House in 4th grade and playing piano in the basement for the kids there. I have been there several times with my mom and grandmother, feeding them and helping clean the kitchen. So, it was always there in the back of my mind that I wanted to help.
I have always loved programming and mathematics. During 8th grade when school was completely online, my Forsythe science teacher let me start a programming club there. We met every week, and I helped kids learn the basics of programming. That summer I started teaching mathematics.
In ninth grade, I started Bettering Ann Arbor. Just for clarity, we are not a nonprofit organization. We are a volunteer organization. Our goal has always been quality education. I am especially interested in teaching kids who are driven but don’t have the resources. But hungry kids can’t have the motivation to do well in school. So, providing them with food is one of our main projects. Initially, when we started Bettering Ann Arbor, we did a lot of cleanups and zero hunger projects and most of our work was in Ann Arbor. Some of our members have graduated now and are in college and we have many new members now. Now we are raising money for the SVSF center in Detroit, and we are doing many international projects, especially in India. We are now in the process of collaborating with some schools in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Can you describe some of the most impactful you’ve undertaken to support Skyline families?
Yes. Skyline truly is the best school. We worked very closely with our school social worker, Mr. (George) Brieloff (recently retired). He is just wonderful and is always there for us when we have questions. Our initial projects through Bettering Ann Arbor were thrash cleanup projects. When I was in 9th grade, we met often, sometimes every week, and we went around cleaning the fields of Skyline high school. Mr. Brieloff provided us with the trash bags and gloves. It gave us a sense of pride knowing that our school was clean. Then we spent the summer of 2022 raising money for Skyline. We went door to door; I sold my books. Most people we met were nice people. Many people happily gave us a check for $100 knowing it well that we were 14–15-year-old kids and working for a good cause and some people gave us cash. That summer we raised more than $1000. Then I went to Aldis with Mr. Brieloff and bought groceries. During the summer of 2023, we raised more than $500. This summer, we have raised more than $400.
How do you balance your charity work with your academic responsibilities as a high school student?
As a student, I enjoy taking the most rigorous courses Ann Arbor Public Schools offer. I took two AP courses in 9th grade, including AP Calculus BC, and learned early on how to allocate time for studies. By the end of 11th grade, I had finished 11 AP courses. I take many college math courses now, including courses from Stanford University. I must admit, it does get very hectic at times. But it’s all okay. At school, I am truly blessed because I have the best teachers. If I am out for a conference or for a competition, they completely accommodate me. If I have questions, I reach out to my school counselor, and he is always there for me. If I get a weekend free, I raise money during the daytime and study in the evenings. That’s how my usual schedule looks like throughout the year. I have learned to balance my time with challenging academic courses and Bettering Ann Arbor.
What motivated you to write and publish books, and how has this contributed to your
fundraising efforts?
I wrote books mainly because they were a way to express myself. When my brother and I were very young, my father encouraged us to read books and newspapers. We always had The Wall Street Journal newspaper on the dining table. We learned about stocks, firms, history, and whatnot. Reading Hamlet and Macbeth was fun. Writing was just a result of voracious reading. I started writing because I wanted to express myself.
I have written and published three books so far. I published my first book in 6th grade, my second book
in 7th grade, and my third book in 9th grade and I am currently writing my 4th book. I am hoping to
publish it before I graduate from high school. So far I have sold more than 5,000 copies of the books I have written. I have sold my books in the US, in India, and in Australia. That’s how I raised a chunk of the money for Bettering Ann Arbor.
Could you share a particularly memorable experience or success story from your work
with Bettering Ann Arbor?
The greatest thing I learned through Bettering Ann Arbor is teamwork. I have an incredible team
and they are the backbone of this organization. I am extremely proud of each one of them.
Amir Abston maintains our website and helps us out a lot. Kirill Zamulin is the vice president of
Bettering Ann Arbor and contributes immensely to this organization.
There are many memorable experiences and success stories. When we do trash cleanup projects, Bettering Ann Arbor members have no problem meeting out for hours together during
cold winter nights. There is so much enthusiasm and determination. I couldn’t have asked for a better team seriously.
At Bettering Ann Arbor, we believe that the greatest gift we can give someone is giving someone a skill. I truly feel there is no greater skill than education. Having a proper education or a degree can help people break the barrier to gainful employment. If we give money to someone, it can only last for a few days but what truly stays with people is their skill, their education.
The thing that makes me happy is when I teach someone, and they do well in their tests/exams. I taught a kid who was struggling in math but now he is thriving and got great grades in Geometry.
That makes my heart swell with pride.
Bettering Ann Arbor is open to kids who need help with Calculus I, Calculus II, and Calculus III now.
My most memorable experience is with kids in India. They are kids who live under the poverty line and yet they are so enthusiastic about learning. That is inspiring.
Buying groceries for families with the money we raised makes me think there is more work to be done and we are far from done.
When we see problems around us, there are two things we can do: Turn our heads and walk away or be a problem solver. Here at Bettering Ann Arbor, we are all problem solvers. There is no greater joy than putting a smile on someone’s face.
How do you decide which organizations and causes to support through your charity?
Honestly, I don’t think there is any way we decide that. We help as many people as we can. We started with Alpha House, then I raised more than $1000 for Peace Neighborhood Center in Nov 2023. It was a DECA initiative and loved doing that project. That money was used for buying holiday gifts at Peace Neighborhood. I came to know about SVSF from one of their directors and was very impressed with the type of work they were doing there. That’s when we decided to be a part of it.
As far as India is concerned, it is because we go to India so often. Both my parents came to the U.S. as graduate students, but my grandparents still live in India. I visited Sathyalayam school way back in 2019 with my cousins in 2019. I knew it then and there that the kids needed help.
What challenges have you faced in expanding your initiatives internationally, and how are you overcoming them?
I wouldn’t say there are challenges, maybe small hiccups here and there. But it’s perfectly okay.
Many people in the south of India speak Tamil and I can’t speak Tamil, so I must find people who speak English or Hindi. Sometimes they don’t have a proper internet connection. Many of them don’t have computers, iPads, or laptops. Raising money can be challenging at times and I always say that we must get used to listening to “No” often.
We have raised a lot of money in Ann Arbor, but it is not easy all the time. Many businesses and restaurants went out of business during the pandemic, and they had to shut down because they didn’t have enough customers. When businesses are struggling themselves, they can’t be our business sponsors. Then we look for new sponsors. Some of our business sponsors like Coney Island, Desi Ruchulu and many others have been extremely generous and are always willing to help us grow.
How do you approach securing business sponsorships, and what advice would you give
to other young entrepreneurs?
Initially when I started raising money, I sold the books I have written. Most people are touched when they see a 14-year-old kid selling his own books and they would just buy my books. I joined my school’s DECA chapter in 10th grade and got very involved in it. There were around 15 kids who qualified for the international competition. We had a sheet, and we all went about raising money. I raised more than $1000 in 15-20 days. It was all through business sponsorships. That gave me immense confidence. If I am in town, then I am in downtown Ann Arbor during the weekends talking to local businesses. Ann Arbor is a small town and people know each other so it helps. Sometimes they ask us to show them our website or ask us to give presentations and we take care of that.
One piece of advice I would like to give other young entrepreneurs is that self-confidence is the most important thing. If you truly believe in your idea or if you have a dream, then you should go for it. Be tough and work very hard. There is no substitute for hard work.
What role has Skyline Access & Opportunity Advocate George Brieloff had in Bettering Ann Arbor?
Bettering Ann Arbor has many sectors, like services for SVSF, many zero hunger projects not just in the US but internationally too, the work we do for Alpha House, tutoring, and raising money for Skyline. Mr. Brieloff has been our contact for all the work we did for Skyline. Mr. Brieloff met us at lunch to plan meetings and help coordinate our activities. He also gave us access to facilities and transferred the money we raised to families in need in the form of clothes, food, and more. He was also a key player in getting Skyline’s order of new receptacles for Skyline’s grounds.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for Bettering Ann Arbor after you graduate, and how do you plan to achieve them?
Bettering Ann Arbor is a big part of who I am as a person. I want this organization to grow and help as many people as possible. We will continue to do domestic and international projects through Bettering Ann Arbor even after I graduate from Skyline. If we touched the lives of 300 kids now, I would like to help millions of kids out there as far as quality education is there.
We are planning on expanding math tutoring for students. We also want to start financial literacy
programs through Bettering Ann Arbor.
My brother, Anmol, who is a student at Forsythe Middle School, is gifted in mathematics and is a national fencer. He started his own volunteering organization in 6th grade, called Deep Connections. He has plans to do something related to math and sports. He has brainstormed many ideas with me like peer-to-peer tutoring, guest lectures, some sports-related workshops, and climate change projects. In the future, we might decide to collaborate and do some projects with Deep Connections. Bettering Ann Arbor is planning to broaden its fundraising efforts to complete our goals and to use our team’s academic, social, and volunteering skills to help students and peers.
Be the first to comment