Charity doesn’t let funding gaps prevent love of learning

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – When UBC students Mohit Sodhi and Lindsay Richter learned one in five BC kids live in poverty, which could impact their education and health for years to come, they couldn’t sit idle.

The pair wanted to give elementary kids the best chance to succeed by supplying tools to spark a love of learning at an early age. From their inspiration, the charity YNOTFORTOTS was born in December last year.

“We just don’t think it’s fair at all for students to be limited in their potential just because of lack of equipment,” Sodhi says.

YNOTFORTOTS posts requests from schools to their website and either gets specific items donated, or raises the money to buy them. People who donate know exactly where their money or items are going.

Projects have included everything from equipment like microscopes, soccer balls, and lice treatment kits, to experiences like an Aboriginal hoop dancer teaching kids about his culture.

“If we can be a part of that spark in the students who so young right now, that’s all we ask for,” Sodhi says. “For god’s sake, they’re the leaders of tomorrow. They’re the ones who can be curing cancer and being the leaders of tomorrow, so we really want to give these students a fair opportunity.

The pair has also launched a students-helping-students initiative to get the younger generation into the giving spirit.

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