Altruism has collaborated with Greystar Real Estate Partners to organize a series of book drives around the United States, as well as Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
Led by West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South rising seniors Saif Nabi and Anish Reddy, Altruism, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to promoting literacy and increasing access to education to underprivileged youth worldwide. With 11 chapters around the world, the volunteer-led organization, has donated 15,000 educational supplies to schools and communities.
Greystar Real Estate Partners, a real estate company with offices around the world, has donated to local and global nonprofit organizations annually since 2010 through their company-wide philanthropic initiative, “Greystar Giving.”
“We are immensely grateful for Greystar’s contributions to Altruism,” Reddy said. “It’s undoubtedly our biggest moment as it allows us to create a bigger impact to even more communities that may not have the same resources as we have.”
Altruism’s origins stemmed from Reddy’s visit to India in 2019, when he visited many schools that he said, “often had insufficient books and resources.”
“I started this organization because I was shocked to see the international disparities in education resources,” Reddy said. “As a student at one of the top public high schools in the nation, I was cognizant of my own privilege and assembled a team to tackle this pressing issue.”
Upon returning from India, Reddy and Nabi launched Altruism within a few months, recruiting volunteers from around their school to help join their team. Now, the organization has over 135 volunteers around the globe.
“At the beginning, we did not truly understand or fulfill our mission,” Reddy said. “It sounded good, but it wasn’t until we got to see the actual impact that we had on communities in Curaçao (a Dutch Caribbean Island) and other countries that we really developed a drive to do more.”
To Nabi, an immigrant from the U.K., Altruism’s achievements are a tribute to his new home.
“I truly believe that no other country would have given me the mere chance to embark on such a journey. I found a tight-knit community in West Windsor, and I am thankful for the opportunities it has given me to make the change that I wanted to see in the world,” he said.
This year, Altruism was also honored as a President’s Service Volunteer Award Certifying Organization, allowing it to give their most exceptional volunteers civil service award, and was also recognized by President Joe Biden and State Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) for its achievements.
With plans to deliver books to Pakistan and Bangladesh, Altruism is determined to further their fight to reduce the education disparity internationally.
“To say that this partnership is surreal would be an understatement,” Reddy said. “There’s no limit to our impact, and even though Saif and I graduate next year, we will keep going and going with Altruism’s mission.”
Visit Altruism’s website at https://altru1sm.org/ to learn more.