Avinash Tripathi

Data & Analytics

Volunteering for a non-profit organization is a great way to grow as a person, you get to meet so many awesome indivudals who bring change in other people lives and you get to be a part of that experience.

In the last three years I had the privilege of volunteering for a bunch of local (Charleston, SC) non-profit organizations and wanted to share some of my experiences here.

Pet Helpers :link:

Volunteered on: 06/16/2021

Pet Helpers mission is to end the euthanasia of all adoptable cats and dogs by keeping all animals until adopted; providing low cost spay/neuter surgeries; offering humane education programs; pursuing animal cruelty prosecution; and initiating animal welfare legislation.

Helped by:

  • Painting their front office at Folly Road, Charleston SC

Learned:

  • Painting extension pole (for pain roller) will substantially speed up your painting process while keeping consistency. A must have for any paint job involving walls.
  • Spend time in preparing the areas where you don’t want to do cleanup later, its worth it. Cleaning paint is not fun.
  • Cats are not that bad (I am not a cat person)

Remember:

  • Getting out again and seeing new faces after spending most of 2020 inside home.
  • Cats & dogs

Turning Leaf Project :link:

Volunteered on: 06/07/2019

Turning Leaf provides reentry, education, and employment services to men recently released from prison in the Charleston, SC area

Helped by:

  • Participating in a role playing session which teaches folks about interacting in a social setting.

Learned:

  • Justice system is weird and its really hard to bounce back once you are branded as a felon.
  • A lot of folks want to improve the quality of their life and be a productive entity in a society, they just need a fighting chance.
  • Screen Printing tshirts 😀

Remember:

  • Feeling elated to learn how to screen print
  • Being good at screen printing (and getting a job offer to work full time screen printing - I know that guy was joking but it felt good 😛)

Keep North Charleston Beautiful:link:

Volunteered on: 04/17/2019

KNCB enhances the beauty and image of the City of North Charleston through hands-on beautification events and programs.

Helped by:

  • Removing old mulch from flower beds
  • Making warehouse runs to fetch paper
  • Laying down paper and spreading fresh mulch

Learned:

  • Newspapers, shopping bags (paper), magazines are excellent weed blockers and they are bio degradable :sunflower:

Remember:

  • Scorching heat
  • Being outdoors and in good company

Lowcountry Orphan Relief:link:

Volunteered on: 02/04/2019

LOR provides support services & programs to meet the needs of children identified as at-risk or suffering from abandonment, abuse and/or neglect.

Helped by:

  • Sorting clothes, shoes, toys & books
  • Discarding stuff which cannot be used into waste bins
  • Folding clothes and stacking them according to gender, size and age group.

Learned:

  • The Importance of quality of stuff that we donate (especially kids stuff). School is a scary place where kids can tease you for your physical appearance (non-branded clothes, damaged or worn out shoes & bags) and it helps build confidence if you can appear like you belong.

Remember:

  • Feeling blessed to have had a normal childhood
  • Laughing with colleagues
  • Discovering Marvel Ensemble in the toys section

TEALS:link:

Volunteered on: School Year 2018 This was by far the most invested I had ever been to something outside of work.

Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) is a Microsoft Philanthropies program that connects classroom teachers with tech-industry volunteers to create sustainable CS programs. Volunteers support teachers as they learn to teach CS independently over time.

Helped by:

  • Teaching high school students how to code using SNAP.
  • Assisting in evaluation of assignments

Learned:

  • Its one thing to know something and another to explain it.
  • When you are working with kids, Patience is a virtue like none other.
  • While teaching an abstract concept, it helps to draw an analogy with real life stuff.

Remember:

  • Impostor syndrome
  • Being amazed by american high school
  • Teaching is an art
  • Being frustrated on a bad day and joyous when everybody was paying attention and understood what you taught.

East Cooper Habitat for Humanity ReStore:link:

Volunteered on: 06/22/2018

A community based retail store, which specializes in selling gently used furniture, appliances, building materials and supplies. Your donated used stuff or your purchase of someone else’s used stuff, not only helps keep our landfills less crowded, it provides funding for home ownership for our LOCAL Habitat for Humanity Homeowner Program and other local missions.

Helped by:

  • Sorting sections of store to make it more presentable
  • Moving stuff out of store into waste bins
  • Loading stuff in cars
  • Unloading new stuff from truck into the store.

Learned:

  • About the simple yet effective business model of Habitat for humanity.
  • Its a decent place to pick some unique furniture/ home stuff.

Remember:

  • Working alongside the CFO of my organization
  • The infectious energy and positive attitude of one of the employees
  • Game of Jenga and beer to wrap the day

East Cooper Habitat for Humanity:link:

Volunteered on: 11/17/2017

East Cooper Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

Helped by:

  • Installing insulation under a house (crawl space).

Learned:

  • Building a house is not an easy task but with proper tools and knowledge common folks like me can do a lot.

Remember:

  • Feeling out of place to begin with but feeling confident at the end of the day 🛠
  • Mexican food and Moscow mule 🍹

Surfers Healing:link:

Volunteered on: 07/25/2017

At Surfers Healing, our mission is to enrich the lives of people living with autism by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing.

Helped by:

  • Setting up tents & advertisement banners of event sponsors
  • Serving food to particpants
  • Guiding participants to parking spots

Learned:

  • Basics of event organization.
  • Nature heals you like no other medicine can.

Remember:

  • Joy in the air
  • Bonding with colleagues
  • Friendly conversations with strangers

Sacred Heart community service:link:

Volunteered on: December 2016

At Sacred Heart Community Service, we are determined to create a community free from poverty by creating hope, opportunity, and action.

Helped by:

  • Preparing food parcels.
  • Handing food parcels to homeless folks who were signed up with Sacred heart.

Learned:

  • America is not just skyscrappers and fancy cars, there is a different side of the coin as well and its not pretty. Homelessness, poverty, mental illness these are real issues which I never thought existed in this country until I saw it for myself.

Remember:

  • Smiling faces
  • Feeling humbled
  • Feeling lucky to be where I am in life