Volunteer Nanditha Krishnan & family promote HungerMitao Campaign in San Diego County
Feeding San Diego has launched HungerMitao, a volunteer-driven grassroots movement intended to harness the compassion, philanthropy, and giving spirit of the Indian American community in order to raise funds for people facing hunger. HungerMitao (which means “wipe out hunger” in Hindi) will run throughout the month of August. Launched in 2017, the movement is a signature campaign of the Indian American Council (IAC) who started the national campaign to coincide with the month of India’s Independence Day (August 15).
Here in San Diego County, Feeding San Diego volunteer, Nanditha Krishnan and her family are ambassadors for the campaign helping to mobilize the Indian American community while raising awareness and funds for people facing hunger across San Diego County.
Nanditha is a Junior at Torrey Pines High School and has been volunteering with Feeding San Diego for the past two years, “My family has always believed in giving back to the community. Before my brother left for college, he was very involved with Feeding San Diego. I wanted to give back too.”
Despite growing up in the U.S., Nanditha remains strongly connected to her Indian roots. “I‘ve lived in San Diego my entire life, but I’ve always been curious about Indian culture. My family’s involvement in the Indian culture inspired me to learn Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance, and singing.” After 11 years of training, Nanditha recently completed her arangetram, or first solo onstage performance signifying years of dedicated practice. To support Feeding San Diego, Nanditha set up a fundraiser on her arangetram invite and raised $3,000.
When the COVID-19 crisis first struck, Nanditha was home-bound and unable to volunteer at Feeding San Diego’s distribution center. Over the past few months, a number of instituted social distancing guidelines have enabled Nanditha to return to volunteering. “It’s hard to see people suffering at any time, but especially right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’d like to help more, but want to respect social distancing protocol. I’m reassured to see the Feeding San Diego team doing their best to ensure the safety of all volunteers.”
Currently, Nanditha is supporting Feeding San Diego’s efforts with the HungerMitao campaign by mobilizing friends and family to reach out to San Diego’s Indian American community, “I’m hopeful that we’ll spread awareness around hunger and receive a supportive response.” To support her fundraising efforts, click here.
Nanditha believes that the HungerMitao campaign is not only about gathering donations but about spreading awareness regarding hunger, “It’s important for people to know how many of their neighbors are struggling with hunger and how they can help by volunteering or donating to hunger-relief organizations. I think there are many people who either don’t know about the problem or don’t know how to contribute. Spreading awareness is critical in bringing about change. I’m excited to start my campaign team to help HungerMitao spread this message and gain support from people in my own community. Even small donations can help a lot.”
Reflecting on her volunteering experience, Nanditha shares, “Volunteering for Feeding San Diego has always made me feel like it was possible to enact real changes within the community. When we pack distribution boxes at the warehouse, we can see exactly what goes into each box and it’s satisfying to know that it will help someone who really needs it. In the moment, it doesn’t seem like you are doing much, but in the end, it’s very rewarding to know how many people you’ve been able to help.”
With Nanditha’s support and that of the Indian American community, Feeding San Diego aims to raise funds to help provide 40,000 meals for people facing hunger in San Diego County. With the exponential increase in the need for food assistance and other related services, Feeding San Diego is grateful to Nanditha and members of the Indian American community who have banded together to help us meet the rising need for food in San Diego County.
Join the HungerMitao movement today.
