Chicago area teens make global impact donating school supplies with "Colors 4 Change"
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- The staff of a local nonprofit that has spread its joy to Greece, the Caribbean, Africa, and beyond might serve as proof that you can think big and do big things no matter how young you are.
It should be noted, they're high school kids.
"Art made from feelings is just so beautiful to look at."
"I think it's so important to spread that joy that I get from art."
Anya Acharya and her friends Saatvi, Zara, and Samantha were sharing joy and a bunch of crayons as part of the nonprofit Colors 4 Change.
"We take recycled art supplies that people donate to us and we refurbish them, then send them to underserved facilities," Acharya said.
The goal is to help kids and teens explore their creativity. They first receive donations that come from events at schools, restaurants, and corporations from people who just want to help.
Then, the crayons are cleaned up, and those that still need a little love are melted into new shapes. They're sorted by color and put into batches for delivery. (More on that later.)
But, how did this all begin?
Acharya said it started with her big sister, Anaisa, who wanted to raise money for a maternal and childcare nonprofit organization in India.
"We were talking as a family and we were thinking, 'What else could we send?'" Acharya said. "We decided that we wanted to send art supplies."
Soon, with advice from family and help from friends, Colors 4 Change blossomed into a nonprofit organization with global impact.
"Costa Rica, Greece, India, Jamaica, a lot of those places have reached out to us and asked us for donations," Acharya said.
One donation showed how a good deed can grow into a mission. They once received a request for a donation from Tanzania.
"They didn't have running water," Acharya said. "Basically, we got artists from all over the world from places like Ecuador and Dubai, and also local artists to send over some of their artwork."
They raised around $1,500 to build a well for the kids in Tanzania.
When Acharya's sister went off to college, she took over the nonprofit. So on one afternoon in Naperville, the girls were packing up and heading out.
They were making their way to donate crayons and other supplies to the Alive Center, a free afterschool drop-in center for teens.
"They reached out to us," said Amy Logan, of the Alive Center. "They were looking for an organization to donate and they found out that we are a teen center and they said, 'Oh my gosh! We are collecting all of these school supplies, all of these crayons, art stuff. Would you be interested?' And of course, I said, 'Absolutely!'"
Logan said the kids "took it upon themselves" to not just go to school and do their homework and be involved in extracurricular activities but also decide to give back to the community.
"That's huge," she said. "These are our future leaders."
But to Acharya and her friends, it's pretty simple.
"Helping out and volunteering is really rewarding, and it fills you up inside with something you don't really get from doing anything else," she said.
Acharya said Colors 4 Change also has an environmental mission. Crayons are made of paraffin wax and they're not biodegradable. So recycling them is good for the planet.
The girls even recycle the plastic bags their donations come in. To learn more, visit Colors4Change.org.
