After two Westerville police officers were killed in the line of duty in February 2018, communities across Columbus were inspired to come together to build support for their own first responders.
Here in Dublin, a team of high school students began brainstorming how they could help the children of first responders. This group was led by Sanjana Mangapuram, a senior at Dublin Jerome High School who got her friends together and created a scholarship fund.
Over the course of several months, and with the help of community members, the team developed the PFS: the Police and Fire Scholarship. The program is an educational non-profit scholarship fund run by high school students who provide children of first responders the opportunity to pursue higher education.
“A lot of the children of first responders may not have the proper (resources) or money to be sent to higher education,” says Mangapuram. “So, we thought, OK, let’s build a scholarship fund and figure out a way to help out.”
In August 2019, the group presented its scholarship program to the public through a launch party attended by the Dublin City Council, former mayor of the city of Dublin, Greg Peterson, and more. To further address their message, PFS Director of Communications Raghav Kallur gave a TEDx Talk in November 2019 on the importance of community and the mission of PFS.
Shortly after getting the word out about the first available scholarships, more than 20 applications came in.
To continue raising funds for the scholarship recipients, PFS hosted its first fundraising event in late January 2020. Friends, family and local business owners of Dublin were in attendance, and by the end of the night the PFS team had raised over $10,000 in donations.
PFS continued to gain momentum and Mangapuram was given the opportunity to present the scholarship fund to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine this past February.
“That was probably the greatest opportunity I’ve ever received,” says Mangapuram.
After months of building connections, PFS awarded the first wave of scholarships in March. Each of the 10 recipients was granted $2,500 toward academics.
Now, with COVID-19, PFS felt the need to further its aid to the community. In late May, the team launched the Help Dublin Heal campaign to fundraise for the Dublin Food Pantry and support Dublin families during the pandemic.
“We know that as a scholarship organization there was only so much we can do to help with all the families that are suffering from COVID,” says Mangapuram. “We thought we would use our own platform and take advantage of it and we decided to help the Dublin Food Pantry raise money for the families in need.”
“Honestly, I truly think that the youth has a louder voice than most others just because it is very inspiring to see younger people work toward giving back to their community.”
The team began collecting donations from local business owners who had previously supported the scholarship fund. In addition to posting the fundraiser on social media, PFS was able to donate $1,000 to the Dublin Food Pantry.
While leading a scholarship fund and being a full-time student, Mangapuram says she has learned to overcome obstacles and the importance of working with others.
“You always have to integrate people, you always have to create those connections,” says Mangapuram. “Because of all the connections we had, it helped us a lot with helping out the first responders and the Dublin Food Pantry.”
Throughout her experience, Mangapuram has received a lot of praise for wanting to create an impact at such a young age. Now, she’s encouraging all young people to do the same.
“The youth is the future, so why not start earlier than later,” says Mangapuram. “Honestly, I truly think that the youth has a louder voice than most others just because it is very inspiring to see younger people work toward giving back to their community.”
Now applying for college, Mangapuram is taking after her father and wishes to pursue a career in either business finance or computer science.
David Rees is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
