For Immediate Release: July 19, 2018
Pictured L to R: Janice Kershaw – President of Brevard Schools Foundation, Siddarth “Sid” Ranganath, Mike Alba – Principal at Viera High School
Viera, FL: Siddarth Ranganath, better known to fellow students as “Sid” is not your typical teenager. This rising junior at Viera High School is a problem solver, and passionate about finding ways to help other kids excel in school.
This summer, Sid decided he wanted to raise money to provide school supplies for children in Brevard County who may not have access to them otherwise. He had an ambitious goal and ended up raising $1,500 and collected four boxes of physical supplies and presented both to The Supply Zone, a service of Brevard Schools Foundation which puts school supplies directly into the hands of children in need. When asked about why he chose to take on this task he replied “I decided to work with the Brevard Schools Foundation because our missions coincide. I want to help students who are unable to pay attention and participate in class because of not having supplies. For them not to have them just because of a lack of resources is just unacceptable to me. I feel like these kids need a chance just like anyone else.”
Mike Alba, Principal at Viera High School who was on hand for the check presentation said “It makes me feel proud when I see an individual student who thinks beyond themselves. We’re trying to create students that can achieve academic success, but also find ways to help their school and community and Sid is an excellent example of that. I’m proud of him for taking a risk and I hope other students would look at him as an example.”
“It is always such an incredible gift to witness young people who have a passion for helping others” said Janice Kershaw, President and CEO of Brevard Schools Foundation. “Sid’s generosity in helping others is truly inspiring. The money he raised is able to be matched by the education foundation matching grant program through our legislature and it will go to helping students in need all across Brevard County.”
In addition to finding resources for the Supply Zone, Sid also developed a new concept to help his fellow students. Ranganath noticed that some of his peers were struggling with science and math concepts and were falling behind. He decided to use his time tutoring at a local library and created “Math with Sid” inviting students who needed extra help to join him. It was during these tutoring sessions that he realized transportation was an issue for some of the kids who wanted to attend, but were unable to. Using his knack for finding solutions, he developed “STEMHelps.org,” a free tutoring website with videos and content taught by Sid in order to give greater access and help others to improve their grades and understanding of complex material. He is hoping to engage more of his peers to continue building this resource.
ABOUT BREVARD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
Brevard Schools Foundation fills educational funding and opportunity gaps at all of our 82 public schools for 73,000 students and 5,000 teachers by supporting innovation, engaging communities, and changing lives. Funds come from private contributions, corporate support, public matching funds, fundraising and endowments. The Brevard Schools Foundation is nationally ranked for their role in supporting public education in Brevard County.
Contact: Katherine Allen, Brevard Schools Foundation
Phone: 321-633-1000 ext. 474
Email: allen.katherine@brevardschools.org
ABOUT STEMHelps
Sid is a high school junior and the founder leader of STEMHelps. He believes that every child should have equal opportunity to education, irrespective of their socioeconomic status. Sid advocates STEM education. He enjoys teaching, playing chess and violin, conducting independent research and computer programming.
Contact: Siddarth Ranganath
Phone: 321-821-2309
Email: stemhelps@gmail.com