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For young lives, a bridge of hope

WESTCHASE A caring teen launches a charity to help kids not prepared to leave foster care.

By Rodney Thrash Times Staff Writer
Published October 26, 2007

"The kids never get up this early," said Anil Bhat, the family patriarch.

It's a big day for Deeksha, the Bhats' eldest daughter. This is her charity's first introduction to the community, a fundraiser at the annual Westchase Garage Sale, and Deeksha can't keep still.

She zips through the house, the garage, the driveway. She takes phone calls. She answers bargain hunters' questions. She price checks all the items for sale. Still, she doesn't feel it's enough.

"I feel like I should be doing something," Deeksha said to her friends.

She always feels like she should be doing something.

- - -

Deeksha looks like a typical 16-year-old.

She wears an orange T-shirt, blue jean shorts, flip-flops.

She styles her hair in a ponytail.

She's a junior in the IB program at Hillsborough High and an avid reader. She loves books where the main character "makes a difference in other people's lives."

Since her freshman year, she's been a teen ambassador with the Ophelia Project, a group of Hillsborough County high school girls who seek to empower other girls socially, emotionally and physically.

She's just started looking at colleges. Penn, Rice and Florida have made the short list so far. She switches daily between wanting to study business and prelaw.

She's sure that one day she wants to be an ambassador to the United Nations. "That's a really big way to make a global impact," she said.

But first, Deeksha wants to make that impact at home.

- - -

One day last spring, Anil Bhat handed his daughter a newspaper clipping.

"Read this," he told her.

The story detailed the life of a woman, who after 13 years in foster care and seven different foster homes, was left to fend for herself at 18 years old. She had to find her own apartment, pay bills - all while earning a college degree.

Deeksha read many stories about kids in foster care, but none like this one.

"You hear about kids in foster care," she said, "but you never actually hear what happens when they get out."

She read the story over and over. She tacked the article on her bedroom bulletin board. It's still there, a half-year later. She couldn't get the story out of her mind.

Two years shy of her 18th birthday, Deeksha tried to place herself in the woman's shoes, without any support. She wouldn't know the first thing about finding an apartment. "I can't even imagine," Deeksha said. "I get so much support from my family, which is important to me."

She was looking for a cause. Her parents had always encouraged her to give to those less fortunate. This seemed like the perfect fit.

"I wanted do something," she said.

- - -

She called Nikki Stokes, the director of community programs at Ophelia.

Since her freshman year, she'd been part of Ophelia's teen ambassadors. Ambassadors are required to do community service projects. Ophelia, Stokes said, had recently received a grant to work with older foster girls. She told Deeksha about Connected by 25, a program in Hillsborough that helps foster children transition into adulthood.

"Oh, this is great," Deeksha said. She told Stokes about the article she'd just read, then her idea.

"When she came to me with this idea, I was like, 'You don't have to do a project this big.' She said, 'I want it to be big. I want to make a big impact.' "

- - -

But how would she make the impact? Monetary donations? Something more tangible?

Deeksha met with county officials and conducted her own research to answer those questions. She learned that 800 children "age out" of the foster care system every year, often walking out with their life's belongings in a trash bag. Money, one official told her, would be nice, but there's no guarantee it would get to the people she wanted it to reach.

She called friends at Hillsborough High. They got together and decided to purchase backpacks stuffed with toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, first aid kits. "For a little bit of their dignity," she said.

All that was left was a name.

They made a list:

Jumpstart to Life. "That was one."

Starter Kits for All. "Yeah, we didn't like that one too much."

A Helping Hand. "Catchy."

- - -

With a name, they decided the popular Westchase Garage Sale on Oct. 6 would be their first fundraiser. On the day of the sale, Deeksha's little sister stood in the driveway and handed fliers to customers.

"Just to let you know," said Chaya Bhat, 10. "All the money from this garage sale is going to a community service project: A Helping Hand."

Within an hour, the charity had more than $300 in its coffers. By the end of the sale at 2 p.m., that number had reached nearly $800. Deeksha said the money will help fund 30 fully stocked backpacks that will be donated to Connected by 25 just in time for Christmas.

"I guess it's a little selfish in a way, but I like to feel good when I do things for other people," she said. "So I won't be nagged with the question, 'What did I do to make a difference?' "

Rodney Thrash can be reached at 813 269-5303 or rthrash@sptimes.com.

Fast Facts:

How can you help?

E-mail Our_helping_handz@yahoo.com for more information.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 07:16:11]