Students volunteer their time to do a variety of extracurriculars. Aside from schoolwork, UHS students are involved in the arts, sports, academic competitions and much more. For many students, volunteering at an organization can also take up hundreds of hours throughout their high school career.
Despite many students’ commitment to volunteering, it remains rare that students find the initiative to begin their projects benefiting their community outside of school. Nonetheless, some students launch nonprofit organizations to support a cause after being inspired by the experiences of those around them.
Action for All Education
For sophomore Jasmine Chen, this inspiration came from her family members.
“One of our family members is on the autism spectrum,” Chen said. “He has occupational therapy and stuff like that, . . . [but] it wasn’t really helping his development. We decided we wanted to create an organization that would help people on the autism spectrum.”
Chen became the Event Coordinator for Action for All Education (AFAE) in 2024. The organization educates neurodivergent children through “clubs” – monthly workshops involving different activities for children.
“We want to focus on . . . specific skills that other organizations don’t focus on,” Chen said. “When we’re creating the cooking club, it’s independence and . . . fine motor skills. Sports club [involves] hand-eye coordination and teamwork. You can work on a lot of different skills.”
Finding feasible ways to develop a variety of skills can be difficult. To realize their plans, AFAE consistently looks for patient, thoughtful volunteers who work well with children. These volunteers are paired with children and work across multiple activities to form a connection with them.
“A lot of [the children] are non-verbal, . . . so you have to be patient with them, and also be familiar with their little quirks,” Chen said. “That’s why we focus on one-on-one . . . because everyone’s very different, and they need their own attention.”
Thanks to the dedication of its volunteers and board members, the organization has grown quickly despite these challenges. To date, AFAE has hosted workshops centered around sports, cooking, art and much more, all while recruiting more volunteers to help with an ever-growing list of youth participants.
“When we first started . . . the space that we [had] looked very big because we barely had any people,” Chen said. “Now we have a lot of kids and volunteers, and the space feels very small.”
Soon, AFAE hopes to move to a new location, incorporate more volunteers and broaden its impact on more youth.
“[We] also want to expand into this agricultural living space for them . . . where you can also have a living space . . . or when we have events, for example, our summer camp,” Chen said. “Our biggest priority right now is finding unique things . . . that not every organization has.”
Sandbox Synergy
Sandbox Synergy began as a neighborhood organization started by two Sage Hill High School students who hosted small business fairs in their community involving student-made products.
Though the event has retained a similar format since then, it is now supported by students from many different schools in Orange County, the California State Treasury and over 70 corporate sponsors. Throughout 13 fairs over seven years, the organization has supported more than 250 young entrepreneurs through its fairs.
“The original idea was to help . . . young entrepreneurs—students who needed this platform for accessibility, exposure and the affordability to be able to grow their own small business,” junior and Sandbox Synergy President Avril Zhang said. “[That’s why] it’s nonprofit—because it’s really hard to join an organization that requires . . . a fee to participate in.”
Sandbox Synergy is run entirely by volunteers. These students help on the day of business fairs and donate their time to plan events up to three months in advance.
“When you create the fair, you have to manage a lot of different variables, like sponsors, attendees, volunteers and vendors,” Zhang said. “You may have a board that’s helping you, but you also have to manage them.”
Whether it’s sponsors, businesses, or volunteers, Zhang strives to maintain lasting connections across multiple events.
“Relationships are crucial,” Zhang said. “That’s not just now, that’s . . . [also] in the career world. You need to . . . be able to reach out to people [and] have common goals that you can both collaborate and work towards.”
Often, these relationships begin with family or friends. Though Sandbox Synergy adopted a similar approach at its inception, it has developed connections with diverse groups in the community since 2017.
“For instance, previously, [the organizers] would play music or ask . . . student musicians to play,” Zhang said. “Now, an actual live band plays at the fair. ”
As a nonprofit, Sandbox Synergy is not officially affiliated with any high school; volunteers are pushed to develop relationships beyond classmates and teachers, an unfamiliar experience for many students.
“For a nonprofit organization like this, everything has to come from scratch,” Zhang said. “The stakes are higher in a nonprofit organization because . . . at school, you can be a part of [a] club. For nonprofits, you can never have an organization and do nothing.”
Yet, as much as they are difficult to initiate and operate, nonprofit organizations are rewarding in various ways. They both cultivate a sense of social responsibility and create close connections with industry professionals and community groups.
High school students fulfill an essential niche in such organizations. Students bridge the gap between simple interests and professional life by setting an example for younger children while learning from professionals. Through these interactions, the existence of nonprofits started by high schoolers presents a story of empathy, connection and impact.
