SWEATSHIRTS TO SCRUBS
Spring-Ford High School students create nonprofit for kids
ROYERSFORD >> A pair of Spring-Ford Area High School siblings are making some waves with a new nonprofit that teaches kids early about science and medicine.
Deepak and Anjali Kejariwal recently discovered a passion for medicine and education. It’s that passion that they were able to transform into an area non-profit that has allowed young kids to flourish as they explore their own passions in medicine.
“Sweatshirts to Scrubs is a PA State Certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are passionate about medicine and educating others, and as student entrepreneurs, we decided to turn this passion into a nonprofit organization to help others,” explained the pair. “One night, we were discussing how we wished we had learned more about medicine and human biology at an earlier age. We wanted to create something that could teach all children, regardless of their initial interest in medicine, about the human body. We realized that having early exposure was important to the development and sustenance of any passion, and we wanted to at least provide children with this opportunity. With this ev
ident lack of education in mind, Sweatshirts to Scrubs was born.”
Since their realization, the non-profit has exploded. The pair held their first sessions, which educate kids about the human body, biology and healthy habits, at local libraries and their school’s summer camp this past summer.
The sessions included students from Phoenixville, Lower Providence and Royersford and included projects tailored specifically to each week’s lesson.
“Our mission is to expose children to the opportunities that exist within medicine by teaching them about the human body, its biology, and healthy habits. Our nonprofit’s name embodies the spirit of its mission: to bridge the knowledge gap children have about medicine,” Deepak and Anjali Kejariwal explained.
“Through numerous engaging and enriching activities, such as replicating each step of the digestive system with a hands on experiment and modeling the heart’s structure by making slime, students leave feeling smarter and satisfied,” they said.
After only a few weeks, parents who signed their children up for the program seemed pleased with the results. Deepak and Anjali mentioned several comments from parents in their blog posts on the group website:
“(Sweatshirts to Scrubs) introduced kids to anatomy/physiology in a fun way… I couldn’t be more pleased with the $10 I spent [to attend]”, one parent posted on Facebook. Another student wrote, “It was really fun and I learned a lot.”
It wasn’t long after that the students partnered with Orion Communities, a social service agency in Phoenixville, to present their program to area children.
“Our work with Orion impacted us both personally and as an organization. Working with Orion allowed us to have an even bigger impact on our community as we could serve underprivileged students. Seeing the spark that lit up in their eyes when they were engaged in various activities was most rewarding to us,” they wrote on their blog.
For more information or to find out what’s next for Sweatshirts to Scrubs, visit www.sweatshirtstoscrubs.com.
“Our mission is to expose children to the opportunities that exist within medicine by teaching them about the human body, its biology, and healthy habits. Our nonprofit’s name embodies the spirit of its mission: to bridge the knowledge gap children have about medicine.”
— Deepak and Anjali Kejariwal