Associate Director of EndingCOVID, Sejal Sekhar, recently started an internal initiative called Pets4Purpose to raise money for underserved communities by repurposing gently used t-shirts into dog toys. These dog toys are then "purchased" in exchange for donations that directly benefits our community partners.



The current focus of Pets4Purpose is to donate new school supplies to schools that host immigrants and refugees. With many schools returning back to in-person teaching this year, these schools are experiencing difficulty in sourcing adequate resources for their students. To raise money for supplies, Sejal set up a donation drop off at Mercy South Hospital. Through the use of old t-shirts, Sejal was able to upcycle and reduce the effects of fast fashion. On top of this, she was able to donate over two trunks loads of boxes to a school for refugees that are in search for supplies. The first collection will be donated to the ESOL Bilingual Migrant Program for their upcoming 2021-2022 school year. This donation includes everything from pencils to water bottles. Pets4Purpose will be donating over 6,500 pieces of paper, 400 pencils, 40 water bottles, and more. If any schools are in search of donations, please contact us at EndingCOVID 501(c)(3) through our website. We would be delighted to donate essential school supplies.