Within his first year as an Apparo skilled volunteer, Saravana Rajan has been instrumental in leveraging technology to help three nonprofits amplify their missions.
In 2022, Saravana Rajan met Apparo’s Sarah Gregory at a Digi-Bridge event, where he only intended to drop his children off, but through talking with Sarah, began his Apparo skilled volunteering journey. Saravana spoke passionately about his participating in finding a technology solution for S.T.A.R.S. Math and English Academy (S.T.A.R.S.) during his first volunteer engagement. After working with S.T.A.R.S. to create efficiencies and support their growth by creating connections between people and technology, Saravana reached out to Sarah eager to assist with another nonprofit engagement.
Saravana then assisted Shining Hope Farms in creating Salesforce improvements through Apparo’s Tech Therapy program. Currently, he is involved in another Tech Therapy engagement with Dream Girls University. This work is focused on improving data analytics that will support the organization’s larger effort of creating opportunities that encourage the success of young girls in the Charlotte area. Saravana discussed the importance of this initiative from his perspective,
“Dream Girls University is dedicated to providing young ladies with the resources they need to overcome and succeed in life no matter what they may face. It is important to me as young boys and girls need all support to overcome bias and succeed. I am surprised to see how much inequality is still there in our society. Nonprofit organizations are crucial in eliminating those inequalities and bridging those gaps. I’m extremely satisfied to be a part of something like that”.
Before skilled volunteering with Apparo, Saravana had volunteered in mentor-like roles with other organizations but shared the difference in skilled volunteering, “Apparo is so well-known in the community, and this stands out because they are bridging the gap between organizations with technology needs and people like me who want to offer their skillset. Through volunteering with Apparo I get to be a part of communities of people I wouldn’t get to work with in my day-to-day life. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from and make an impact alongside them. With Apparo, I feel like I’m directly helping organizations by helping them serve their constituents in a better way with technology. When I was introduced to Tech Therapy, I realized how important Apparo’s programs are“.
Saravana shares the significance of his volunteer experience with Apparo, “I was so pleasantly surprised to be connected to so many organizations and individuals working to make an impact. Apparo is addressing the problems that these organizations have, which are such similar problems to those of large banks or healthcare organizations, just a different scale. We don’t realize how many of us are working toward the same goals. Apparo is bringing us all together.”
“The impact Apparo is creating is huge because by skilled volunteering you’re not just helping one person. You’re truly “teaching people to fish”, as the saying goes.”
Nonprofit leaders share their appreciation of Saravana:
- “I had the privilege of working with Saravana on a fundraising and donor management software selection project with S.T.A.R.S. Math & English Academy. Saravana assisted the nonprofit with identifying business requirements, conducting marketplace research and selecting the best system for their organization. Saravana brought the expertise needed to make the project a success. I am grateful for Saravana and all the hours he has contributed to amplify the impact of other nonprofit organizations.” -Allison Grant, Apparo
- “We are so grateful to Saravana for the time and expertise he provided to Shining Hope Farms through Apparo’s Tech Therapy. He brought a wealth of knowledge and helped us break down what felt like an insurmountable undertaking into orderly and manageable pieces. We are very lucky to have had him as a resource.” -Jessamyn Farrell, Shining Hope Farms
- “Working with Saravana has been an excellent opportunity for us. Being able to learn how to navigate through this new area of work and have Saravana guiding us and helping us out has been a wonderful experience that we are grateful for. He is very knowledgeable and kind! His work will be very impactful for Dream Girls University. We will be able to reach out to more girls in the community and surrounding areas continue to expand and pursue our mission.” -Dream Girls University