For UofL student Karthik Kalvakuri, however, that simply wasn’t an option. When businesses and schools shut down across the country, too many people found themselves struggling to make ends meet and he felt the urge to help.

Ten of his peers also felt such an urge. Together, they started facilitating projects for Mission CuraKid, with a simple intent: “Doing our part to help spread smiles in these unprecedented times.”

At that point, Bangalore, India, native Kalvakuri had already started Mission CuraKid to help ensure children in impoverished countries had access to proper health care services. But when COVID-19 hit, he turned the nonprofit’s global focus closer to Louisville.

The junior biology major recruited 10 of his UofL peers to help: Shria Narapaneni (biology), Donna James (neuroscience), Amini Patel (neuroscience), Manav Patel (mechanical engineering), Gopika Gopan (biology and neuroscience), Dakshin Devanand (neuroscience), Chandani Patel (neuroscience), Neel Patel (exercise science), Karthik Malyala  (computer science engineering) and Pranav Talluri (finance).

Their first project was to collect supplies and food for schoolchildren who were pulled out of their schools in 2020. They reached out to local businesses asking for donations of school supplies, health and hygiene items, snacks and masks, and assembled backpacks for 150 children. They also wrote notes of encouragement for those students abruptly isolated from their peers.

The Mission CuraKid group didn’t want to stop with a one-and-done service, however. They completed a second, similar project in August 2020, donating backpacks to 370 children within the Louisville area.

Their third project was completed in December 2020, during which Mission CuraKid donated 200 backpacks with school supplies and sanitary materials, and 130 baskets filled with food and nonperishable items.

The group’s fourth and most recent project was completed last month and was its biggest yet, with 600 totes filled with sanitary and school supplies for children starting school this fall. The totes were donated to nine different charities.

“We noticed that more often, it was kids caught up in the middle of these struggles. We chose these projects based on need. Our second and fourth projects were completed right as school began so that we could provide school supplies to children and give them a good start to the year,” Kalvakuri said. “Our third project was completed in December 2020. We wanted to help families have a secure and happy holiday season even with the pandemic happening.”

Though the idea to localize Mission CuraKid came from the pandemic, Kalvakuri wants to continue its mission if/when it ends. The UofL students also want to continue the work after they graduate.

“We are hoping to expand with more members and bigger projects,” Kalvakuri said. “As long as there is work to be done and people in need of help, Mission CuraKid wants to do its part. I believe a good community looks after each other and grows together.” 

Follow Mission CuraKid’s projects on its .

With a medical career in mind, the biology major from Bangalore, India, already had started to help ensure children in impoverished countries have access to proper health care services. But when COVID-19 hit, he turned the nonprofit’s global focus closer to Louisville to help local children in need start their school year more prepared after the pandemic affected their access to supplies and isolated them from their classmates.

He and the other UofL students reached out to businesses and donors for school supplies, working with the Portland-based Neighborhood House community center. The group assembled backpacks for 150 children and organized the next round of donations, some through a crowdfunding campaign, to be distributed later this summer for other students. The group launched an effort for people to write short notes of encouragement to the young students, and it also gave some supplies to the community center for its youth programs.

“We’re just a group of kids coming together to do what we can to help,” Kalvakuri said.

Inside the Mission CuraKid backpacks are snacks, schoolwork supplies and health and hygiene items such as toothpaste, sanitizer and soap. Also included are reusable cloth masks that community members crafted and donated.

Each backpack also contains a plastic Louisville pure tap water bottle from Louisville Water Co. While serving as a UofL Athletics photo intern, Kalvakuri had noticed the water company’s push to use those bottles during area sporting events and knew they would be a practical, reusable choice for encouraging the healthy habit of consuming water. The water company donated the bottles, wrote about the effort and continues to work as a partner on the backpack project.

This article contains information from