Check Out Shetal Patel’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shetal Patel.

Hi Shetal, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a founder of Sparkle and Rise, I was always looking for ways to help others. Once I had children, the need became even greater, as they too began asking what they could do to help those less fortunate than themselves. I searched for ways to give back to our community that wouldn’t mean taking time away from my kids but would allow me to involve my entire family in the experience.

Volunteering as a family was more daunting than I anticipated. Many nonprofits in our community had age restrictions or other requirements difficult for children under a certain age group to meet. Some even had waiting lists. I would then end up writing a check to the charity they wanted to support, but that experience lacked something. For my children, it didn’t feel like they had participated or helped.

Finally, when we visited my husband’s family in Africa, my then 15-year-old son found a way to give back on his own. He sold “Shirts for Hunger” t-shirts to friends and neighbors and raised enough money to feed 80 plus orphans at the Mother Teresa Orphanage for three months. I was in awe of my son and the impact he had on the children they met in Africa. We knew we had to take the idea further as not everyone gets an opportunity to pack their bags and travel for charity work.

Sparkle and Rise was born of a desire to provide a platform for privileged but spiritually-hungry children to help children around the world and in the community around them who have much less than they do — children who are hungry for food, care and education. Children as young as four years old can actively participate in helping others.

Sparkle and Rise now serves children in three parts of the world to which my family have significant connections: India, where I was raised; Lusaka, Zambia, where my husband, AJ, grew up; and Austin, Texas, the place we call home. We are expanding slowly with a recent project in Guatemala.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
One can wonder what obstacles you would face running a nonprofit? If one sets out to do good in the world there is no one that can stop you -can sound great in theory, however reality can be quite daunting. From the inception to incorporation there were a lot of setbacks but the hope that it could change even one child’s life kept me going. Also right after launching the charity in late 2019, covid-19 shut everything down. The children here were not able to participate in our youth ambassador program as well as the schools shut down and children around the world sat at home. Finding like-minded people to give their time is also a big struggle.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself an out-of-the-box thinker and bring that perspective to everything I do. What sets Sparkle and Rise charity apart from other charities is the fact that it provides a unique platform for children to help other children in need. We had a class of 3-4 years old at a preschool in Texas to raise money for a school in the slums of Lusaka, Zambia to buy textbooks for each grade for the first time. This innovative approach to charitable giving blends fundraising along with nurturing social responsibility for the next generation by empowering children to support other children in need.

Apart from running a charity, I am a professional published photographer and love capturing moments for others. This enables me to bring out my artistic self. I love photography and believe it fosters a trip down memory lane to moments otherwise passed. I love taking senior photos for high school graduates and love my one-on-one time with them while we run around the town capturing beautiful pictures.

What makes you happy?
I love this question. Little things about life gives me happiness from a rooster crowing in the morning to the smell of ginger tea but what really makes me happy is finding one good photo out of hundreds that speaks to me and reminds me why I love being a photographer… Innocent children that we support in Africa dancing and smiling in spite of having very little makes me happy.

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