Viera High School Student Siddarth Ranganath on a Mission to Help Other Kids Excel in School
By Katherine Allen, Brevard Schools Foundation // July 20, 2018
Siddarth Ranganath raised $1,500 for The Supply Zone
BREVARD COUNTY • VIERA, FLORIDA – Siddarth Ranganath, better known to fellow students as “Sid” is not your typical teenager. This rising junior at Viera High School is a problem solver, and passionate about finding ways to help other kids excel in school.
This summer, Sid decided he wanted to raise money to provide school supplies for children in Brevard County who may not have access to them otherwise.
He had an ambitious goal and ended up raising $1,500 and collected four boxes of physical supplies and presented both to The Supply Zone, a service of Brevard Schools Foundation which puts school supplies directly into the hands of children in need.
When asked about why he chose to take on this task he replied “I decided to work with the Brevard Schools Foundation because our missions coincide.
I want to help students who are unable to pay attention and participate in class because of not having supplies. For them not to have them just because of a lack of resources is just unacceptable to me. I feel like these kids need a chance just like anyone else.”
Mike Alba, Principal at Viera High School who was on hand for the check presentation said, “It makes me feel proud when I see an individual student who thinks beyond themselves. We’re trying to create students that can achieve academic success, but also find ways to help their school and community and Sid is an excellent example of that. I’m proud of him for taking a risk and I hope other students would look at him as an example.”
In addition to finding resources for the Supply Zone, Sid also developed a new concept to help his fellow students. Ranganath noticed that some of his peers were struggling with science and math concepts and were falling behind.
“It is always such an incredible gift to witness young people who have a passion for helping others,” said Janice Kershaw, President and CEO of Brevard Schools Foundation.
“Sid’s generosity in helping others is truly inspiring. The money he raised is able to be matched by the education foundation matching grant program through our legislature and it will go to helping students in need all across Brevard County.”
He decided to use his time tutoring at a local library and created “Math with Sid” inviting students who needed extra help to join him. It was during these tutoring sessions that he realized transportation was an issue for some of the kids who wanted to attend but were unable to.
Using his knack for finding solutions, he developed “STEMHelps.org,” a free tutoring website with videos and content taught by Sid in order to give greater access and help others to improve their grades and understanding of complex material. He is hoping to engage more of his peers to continue building this resource.
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