Hero Story

Rishi Narendra Kumar, a junior at Northville High School, has been a great example of how one person’s drive can create an immense impact for those around them. Rishi started the “Open Up!” Initiative in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic as a method of support for his adolescent peers. Using his knowledge about life skills, he started to hold virtual tutoring sessions on leadership, adolescent topics, etc. Slowly the program gained more traction, allowing the Open Up! Program to expand from just Michigan to internationally (as of now, he has students in the U.K., Bahrain, India, etc.). In addition to his tutoring sessions, Rishi contacted multiple professionals to hold talks regarding adolescent topics for his students (including the most recent talk hosted by the Wayne County Department of Public Services on adolescents and recycling). Rishi has also used the Open Up! Program to coordinate presentations with his high school on Vaping Dangers, Adolescent Sleep deprivation Dangers, Mental Health, etc. His presentations were made available throughout the school newsletter and he was a high school representative for a statewide high school mental health summit.

Rishi hopes that this program will help Michigan youth succeed in leadership, a trait often neglected in favor of academics (equally as important), and give back to the Michigan community as well. Rishi has also raised money (more than 130,000 rupees) for charity in India as well as charities in Michigan – his latest donation includes a donation to a Livonia, Michigan based foster home and a planned Civic Concern donation with his High School’s principal/town’s Mayor. Even though this started as a one-man passion project, Rishi hopes to expand the organization for more impact on his Michigan community.