Sophomore Anwita Rajput folds bags for Key Club’s food donation project on Jan. 22. This is one of several service initiatives the club will continue to expand using its grant.

Key Club is launching a new service initiative this spring after receiving a $1,200 grant from Key Club International’s Youth Opportunities Fund. The grant will support a project focused on addressing water scarcity in Burana, a community in Ethiopia, through a partnership with a nonprofit organization operating on the ground.

Riya Koya, co-president and senior, said, “The grant that we received is for water access in Burana, which is in Ethiopia.”

“The main reason we chose Ethiopia is that we were able to partner with a nonprofit on the ground that could reliably distribute the water,” Koya said.

Rohan Parikh, recruiting officer and sophomore, said, “Riya has already been contacting a nonprofit in Ethiopia and doing a lot of leadership work related to that organization.”

“Riya organized a campaign to provide money to that nonprofit, and that’s why the project focused on Ethiopia,” Parikh said. “From what I understand, she found out about the grant through Kiwanis and applied shortly after.”

Koya said the Key Club officers based their decisions on events including art auctions, 5k races and a student leadership summit.

Gayle Webb, the Kiwanis Club of Carmel sponsor, said, “The grant comes from the Youth Opportunities Fund, which is part of the Key Club Grant program.”

A student board selects the grants from Key Club International, which Webb said “makes the award especially exciting.” By Amy Xu