Wylie High Students Turn Compassion into Community Action with SkillsUSA Project

What began as an idea in a coffee shop has grown into a powerful act of service for families across Wylie ISD.

Wylie High School juniors Nidhi Yadav and Krisha Thumar are the creators of “Nourish Our Neighbors,” a SkillsUSA project that supports families impacted by food insecurity. Planned, funded, and carried out entirely by two students, the project has strengthened the girls’ leadership, initiative, and commitment to serving others.

Nourish Our Neighbor was developed for the SkillsUSA Community Service competition, but for Yadav and Thumar, the mission quickly became bigger than a contest.

“We wanted to tackle problems in the community,” Thumar said. “Through our research, we found that with other service projects by high school students, no one really went out and bought groceries to actually deliver in their community. High school students don’t really have time to do all that.”

The planning phase began in a local coffee shop.

“We stayed the whole time it was open, putting our ideas together. We knew we wanted to help homebound people or people with special needs,” Yadav said.

To better understand the needs in Wylie, the students conducted census research and analyzed community data.

“Based on the waste distribution, food insecurity affects lots of people,” Yadav said. “It’s not realistic for us to aid all of Wylie, but we did want to make a noticeable impact.”

Once the vision was clear, the girls got to work building a plan.

“We did research to find out how much money we needed to have to buy these groceries,” Thumar said. “We went to Walmart and Aldi and looked at prices for cans and frozen foods.”

They also created detailed order forms to ensure families received what they truly needed.

“We found that starch-based foods and hygiene products were a big necessity,” Yadav said. “Our order form was based on small or large families, and based on that, we would decide ratios of food to purchase.”

To fund the project, Yadav and Thumar hosted ongoing bake sales. Baking brownies, cookies, and brookies, the two spent countless hours packaging and selling goods in Wylie neighborhoods.

“We baked throughout winter break,” Thumar said. “We spent over 20 hours during winter break working on sales. We went to 16 different neighborhoods to sell our baked goods.”

The generosity they encountered left a lasting impression.

“Some gave donations without even taking cookies,” Yadav said.

In just 25 days, the students raised more than $1,000, eventually totaling $1,700, far exceeding their original goal.

“We made more than double our original goal of $300 per month,” Thumar said.

To identify families in need, the girls initially used community platforms before partnering directly with Wylie ISD staff, including student support advocates Dr. April Miller and Ashley Winans, and district Family Liaison Joley Martin. Through those connections, they were able to safely and effectively support local families and students.

“We are now working through Mrs. Martin to find families in the area to help,” Thumar said. “Now, instead of delivering groceries directly to homes, we are delivering to the schools their children go to or to the district office for families to pick up.”

The impact has been significant.

“So far we’ve helped 14 families, that’s about 50 people, and we may help two or three more,” Yadav said. “Our original goal was to help 12 families!”

For these students, the most meaningful moments come after the groceries are delivered.

“We feel really accomplished knowing they were able to sleep through the night because they had food in their bellies,” Thumar said. “Even if we’re just impacting one person, it truly means a lot to us.”

Their dedication has not gone unnoticed. SkillsUSA adviser Richard Ferguson, a public safety teacher at Wylie High, praised the students for their work on the Nourish Our Neighbors project.

“These students demonstrated outstanding character and initiative for their SkillsUSA project by turning a simple fundraiser into meaningful support for members of our community,” Ferguson said. “They are the perfect example of the ‘Wylie Way,’ and I am super proud of them.”

Nourish Our Neighbors is one of many projects that will be showcased at the SkillsUSA District Competition, later this month in Waco, Texas. Both students previously advanced to the state level last year and are once again preparing detailed documentation, presentations, and a binder to present their work.

While competition is part of the journey, the students say their motivation runs deeper.

They both agree: Our message is we really do want to help people. It’s not about the SkillsUSA competition.

Even after the competition concludes, Yadav and Thumrar plan to continue baking, fundraising, and delivering groceries, with hopes of expanding the project in the future.

In a district built on service, leadership, and heart, Nourish Our Neighbors stands as a reminder of what happens when students see a need and choose to act.