Photo courtesy of Anusha Singh.
Anusha Singh, center, with staff from Grace Klein Community. Singh held a hygiene products drive and donated those products to the organization.
Anusha Singh has been interested in health care from a young age. In seventh grade, she made a presentation on why she wanted to be a pediatrician.
When she got to Vestavia Hills High School, her dream continued to take shape.
“I started to get involved in my community, volunteering at hospitals and shadowing doctors,” said Singh, now a senior.
All of that was part of her journey to her current venture — starting and leading the Alabama branch of Light 4 Kidz, an international student-led organization dedicated to improving health care access for children and teens all across the world.
She learned about the organization while attending a virtual global health leaders conference through Johns Hopkins University.
“We do drives in our community to raise money and bolster health care accessibility wherever we can,” Singh said of Light 4 Kidz. “I’ve done one big drive so far — a toiletries and hygiene drive. My mom and I and a couple of friends made flyers and went around our neighborhood and talked about the organization.”
A few days later, they collected what her neighbors had gathered — more than 1,000 products, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, soap, menstrual products and baby wipes.
Singh delivered them to Grace Klein Community, a local organization that works to meet physical needs in the community, such as food, diapers and school supplies.
“They were really grateful; just that weekend they were planning to do a community event where volunteers were going to package hygiene products for people,” Singh said.
She said she chose to collect hygiene products because they can’t be purchased with food stamps, and that puts them out of reach for some families.
Singh encourages other high school students to get involved through the Light 4 Kidz website.
Singh is continuing to take steps toward working in health care one day, to fulfill her passion for helping children live healthier lives. She volunteers her time at hospitals like Children’s of Alabama “because being able to help others and see that impact, I find that really valuable.”
“I really am dedicated to emergency medicine,” Singh said. “That’s somewhere where I can help people a lot when they need it most. Through volunteering with the Children’s emergency department, I’ve seen firsthand how helpful it can be.”
She also joined her school’s Health Occupation Students of America organization, where students learn knowledge and skills to prepare for a career in health care.
Hannah Peterson, the Health Occupation Students of America advisor at Vestavia Hills High School, said she’s “had the blessing of seeing [Singh’s] driven and passionate approach to life, others and challenges.”
“She is kind and graceful but also strong and determined,” Peterson said. “She sets her mind on a goal and doesn’t rest until it’s accomplished. I’m honestly so impressed by how many different things she balances without making one feel second to the others.”
She said Singh’s move to start an Alabama chapter of Light 4 Kidz is “absolutely fitting to her personality.”
“There is a difference between offering a service and being willing to serve. They may both include giving, but only one is truly generous,” Peterson said. “She is a true testament of servant leadership. I am very proud of her and the medical professional she will become. I love that she’s not waiting to change lives, she’s already making a difference.”
Singh said she’s definitely taking a pre-med track next year when she goes to college, “majoring maybe in human biology or something in that area.”
But everyone can get involved with Light 4 Kidz, whether they’re interested in health care or not, she said. “When I heard more about it, I wanted to look more into it, and I encourage others to do that, too.”
For more information, visit light4kidz.org.
