Past Projects

Below are the testimonials of our 2025 Basha Gives Back Interact Club $1,000 scholarship recipients (sponsored by Chandler Horizon Rotary Club):

2026 Winner: Akhil Gurrala for his project "Project YTRA":  

"Founded and led Youth Transformation Resource Alliance (YTRA), a youth-led nonprofit focused on education, community service, and youth empowerment.

• Organized and delivered interactive workshops in classrooms at Basha High School and local schools, helping students explore career paths, leadership, and community engagement.

• Coordinated volunteer opportunities and encouraged student participation in community service initiatives, connecting students with meaningful ways to give back.

• Expanded the project internationally by organizing medical and wellness camps in rural villages in India, providing access to healthcare resources and support for underserved communities.

• Collaborated with organizations such as the Red Cross and local partners to provide supplies, medical assistance, and community support.

• Helped raise awareness about the importance of youth leadership, service, and global impact, inspiring students to take initiative and contribute to their communities.

• Through these initiatives, our group demonstrated how student-led projects can create both local and global community impact, empowering young people to lead service efforts and support those in need."

2026 Winner: Breanna Bearden for her project "Brushstrokes of Belonging:  A Public Art Initiative": 

"Began 3 murals on campus"

• Created a visual advertisement for a club

• Promoted and led a Senior Citizen Art Showcase at Clarendale Senior Citizen Home

• Led multiple group art activities to promote community through art

• Reached out to the Vision Gallery Chandler to try to get involved in a community art Cable Box Project

• Painted Theatre Set Murals for Chandler Youth Theatre

• Led a community art piece project for Basha's Indigenous club

• Registered for A Community Chalk Art Festival

• Showcased art in a Mental Health Art Showcase

• Registered and accepted to be featured in a mental health art website and showcase

• Registered to showcase art at the Vibez Anniversary Art Show"

2026 Winners: Norah Boling and Amelie Havens for their project "Safe Havens":" "We conducted research on the potential of cardboard as a construction material in temporary structures and its application in modern architecture.  We summarized this research into a brief paper with a Works Cited and sent the document to our contact from Samaritan's Purse, Bev Kauffeldt.  We then set up a meeting with Bev Kauffeldt, who oversees a group of Technical Advisors, and Kyle Talley, a Technical Advisor for Shelter, and discussed our ideas as well as received advice on how to proceed.  They encouraged us to research the “IKEA Better Shelter,” experiment with shredded cardboard and a polymer base, and to consider cultural preferences.  We reached out to Jose Ramos, a managing partner/project manager, and set up a meeting with him.  He gave us some ideas for the experimental stage of our project.  He also helped draw up a model of the potential structure. We bought and prepped the materials that he recommended for our experiment. "

Below are the testimonials of our 2025 Basha Gives Back Interact Club $1,000 scholarship recipients (sponsored by Chandler Horizon Rotary Club):

2025 Winner: Laura Stull "One Talk Big Change": "My project focuses on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) education, advocacy, and community engagement. I work to increase awareness and reduce misconceptions about T1D among middle school students in the Chandler Unified School District. Through collaborations with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Breakthrough T1D, I develop educational initiatives, advocate for policy changes, and enhance support networks for people with diabetes. By leveraging evidence-based strategies, community outreach, and legislative advocacy, my goal is to create a more informed, supportive society while championing policies that improve access to care and advance research for a cure" (Stull).

2025 Winner Tyler Cordalis "Ensnared in an Online Trap: the Dangers of Scams and Online Threats":  "The project aims to educate seniors about online scams and fraud. Many older adults are targeted due to their unfamiliarity with modern digital threats, making them vulnerable to phishing, impersonation scams, and financial fraud. By providing information on common scams and ways to identify suspicious activity, this project helps to better equip senior citizens with the knowledge needed to protect themselves. The goal is to reduce financial losses and prevent emotional distress caused by online scams while empowering seniors to use technology more safely and confidently" (Cordalis).

2025 Winner Raegan Combe "Pads for Progress": "I’ve partnered with Too Little Children and their pad project relief initiative for girls who don't have access to feminine hygiene products. The main focus of my project was to sew pads for these girls and educate those around me on the struggles that women face in impoverished areas. The lack of period products makes these girls miss school, marry young so their hygiene needs will be provided for, and get propositioned to do things in exchange for hygiene products by men. Their futures are taken away. The Pad Project wants to create change and give these girls their future back, I wanted to support their cause" (Combe).

Below are the testimonials of our 2023 Basha Gives Back Interact Club scholarship recipients (sponsored by Chandler Horizon Rotary Club):

2023 Winner Sofia Dominguez “Heart to Heart”: " On September 10th, 2022, I coordinated a low-cost heart screening at Basha High School. I recruited volunteers from the Med Pro class, NHS, and other various clubs. They helped set up, sign people in, and direct patients, and those who were qualified performed electrocardiograms with the help of the Med Pro teacher. Certified nurses and technicians volunteered to perform echocardiograms. I had the help of Ms. Sharon Bates, the founder of the Anthony Bates Foundation, a low-cost cardiac screening organization. I advertised this project on social media and was able to screen 81 patients" (Dominguez).

2023 Winners Julia Degnan and Maliya Musgrove “Sonya Strong”: "For our project, we created a website selling breast cancer attire. We sold things such as shirts, hoodies, socks, stickers, etc. We also made bracelets to sell as well. We took all of our profits and donated them to an organization called Impact One. We raised almost $2,000 all together and helped raise more awareness to people with Breast Cancer" (Degnan and Musgrove).

2023 Winners Madison Spangler and Devonte Martinez “Paws for Patriots”: "The overall action of the project is raising $2500+ for Soldier's Best Friend to allow them to make a veteran's life easier while suffering from either PTSD or a TBI. They will do this by training a service dog from a rescue shelter to help not only a veteran but also save an animal's life. The result is a lump-size donation to the organization to fund what they do and continue the good work alongside helping someone in our community. The fundraiser also brought awareness to the issue to everyone who donated or was talked to about the project" (Spangler and Martinez).