Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sonali Ratnasinghe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sonali, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of people in our community were in need. With unemployment rates skyrocketing and food insecurity more prevalent, I saw that it was more important than ever for a positive impact to be made in the community. Additionally, I saw a need within our peers who wanted to create a change in their community but didn’t have the necessary resources and guidance to do so. My background in service and existing connections with nonprofits led to the creation of the Youth Ambassadors of Service in September 2020. Since I was a high schooler, it was easy for me to connect with the other high schoolers and understand their needs. I was part of the demographic I worked with. I used my nonprofit teen board experience and knowledge of hosting drives and fundraisers to guide members through planning and executing projects that aligned with their passions and benefitted the community. I worked to create a community of service-driven, passionate, curious young leaders. Students talk about how they don’t feel like they have power, they see all these issues on social media but don’t even have a vote, but we can hand them back their power.
Sonali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am Sonali Ratnasinghe, the founder and Executive Director of Youth Ambassadors of Service. Youth Ambassadors of Service is a nonprofit devoted to teaching high schoolers in the community how to execute fundraisers, drives, and events for other local nonprofits. Here at Youth Ambassadors of Service, we have two programs. The first one is Act & Advance, where students gain experience in service and pursue projects supporting various local nonprofits. The second program is The Young Nonprofit Fellowship, students intern and participate in a curriculum to foster further growth in the sector. Our organization provides guidance and monetary support for these drives and fundraisers to foster a lifelong drive for service and help students develop skills they can take with them. This unique organization started as a club that I started and has now expanded to be youth-led 501(c)3. When I first created this nonprofit, I had a vision to help the community in their time of need. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of the economy, nonprofits have been greatly affected and need more support now than ever. I realized that I could help solve this problem and help high schoolers give back. This is where Youth Ambassadors of Service comes in. A prime example of our work is Isha, a fellow for the National Alliance of Mental Illness in Wake County. She was a part of The Young Nonprofit Fellowship program, where she interned and executed a large-scale project to complete her fellowship. General Sevices taught her the basics of creating an Impact Initiative and executing a drive, and she immediately started brainstorming for her Impact Initiatives idea. Ultimately, she decided to create mental health toolkits for elementary students. Her goal was to eradicate mental health stigma at a young age. She wanted to help these young minds build an understanding of this topic, so she provided resources to ensure its success. Isha raised more than $1,300 out of her $500 goal. She took that extra funding and made over 200 toolkits instead of the 50 she had planned. These tool kits contained stress balls, anger management cards, journal notebooks, and instructions on why these items were important to mental health. Isha’s story is a perfect example of the work we do for the community and how it can impact others. She had found a way to interact with and educate these young minds through the resources and teaching of Youth Ambassadors of Service. Isha is one of the dozens of students who have impacted the community in a way like this. But, Isha’s story is so keen when looking at the support and guidance that Youth Ambassadors of Service offers. We are constantly supporting the students in their projects and giving them the platform and the opportunity to execute them. Across the board, everyone should be able to serve and fulfill their passion project regardless of means, and we are working towards that, one passion project at a time.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
This number has increased as I have learned more about how to deal with challenging people and work with my identities, all while earning the public’s trust. Earning the public’s trust has been a large barrier as a youth-led nonprofit of personally, of South Asian background. I have always been a “connector” and worked to meet new people, find new organizations, and put myself out there. Though I often heard positive feedback, I regularly heard comments from community members, including, “Oh, you’re that type of brown! You’re just doing this for college applications!”, “You’re young; you don’t have anything to bring to the table,” and other demeaning comments. A personal learning curve was how to deal with these opinions and move on to find community partners, mentors, and leaders that were willing to support my journey to help young people help others. But, as our organization grows, we can refute the negative comments with stories, impacts, and photos to show the changes we are making in the community – not just for college applications. We DO have something to bring to the table. Another principle that has helped my team and I grow our impact on individuals is the ability to ask for help, find mentors/pro-bono consultants, and learn from experience. We do everything with intentionality, but as high schoolers (plus myself as a college freshman), it is still nerve-wracking to do things we expect “adults” to do. Whether that’s opening a bank account for the first time or developing a board of directors, imposter syndrome does set in! However, working to build community partnerships has helped me grow our organization’s capacity, listen to the needs of our community, learn from watching what works/doesn’t with our partners, and ask them for advice. Learning that if we immerse ourselves into our connections, we can better together have allowed us to serve more students and nonprofits as we learn how to develop the best programs for the students/nonprofits we serve. 81% of young people say they have the power to change the country. However, they lack the opportunities and resources to engage in, and lead meaningful change… we’re here to tackle that.
Any advice for managing a team?
Many factors lead to me being able to lead a team with high morale. Elements like leading by example, and looking at being a role model for my team by displaying the qualities I want to see in them. clear communication by establishing open and transparent communication channels & encouraging feedback, and actively listening. Things like making SMART goals and fostering collaboration and team spirit by encouraging a supportive and inclusive environment where team members collaborate, share knowledge, and help each other while also promoting a sense of camaraderie and unity. Honestly, one of the most important things is actually listening to my team and letting them have autonomy with their work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.youthambassadorsofservice.
org - Instagram: www.instagram.com/
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youthambassadorsofservice/ - LinkedIn: https://www.
linkedin.com/company/youth- ambassadors-of-service/ - X/Twitter: https://twitter.
com/youthambassa