Empowering Girls, One Car Wash at a Time: My Experience Fundraising for Rukmini Foundation

Empowering Girls, One Car Wash at a Time: My Experience Fundraising for Rukmini Foundation
By Akira, BHS Diversity & Inclusion Club President

This past Super Bowl weekend, while most people were focused on the game and the snacks, I was standing outside a local supermarket with a group of amazing volunteers, selling car wash tickets for a cause that is incredibly close to my heart: the Rukmini Foundation.

This wasn’t just a one-time thing. This was our 3rd Annual Rukmini Fundraiser here in Bellevue, Washington, and it was by far our most successful yet!

Through the Bellevue High School Diversity and Inclusion Club (which my brother actually founded three years ago), we partnered with our local supermarket and car wash to make this happen. We set up shop at the entrances, armed with car wash tickets and a whole lot of passion.

And the results? They left me speechless.

In our first year, we raised around $1,500. Last year, we hit about $2,700. But this year, with the help of 11 student volunteers (our biggest team yet!) , plus an amazing teacher and parent, we raised nearly $3,000 for girls’ education in Nepal!

More Than Just a Sale

For me, the best part of the weekend wasn’t just watching the donation jar fill up. It was the conversations.

Before the event, I created a “Facts and Figures” sheet using information from the Rukmini website. It was so important to me that our donors knew exactly where their money was going. We got to tell people about the incredible programs they were supporting—from the Nutrition Program that ensures girls are healthy and ready to learn, to the Didi program that pairs them with a mentor for guidance and support.

Being the president of the club this year, I got to take a more direct role in leading the charge. I organized the volunteer sign-ups, created a QR code for credit card donations, and helped my fellow students refine their “pitches.” We practiced sharing the mission clearly and passionately.

But the real magic happened when the community talked back.

We had a mother stop at our table and share that her adopted daughter was actually from an orphanage in Kathmandu. The connection she felt to our cause was instant and so moving. We talked to countless parents of daughters who lit up at the chance to help girls across the world get the education they deserve. Seeing our Bellevue community come together like that was truly inspiring.

Some people didn’t even want the car wash ticket. They just handed us money, telling us they cared so deeply about the cause and wanted to support the foundation directly. It was a powerful reminder that when you share a story with heart, people want to be a part of it.

Looking Ahead

Getting to see the excitement on people’s faces when they heard about Rukmini’s mission filled me with so much hope. It’s amazing what can happen when a group of high schoolers, a supportive community, and a powerful cause come together.

I am already counting down the days until next year’s Super Bowl weekend. We have a new record to beat!

Thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered, or simply stopped to listen. And thank you to the Rukmini Foundation for letting us be a small part of your big, beautiful mission to empower girls through education.

If you want to learn more about the programs we were fundraising for, check out the Rukmini Foundation website. Every girl deserves a chance to shine

Check out the photos of this program on our Flickr Album.