MBAs from Rutgers School of Business have decided to start to embrace change right at home by helping suffering from unending hunger in their Newark community.
The students have banded together informally under the name ‘Merak.’ Merak is a blue star within the constellation Ursa Major, as well as, the founders say, a word used to embody connection with the greater universe.
The group was started by Yashwanth Dhakshana, who is pursuing a full-time MBA in strategy and finance. He was joined by first year full-time MBA students, Risha Lathiya, Swarnaa Singh Rajpurohit, Peggy Chang and Nancy Chaser. Another member of the informal group, Hannah Panzer, joined after seeing Merak at work while waiting for her subway train.
Dhakshana was inspired to start the group over the holidays, when a dinner yielded leftovers that he decided to package and deliver to those suffering from hunger and need. Merak has evolved to put together 20 meals a night on recent Sundays, and the group plans to expand to start offering the service on Saturdays as well.
With a food drive in the works to gather donations and non-perishable food items, Merak’s ultimate goal is to become a more permanent go-to resource for Newark residents.
Dhaksana grew up in an environment where helping those in need was an everyday occurrence; he received an allowance, half of which he would donate, he notes.
“We’re aiming for 1,000 meals before [graduation in May, 2018] … There are some things you have to do,” he said. “Helping others is something you have to do.”