Four Conant High School students sell coffee for a cause

Sophomores Nikita Basu, Aparna Ayyah, Archisha Ghosh and Rithi Bramananthan are spending select mornings selling coffee and hot chocolate to students and staff to raise money for individuals affected by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

"Sadly, people tend to forget about natural disasters within a week or two after they happen," said Aparna. "For the people who are living through it, they suffer the after effects for years. Anything that people can do to help those victims is so appreciated because they need it."

Although each of the students participate in Service Club, Nikita said the girls were looking for a way to help others and decided to fundraise for victims of Hurricane Matthew on their own.

On the mornings they sell coffee, the students' day starts around 6 a.m. With help from some of their friends, the students brew the coffee and prepare hot chocolate at the concessions stand near the gym.

When they first started, there were several items to work out, such as how much flavoring to use for the coffee and sharing tips on how to prepare coffee. So far they have raised roughly $200 per sale.

"If you look at other countries that were hit like Haiti, it was really devastating. They have mud shacks and homes that are made out of straw, so to be hit by a hurricane really wipes out everything," Nikita said. "It is devastating. We want to donate money to help them recuperate."

The students have more coffee and hot chocolate sales coming up at Conant High School and are continuing to raise money for Hurricane Matthew victims.

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