Building Youth-Led Change Through Action

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Shaurya Pydisetti. Read their story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

Shaurya Pydisetti is the founder of Project Querencia, a youth-led nonprofit that mobilizes young people to address community needs through service. What began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a small effort to support families facing isolation has grown into an organization with more than 200 members across seven chapters. Through food and supply drives, soup kitchen volunteering and free tutoring programs, Shaurya and his team have connected volunteers with opportunities to serve families experiencing food insecurity, students needing academic support and communities seeking stronger connections. By coordinating outreach and empowering fellow students to lead, he has helped transform individual acts of service into a growing movement for community impact. 

For Shaurya, volunteering starts with initiative. After seeing people wait for others to solve urgent problems, he decided to act rather than stand on the sidelines. He believes young people do not need to wait for age, experience or authority to create meaningful change. Instead, leadership is built through consistency, accountability and a willingness to learn by doing. Through Project Querencia, Shaurya hopes to show other students that small actions, repeated over time, can create lasting impact and inspire a new generation of civic-minded leaders. 

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Shaurya? Find local volunteer opportunities.