During the 2025-26 school year, a new club made its way into Los Altos High School’s community: the Make-A-Wish (LAHS Chapter) club. Created and run by freshmen, this club aims to fulfill the wishes of children facing critical illnesses, according to the Make-A-Wish website.
The club is currently run by freshmen Aparajita Dutta, the founder; Aditi Kumar, the vice president; Ian Chung, the activities director; Leah Shverdin, the secretary and Christine Chen, the treasurer. It initially began when Dutta, who was previously involved with Make-A-Wish, wanted to bring its mission to the Los Altos High community.
“I’ve been involved with Make-a-Wish for a long time, so I thought it would be amazing to…bring this beautiful nonprofit to Los Altos High School and expand the community,” Dutta said.
For the other club officers, impact was a big part of their motivation to get their club off the ground; Ian Chung said Dutta’s invitation to join the club helped him find a way to help people in his community and build his own skills. Christine Chen echoed Chung’s excitement about making a difference.
“I just wanted to do something good for the world, and really have a big impact, and Make-A-Wish was perfect for that,” Chen said.
Recently, the club hosted a Wish Week, a tradition many Make-A-Wish chapters hold in their own communities, according to Dutta. For the club, it involved a week-long fundraiser, consisting of activities like bracelet making. Overall, their goal for Wish Week was not only fundraising, but expansion.
“I definitely think our main goal was to get the word out, so that in the next couple of years…we have a lot of scope and time to expand,” Kumar said.
Along with Wish Week, the club has held other events to raise awareness, such as a Fall Fundraiser featuring a Polaroid stand and participation in the school’s Valentine’s Day club fair.
In the coming years, the Make-A-Wish club hopes to establish a curriculum for its club meetings and potentially collaborate with some of Los Altos High’s other clubs to continue spreading awareness and collecting donations for Make-A-Wish, according to Chung.
“This club really isn’t possible without the help of students, staff, and all of the people in the school,” Chung said. “We’re really hoping that because we worked so hard this year to get ourselves out there, we can get more members… so that in the future years we can make these events like Wish Week a bigger deal, so that more and more people will be engaged and want to participate in those fundraisers.”
