Shreya was in the sixth grade when she first became aware of the importance of healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. With the approval of her school principal, she and other students visited classrooms in her school to talk about food choices. In time, this activity grew in both scope and outreach. In December 2015, with the assistance of her father and a Board of Directors, Shreya established the nonprofit CHAPS - Children’s Health Awareness Program in Schools. The mission of CHAPS is to enable school children to make health-conscious decisions. The initial program has expanded to include a holistic approach to health with four health domains: physical, mental, heart and dental.
In the past several years, CHAPS has conducted multiple conferences and events which brought together nutritionists, doctors, community leaders and local charities. The speakers talked to school-age children and their parents about health and nutrition and provided them with information on local resources. One conference included a food specialist demonstrating to students how they can make healthy smoothies and a local official speaking to parents on how to access local and regional resources for their food and health needs. Other CHAPS conferences partnered with the Fairfax charities Cornerstones and Food for Others to conduct food drives.
As a way to reach young students, Shreya wrote and directed The Roger and Riley Series, an animated cartoon targeting preschoolers and kindergartners. It can be seen on the CHAPS website and YouTube.
According to Hannah Wolff, Langley College and Career Specialist, “Shreya has a unique leadership style that makes her stand out amongst her peers. Since a young age, Shreya has shown a steely integrity and is not afraid to lead by example.” In addition to being the founder and CEO of CHAPS, Shreya has also been a student representative to the School Health Advisory Committee of the Fairfax County School Board since her junior year.
Most recently, CHAPS has reached out to students and parents by means other than conferences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the program successfully raised over $5,000 for the charity Real Food for Kids through outreach and a GoFundMe account. The donation was used to provide nutritious food to students and their families who lost access to school meals due to school closures. Additionally, they developed a CHAPS cookbook for children and used TikTok and Instagram to promote their message.
In 2016, The Washington Post included Shreya in an article about young people starting nonprofits in the DC region. In addition, Awesome Women Entrepreneurs, a NOVA professional networking group, interviewed Shreya and profiled CHAPS in a 2018 podcast.
Shreya sees CHAPs expanding in the future to “bring awareness about holistic health, healthy living, and making healthy choices to a wider audience beyond our own community.” Shreya plans to continue to learn about health in college by studying biology or kinesiology.