Sports and Sweets Help a California Teen Foster Inclusivity

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Aditya Nagapudi Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Aditya Nagapudi doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but the 17-year-old high school student knows the rest of us do. As a volunteer for over three years with the Special Olympics Northern California, Aditya sees the power of promoting inclusivity on and off the field. A huge basketball and football fan, he wanted to combine his love of athletics with his desire to volunteer.

So Aditya took on the role of coach and unified partner with the Special Olympics athletes, drawing up plays and showing the athletes how to run the routes on the basketball court and football field. His work as a unified partner means Aditya can also participate in the games, helping the athletes get a better understanding of the plays he teaches them as a coach.

But Aditya’s creativity doesn’t stop at writing plays for the athletes to enjoy on the field. Inspired to help the Special Olympics Northern California raise funds to continue their work to promote inclusion and empower children and adults with intellectual disabilities, Aditya had a great idea sparked by his parents’ love of sweets. A dedicated athlete focused more on spending time in the gym than eating treats, Aditya wanted to make delicious snacks that are both satisfying in flavor, but have some healthy ingredients to boost their nutritional value. He created AdChoc, a company that combines decadent chocolate from Belgium with vitamin-packed mix-ins like almonds and quinoa. Whether he’s melting down the chocolate himself or packaging a shipment to send to a hungry customer, Aditya’s business smarts created a new and exciting way to raise funds for the Special Olympics.

Tell us about your volunteer role with the Special Olympics Northern California.

I’m a coach and unified partner. As the coach, I draw plays for them and show them how to run the plays and routes in basketball and football. I help them with the plays and do certain drills to cater to their needs. A unified partner means that I can also play with them on the field. For example, I could be the quarterback for the football team and throw to the players.

Over my time with the Special Olympics organization, I learned that they were in need of funds. I started an organization called Ad Choc, which is pretty much just me adding healthy mix-ins to chocolate and selling them to people, with all the proceeds going to the Special Olympics. This is me melting the chocolate that’s imported from Belgium and adding healthy mix-ins and packaging them in order to raise funds for the organization.

How did you come up with the idea to sell sweets for the Special Olympics? Do you have a huge sweet tooth?

My parents have a pretty big sweet tooth, and I realized that there’s probably a lot of demand for chocolate because a lot of other people do too. I’m big into working out and going to the gym, so I wanted to try to add some healthy mix-ins to it in order to make it as nutritious as possible. So I put in stuff like quinoa and corn flakes, which would make it somewhat healthy while also making the taste appealing to people.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization??

I want to continue this business to keep raising funds for the organization. I think in the long run, I’m going to try new recipes that will cater to the needs of the people around the world. I think one mistake I’m making right now is that I’m delivering it within my city in California. I want to try to make it more on a global level. That way, it will have more reach and in turn lead to me being able to make more money for the Special Olympics.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I’ve worked with this organization for over three years, and I’ve gotten to know all the people there very well. I’ve had a special connection with each person there. The most important part of my work is that I’m able to help them, and that will lead to the organization being able to flourish a little bit more.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

One thing I’ve noticed there is each and every single person there is always happy to be there. They all come to practice ready to go. They all like to just have fun. That really changed me a lot. Just going there when I’m having a bad day, and seeing everyone’s face made my day to be there too. I really did learn how to be more optimistic and live life to the fullest.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

I think the main reason to get involved with a cause that you care about is because you want to make a change. I think if you really care about it deeply, you’ll be more inclined to want to make that change. In turn, making the change will not only benefit you, but it’ll benefit the community as a whole.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Starting anywhere helps. I think the first thing is honing in on who you truly want to help. From there it’ll be a lot easier, because if you have a community you really care about, you will want to do more research to find ways to actually help them. So I think first is just figuring out the community you want to help, and from there, taking the necessary steps to help them.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I want others to realize that it’s important to help others, instead of just focusing on your own desires. I think it’s very important to foster inclusivity and promote the well-being of others, and that’s why I also like working with the Special Olympics organization. Everyone there is coming to practice. They all want to have fun, and being a part of that truly changed me.

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