MIHS students launch Project Ascend refugee donation initiative
Published 6:30 pm Wednesday, June 17, 2026
It’s all about making a difference and putting smiles on people’s faces with Project Ascend, according to founder Rohan Parandekar.
The Mercer Island High School (MIHS) rising senior and his fellow 12th-graders-to-be Elbridge Gerry, Luke Loiselle, Mattias Hofstetter, Brady Mock and Dash Dahlberg launched a free donation pickup service for Islanders that delivers clothing, shoes, school supplies and more directly to Seattle-area refugee families who come from all over the world.
Over the last few months, the team has collected nearly 1,000 items that are valued at over $13,000 and has partnered with Seattle nonprofits Kandelia (formerly the Vietnamese Friendship Association), Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) and World Relief Western Washington along the way.
“I’m really excited and glad that we were able to start this initiative and really impact these people,” Parandekar said. “It’s like a great thing that these organizations are doing and I’m honestly glad to be a part of that. It just really warms my heart to be a part of something like this.”
After picking up the high-quality items from locals’ homes, the team sorts everything themselves at one of their abodes and then makes the deliveries. It’s an all-Island operation for now, but the team plans to expand into Bellevue in the near future.
Project Ascend began as a Destination Imagination community impact learning challenge project and has “grown into a fully operational and active initiative with volunteers, a structured pickup system and ongoing donation cycles throughout the year,” said Parandekar, adding that Dahlberg came up with the name and Gerry aided youth refugees in the past.
Project Ascend held it first sorting gathering on May 25 and delivered its cycle one donations in early June. They’ve already begun collecting cycle two items, which mainly include school supplies so that the students will be feeling confident with new backpacks and more when they attend classes in the fall.
Parandekar and his crew launched Project Ascend in January as part of the Destination Imagination project and they took things up a notch following spring break in April.
“I was like, this is something that we definitely could make a lot more impactful and reach a lot more people. And it’s something that we’re all passionate about,” said Parandekar, who reached out to the Seattle nonprofits to get things rolling. They aim to have six or seven cycles under their belt by this December.
On the personal front, Parandekar is especially invested in Project Ascend because his parents came to the United States from India (in 1997 and 2001) and faced many challenges when adapting to the culture, customs and language. The family moved to Mercer Island in 2012 when he was age 4.
ReWA’s Quynh Nguyen said that Project Ascend’s donations have had a meaningful impact on her organization’s clients. She noted that the high-schoolers have shown initiative and compassion during their partnership and that ReWA is grateful for all they’ve done.
“Their willingness to organize their neighbors and give back reflects the kind of community leadership that truly makes a difference. Partnerships like this strengthen our mission at ReWA and remind our clients that they are welcomed and supported by the broader community,” Nguyen said.
Tamthy Le of Kandelia added about Project Ascend’s student leaders: “With all of the fear and uncertainty facing our immigrant and refugee communities, we hear a lot of people wishing there was something they could do. It’s been inspiring to see a group of students taking initiative to help our immigrant and refugee neighbors.”
This summer, Project Ascend will be volunteering at World Relief’s Kinders Camp by supporting refugee children ages 4 to 5 entering kindergarten.
For more information, visit: https://projectascendseattle.org/.
