Jeena, derived from the Hindi word meaning “To Live,” stands as a beacon of hope in California, USA. The nonprofit Jeena.org is dedicated to empowering neurodivergent individuals and fostering a supportive community among their families.
My contributions to Jeena
- 2024 – Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award by Jeena for 150+ hours of community service
- Social Skills Trainer (2022-24) – Conducting social skills classes with dance and games for neurodivergent kids
- Dance Instructor (2022-24) – Teaching adaptive dance to neurodiverse teens every week for 9 months a year for 3 consecutive years and choreographing for the annual showcase
Reflecting on my experience with Jeena
I have been involved with Jeena over the past 3 years. It started with a volunteering for a social skills class in 2022 and few small experiments with the neurodivergent kids led me to be their dance instructor. It was fulfilling experience to see the kids dance at their annual show. What seemed like a short 3-minute performance was actually the culmination of nine months of consistent practice and efforts every week.
For the 2023 Jeena Annual show, I performed along side the kids on the stage, so they could follow me. For the 2024 Jeena Annual show, I took a challenge upon me to make them dance independently. At the end of the show, when I heard the words from one of the students, “See you at next year’s practice, Tanvi”, it touched me!