Youth Volunteer of the Year - Chintan Maheshwari

Chintan Maheshwari has invested the past three years to mentoring the youth of Detroit through the initiative, Key2Finesse. With a passion and talent for public speaking, Chintan realized many youth lacked leadership and empowerment. In response, he co-founded Key2Finesse and began conducting free workshops for middle and high schoolers, focused on improving confidence and self-esteem, along with handling rejection. Through the organization, Chintan conducted speech competitions, also serving as fundraisers for local charities. The first competition raised $2,800 for people who could not heat their homes during the winter, and the second raised $8,185 for equipment to help babies born with weak lungs in underdeveloped countries. Another fundraiser for Key2Finesse was for local organization called “Blessings in a Backpack”. The organization provides food for children who cannot afford to have meals during weekend. They raised $37,500 that went to feeding 375 Michigan school students for every weekend in the entire school year. He also finds time to volunteer outside his organization, serving on the Jain Society of Greater Detroit board, tutoring and mentoring.  “Chintan is a trustworthy, reliable and good-humored student, volunteer and true leader,” said Nitin Shashikant, director of the Pioneer Medical Research Foundation. “We are lucky to have him as a volunteer who believes in our cause.”