Rahman and Raveedran start “Give Back MN”

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Submitted by Aman Rahman

Raveendran and Rahman are very excited to get this project rolling together.

Driving down to Target, turning the corner, there is usually a person or a family with a sign. They are either asking for food or money. During the COVID pandemic this has become even more apparent with the homeless communities sky rocketing. It is always difficult to decide what to do in these situations. If someone has nothing to give in the moment then that is that. But sometimes people do have the means to give to others, but if they do give they question what that person will do with that money. Most people would prefer to give food, clothes, or other things that they know are needed or will be used well. Yet most people do not have those things laying in their car.

Rashmi and Aman experienced this many times, they decided to start thinking of a solution to this problem.

Senior Aman Rahman said, “Last year during Start Up [club] we were brainstorming business ideas, me and Rashmi were trying to think about things that impact our community. We started thinking about that uncomfortable moment when someone is in their car and they see a homeless person asking for money. We came up with an idea to have a package that contains things that a homeless person would need. We wanted to create a practical package that would positively change and affect their lives.”

They wanted to make sure that their product was accessible and affordable for everyone. The idea was for everyone to have them in their car at all times so if they ever saw someone that they wanted to give too it would be there and ready to use.

Senior Rashmi Raveendran said “The goal is for the package to be cheap and practical. It would be really cool if we could have them be sold in general stores that way people could buy them in bulk.”

Last year when the idea came to them they did not get very far in the process of making it happen. Since Start Up was a brand new club there were a lot of technical issues that needed to get resolved before they could really start anything big. This year Aman and Rashmi have started making big steps in order to reach their business goals.

Raveendran said “Currently we are working to buy all the necessary products and figuring out our website. We also are designing our business cards to include in the packages. We just set up a number that people can call that will direct them to our cell phones.”

The process is a little slow, both Rahman and Raveendran are purchasing and doing research on the cheapest products to buy in bulk in order to keep the price low.

Rahman said, “The only way that we are able to do this is because we have the resources to start it off. It is important that we can invest, but many people can not. All the money to buy the products comes from us and we hope to profit from it once we have everything.”

They have been able to complete big milestones in a short amount of time. When making the packages they wanted to make sure that a package did not just pertain to a male. They made sure to include products that will be useful to all genders.

Raveendran said ”Our company name is Give Back MN. The packages are called care packages, they will be different colors for different seasons, and for people that identify as different genders. We are hoping that each package will sell for 5 dollars.”

The big goal for Rahman and Raveendran is to have their product selling consistently. They would love to have volunteers help with packaging when their business is up and running.

If you have any questions or are interested in buying a package contact Rahman and Raveendran.
[email protected]
612-424-0869