Ridge, Watchung Hills Students Donate To Hospice Center

BASKING RIDGE, NJ—A non-profit founded by students at Ridge High School and Watchung Hills High School visited a Scotch Plains hospice facility earlier this month to donate medical equipment.

"It's beautiful knowing that during these hard times, we can initiate the act of giving," said Daniel Zhang, a Watchung Hills student and one of the founders of Alphademic Learning, the donor. "We can help kids with free tutoring, and using their support, give to the local community where it's most needed."

Volunteers from Alphademic Learning delivered 300 medical protection gowns to the Center for Hope Hospice and Palliative Care in Scotch Plains on Aug. 12 . The gowns will help healthcare workers protect themselves and patients from infectious diseases.

Alphademic Learning was established by students at Ridge and Watchung Hills high schools in April in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The program provides K-12 students free virtual courses in math, science, humanities, and art.

Since its founding, Alphademic Learning has grown rapidly—it now has about 2700 students from 40 states in the US and 5 countries—while offering more than 20 classes. The curriculum is taught by nationally-recognized high school students across the U.S., some of whom have ranked highly in various academic competitions.

Zhang said some of the all-volunteer teachers have become so passionate about the project that they have given up paid jobs to continue at Alphademic. The effort of these instructors, he added, was a big reason the organization received hundreds of individual contributions to fund the Scotch Plains donation.

The nonprofit's mission is to motivate students, especially from disadvantaged
backgrounds, to pursue their academic passions and strive to better themselves and their
community. Alphademic Learning hopes to continue providing academic courses and using support from donors and sponsors to engage in future community-building projects.

"In the years ahead," said Zhang, "we want to reach out to disadvantaged communities from a local level so that we can have a big impact on people's lives through education."