Inspired by the limitless potential of young students, and the urgent need to spread educational opportunities to impoverished nations across the globe, two years ago good friends Tosh Aslamy and Adi Kurian sat in Aslamy’s Sammamish home, sharing ideas for how they could help.

And they dreamed big.

Two years later, and those big dreams have morphed into real action. The Eastlake seniors founded their own nonprofit, Representing and Educating Across Continents from Home (REACH). It is a group which does as it says; it reaches out to schools and students both at home and around the world to swap ideas, resources, with the goal of fighting ignorance and, above all learning.

“The premise of REACH club is about both expanding upon our knowledge as students, while also helping other students around the world to do the same,” Aslamy said.

The passionate student told The Reporter that REACH activities promote one of two things: a café-style atmosphere for calm, intellectual discourse and debate on controversial matters, and an outlet for charity.

“So far we have seen discussions on matters from poetry, to world religions, symbolism in music, the concept of beauty, and American societal myths,” Aslamy said. “The other portion of our time is spent developing fundraising ideas.”

REACH works in cooperation with the Vishal Himalaya Foundation – a nonprofit based in Mercer Island that, among other charitable acts, purchases text books for impoverished students in India.

“It is this very purchasing of text books that we REACH club members pride ourselves upon – it puts emphasis on our determination to help students around the world,” Aslamy said.

From humble beginnings in 2008, REACH now boasts 46 members, and has raised over $2,400 for the Vishal Himalaya Foundation.

From 7 – 10 p.m., Friday, April 30, REACH will host a benefit concert at SoulFood Books in Redmond, to raise money for students in India. The concert will be feature local artists, poets and musicians, predominantly students, from Sammamish and Redmond.

Admission to the concert is free, and there will be a donation booth, with information material, near the front entrance.

The theme of the concert will be, “50 cents to buy a book for a child.” Every donation worth 50 cents at our concert will be the equivalent of purchasing one text book for a child in India.

For more information, e-mail sohroba@hotmail.com.