In just over a year, a group of Rye High School students has delivered more than 108 care packages to domestic violence shelters across New York, raised nearly $5,000, and recruited 20 student volunteers.
Care Packages for Change, which began as a lunchtime brainstorm between friends Alienna Malkani and Martina Farres, has expanded into a flourishing initiative to support survivors and raise awareness of hardships that, too often, are hiding in plain sight.
Currently a junior at Rye High School, Malkani has been actively involved in the youth service club RyeACT, but wanted to expand her service work beyond the school’s programs. She considered organizing donations to food pantries of children’s hospitals, but felt those causes were already widely supported in the community and wanted to make a difference for a vulnerable group that was more often overlooked.
The inspiration for the organization came from a conversation Malkani had with her mother, Malina, a registered dietitian who helps families whose children have food allergies and other nutritional challenges.
“My mom is a business owner whose main goal is to help others,” Malkani said. “She has raised me to always value giving back to the community.”
Her mother suggested she look into supporting victims of domestic violence — something Malkani was initially largely unfamiliar with. She was shocked to discover that many of the women in shelters are teens, like herself.
“I had never been exposed to what a women’s shelter was,” Malkani said. “I was mostly struck by how little awareness there was in our community and among my peers and myself, about this vulnerable population.”
Malkani and Farres got to work reaching out to shelters in the area, and eventually heard back from Hope’s Door in Hawthorne in February 2025. They bought supplies and put together their first care packages. Upon delivering them, meeting the staff, and learning more about the shelter’s mission, the girls realized they had the opportunity to build something real.
“This was proof that what we were doing could actually work,” Malkani said. “So, we created a website, emailed more shelters, and our organization started to gather momentum.”
While their proposal to become a formal school club wasn’t accepted because of space constraints, advisor Cody Blume helped them establish an outside-of-school club that meets on weekends and holds bake sales to raise money. With the help of new volunteers at the club’s first official meeting in November, package assembly time dropped from an hour to just minutes.
The care packages typically contain hygiene essentials like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, hair brushes, and body wash, along with comfort items like fuzzy socks and gift cards for food. Care Packages for Change also includes select baby and children’s items, as required. Each package also includes a card with words of encouragement for recipients.
“Around the holidays, we’ll add holiday-themed items — especially for the kids,” Malkani said. “We’ve put Easter eggs and chocolates in the packages, and we’ve also donated wrapped gifts for children during Christmas.”
The organization’s motto, “More than just packages, we deliver hope,” reflects its deeper mission.
“The package is a reminder that someone is looking out for you and believes in your ability to keep going,” Malkani said.
Care Packages for Change currently delivers to Hope’s Door and My Sister’s Place in White Plains. The organization is sponsored by Purchase Street boutique Love Bella and hopes to partner with more local businesses to help reach its goal of supporting 10 shelters by the end of 2026.
The group has also deepened Malkani’s understanding of the issue and inspired her. For her AP Research class, she’s studying the roots and effects of teen dating violence.
“It’s difficult for me to sit back with this knowledge of the prevalence of domestic violence and the severity of it and not do anything about it,” she said.
