Sixteen-year-old Vihaan Kamath has volunteered over the last few summers with his grandmother who runs a small nonprofit to help underfunded schools, pediatric cancer centers and other places in need in Mumbai, India.
Kamath said the visits opened his eyes seeing classrooms without walls or clean water.
The Greenwich High School junior started a non-profit organization called Cookie for a Cause last April and since that time has raised more than $20,000 to help those in need. He said this is just the beginning.
“I’m very close with my grandmother and seeing all of this made me want to support them because where I live, we take so much for granted. This was the main reason I wanted to help,” Kamath said.
Kamath started the charity toward the end of last year’s school year but put the most time into it over the summer. He created a website and started sending emails to local organizations and companies asking for help. The campaign worked.
“In one month, from June to July, I raised more than $10,000 and took a trip to Mumbai to visit my grandmother at the places where I had volunteered to donate,” Kamath said. “Once I got back in July, I spent the rest of the summer just trying to grow more before getting ready for my junior year of high school.”
Kamath said he used money to help students in Mumbai. He said, for one of the schools in India, the money helped buy meals as well as educational resources for books, pencils and erasers.
“Seeing the expressions on their faces was amazing,” Kamath said. “The little I could do was amazing.”
Kamath also donated to St. Jude’s in Asia, which helps children with cancer and their families. “I knew I didn’t have much time, so I reached back out to people that I had contacted and more companies and friends and that’s when I started growing,” Kamath added. “In October, I partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That gave me credibility and helped grow even more.
“It was inspiring. Sharing with other things we take for granted here every day,” he added. “The most inspiring and exciting parts were the connections that I made.”
Kamath bakes and sells the cookies with 100% of the proceeds going to those in need. He bakes three varieties, including chocolate chip, double chocolate chip and sugar cookies, and added snickerdoodle and peppermint brownie as specials over the holiday season. Much of the baking he does is on the weekends because of academic responsibilities as well as competing in track and field and jazz band.
One of his most lucrative fundraisers was associated with the New York City Marathon in November. Kamath said raised more than $2,000 alone at a pasta party before the marathon. He also briefly spoke at the event.
Kamath averages five to 10 orders a week but added that some of the orders can be as much as 10 to 12 dozen. Kamath said one order in December was for 100 dozen. He said he was baking 1,200 cookies for hours in the family kitchen.
Ravish Kamath, Vihaan’s father, said he is proud of his son and that he wanted to contribute to his mother’s causes in India and now helping charities in the U.S.
“He wanted to do something, so he decided to bake and sell cookies. He made his own website and baked all of the cookies,” Ravish Kamath said. “What he has achieved shows how deeply he feels about this. Seeing where he has brought this, I feel this is going to be long-term for him. Going into this, I thought it was going to be a hobby, but it’s been more than that. … I’m proud of what he’s done.”
Ravish Kamath said the passion for baking came from his wife Ijaya. “I only participate in the eating,” Ravish Kamath said. “When he had the 1,000-cookie order the cookies were everywhere.
“He’s a very hard-working kid, and he’s genuinely trying to help as much as possible,” he added.
In all, Vihaan said his non-profit has helped more than 350 children and families receive medical care, school supplies and daily essentials. He said he is working on helping those closer to home with his partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Vihaan said Cookie for a Cause reached the $20,000 milestone on New Year’s Eve and the total is now over $23,000. He said his goal is to make it to the $50,000 milestone by the end of the year.
“I think it’s doable,” he said.
Vihaan met with Connecticut Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz in December. “We talked about the United Way and the Boys & Girls Club and all of these organizations for kids. Going into 2026, I’m going to start to reach out to them to see what they need and how I can help,” he said. “I spread the word as much as I can, if anyone needs cookies that 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity.”
Eventually, Vihaan is looking to pursue a career in finance. Kamath said he wants to continue Cookie for a Cause after he graduates high school.
“It’s been a 10-month journey so far, and I just hope to keep it going.”
Cookies for a Cause are priced at $20 for six cookies and $30 for 12 and can be purchased online at cookieforacause.org. To donate, email [email protected].