Last year, Devisi Goel, as a sophomore at Horace Greeley, founded Poetry’s Purpose, to raise funds for charitable causes. It is poetry for a cause.
And today, as a high school junior, Devisi continues to offer her considerable poetry writing skills to raise money for causes she or the poetry requestor supports.
The concept is simple, so elegant and powerful.
People request personalized poems for their loved ones for a particular event or reason, Devisi explains. She will ask pertinent questions and get to work. She and her fellow poetry writers (at this juncture it is Devisi mostly penning the poems, but other students have participated) will then donate 100% of the payment to a charity that she or the person commissioning the poem supports.
Devisi explains her motivation for continuing the endeavor: “I always loved to write poetry. I loved the precision present in the choosing and placement of words. I loved the unstructured look, the way words would flow across the paper, presenting themselves in exactly the manner with which they should be read.
“I loved how every line could be interpreted in a multitude of different ways…
“During the pandemic, I noticed a common phenomenon spreading across my community, and the entire country: A desire to give back. Different students would make groups dedicated to creating masks or raising money for the front-line workers. Celebrities hosted TV specials to raise our hopes and happiness. I wanted to join this worldwide effort, and so I decided to combine my two passions, poetry and community service, to create Poetry’s Purpose.”
It started “simply one or two customers who were family friends. But with the word getting out at farmer’s markets, and through social media and various interviews with newspapers, Poetry’s Purpose grew.
“We began getting more and more requests from strangers, people who were looking for a meaningful gift to send to their family, or for something silly to make them laugh.”
During the holiday season, Devisi sent donations from poems to the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, as one example.
“COVID-19 has severely hurt our country, and a prominent problem present in our community is food insecurity. Families are unable to get their basic necessities, to be able to put food on their table,” she explains. “The food pantry aids with this. Its volunteers create a safe environment, and they provide hope to those who need it. They make sure that no one leaves without feeling better than when they came in.”
At any time, and not just during the holidays, you can give the gift of poetry to your loved one and at the same time, the gift of food to someone in need, explains Devsi.
To explore the possibility of Devisi writing a poem on your behalf for a special person or occasion, and having your donation go to a charity, contact her, poetrypurpose2020@gmail.com
Also, visit www.poetryspurpose.com
Follow her on Instagram too, @poetryspurpose.
