Artist: Rupa Shevde

Rupa was born and raised in India and developed a passion for arts and crafts at a very young age. She learned much about traditional Indian art forms from her mother who is an artist. She won many prestigious awards in art competitions throughout her schooling years but chose to be a scientist in her professional pursuits.

Her biggest passion is working with children. She has served as a youth leader and as a Sunday school teacher for many years. Rupa volunteers for a non-profit organization known as Food for the Hungry and uses her talents as an artist to spearhead fund raising events through the sale of hand-made greeting cards, digital art and other paper-craft gift items. Rupa attributes the success of her fund-raising efforts to God. She readily acknowledges that her artistic talents are a gift from God and gets most satisfaction in using this gift to make a difference in the lives of children in developing countries. Her current fund-raising efforts are dedicated to helping children in Africa who have been orphaned due to the AIDS pandemic. She is also a Fellow of the International Justice Mission (IJM) Institute. IJM is a human rights organization that rescues and rehabilitates victims of various atrocities.

She has taught crafts at Michaels Arts and Crafts Store as well as a local scrapbooking store in Madison. Currently, she teaches scrapbooking and card-making classes on weekends at Archivers.

She is thankful for all the encouragement and support that she receives from her husband Wes and her son Brandon.

Rupa's favorite bible verse is, "But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously— take God seriously." - Micah 6:8 (The Message)

	Should he dare dream of a better future? This little boy is growing up in a poor community of Los Botados in the Dominican Republic. He may not go to school due to lack of basic resources such as shoes and clothes. There are countless children like him all over the world that are in desperate need of sponsorship.
	Rupa spent time with some of the children in Los Botados (Dominican Republic) during a short-term mission trip.
Rupa’s hope is that her website will inspire and encourage people to use their gifts and talents in order to make a difference in this world. We must not let the sheer magnitude of poverty and injustice in the world discourage us from doing what we can, to change lives, even if it is-one child at a time!
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do what I can. - Helen Keller
Rupa can be contacted at rupashevde@gmail.com