Santa Barbara siblings raise funds for India

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Three siblings in Santa Barbara have created a campaign to aid India, as the country copes with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world.

Over the past few weeks, Marymount 5th grader Jasmine Lind has been paying close attention to the COVID-19 crisis in India.

“I’ve seen a lot of devastating photos of people not getting vaccines and waiting without oxygen,” she said.

Her brother, Jordan, is a sophomore at San Marcos High School.

“I’ve just see just a lot of people struggling to get oxygen because a lot of people have COVID right now in India,” he said.

The entire Lind family has a close connection with the country.

“My grandmother is mangalorean, my Mom is Indian, and I was born there,” Jasmine said. “We lived for a little while in India.”

To make a difference, they decided to create a campaign called “Help India Breathe Again!”

Jaden is the oldest sibling and a junior at San Marcos High School.

“This campaign really hit home for us,” he said. “We lived there for a good portion of our lives and it was very sad to see the sheer amount of death that’s going on.”

Thus far, the campaign has raised over $47,000.

The money will be sent directly to charities supplying critical medical needs and oxygen tanks to the country’s coronavirus patients.

“At the end of the day, the U.S. isn’t doing a lot to help India,” Jaden said. “Part of this is just raising awareness.”

“Even though it’s not in our community, India is going through a very hard time,” Jasmine said. “The people in Santa Barbara that I know are very generous and can help out.” 

While most kids are consumed with school, sports and social life.

These siblings have stepped up in order to save those in need.

“We just love giving back to the community,” Jordan concluded. “Even though it’s not our community, we love giving back to a good place in our heart, our home.”

On Monday May 24th, California Pizza Kitchen’s downtown Santa Barbara location will donate 20% of their profits to the cause. 

To donate, you can visit their website.