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Roughly one year ago, Amador Valley High School sophomore Udayan Singhal was in the midst of finalizing paperwork for his nonprofit, Cards for a Cause, which delivers handmade cards and gift boxes to seniors and veterans all over Pleasanton and the greater Tri-Valley.
It was a long road of filling out documents and getting to know how things work in the nonprofit world.Â
But little did he know that almost a year later, not only would his nonprofit now be successfully bringing joy to seniors and veterans across the Tri-Valley, but there would now Cards for a Cause chapters forming in other parts of the Bay Area and across the U.S.
“It is pretty exciting,” Singhal told the Pleasanton Weekly.
Originally founded in June 2025 by Singhal and his friend, Niranjan Swaminathan, Cards for a Cause collects cards from hundreds of volunteers across the Tri-Valley and packages them, along with other items, into gift bags they then deliver to seniors and veterans in Pleasanton and across the region.
Singhal said he and Swaminathan created the nonprofit because they wanted to do something that was unique and beneficial to the community — particularly for veterans and seniors.
“We wanted to brighten the lives of seniors and veterans in our community,” Singhal said.
“We saw that seniors and veterans weren’t getting as much attention as we wanted them to so we thought it would be great to do something for them,” he added. “After volunteering and seeing how much small acts of kindness mean to them, I realized a nonprofit dedicated to spreading joy through thoughtful gift boxes and cards could make a real difference.”
According to Singhal, some of the items in the gift bags — apart from the handmade cards — include motivational journals, coloring books for adults and toys, if they are making packages for kids in hospitals.
“It’s usually items which are focused to a specific group,” he said.
Since last June, Singhal said his organization has carried out about four to five different packaging events and has delivered over 200 gift boxes and over 2,000 cards.
His organization recently worked with local organizations like CityServe of the Tri-Valley, a senior support organization in Pleasanton, and Open Heart Kitchen, a food nonprofit that provides meals to seniors and unhoused folks.
And while Singhal noted that his nonprofit has expanded to serving hospitalized children and unhoused people, they want to keep prioritizing seniors and veterans as their main recipients as it continues to grow.
He said they are currently working on 50 gift bags that they plan to present to the American Legion Post 237, a Pleasanton-based organization that caters to service members and veterans in the Tri-Valley.
But getting Cards for a Cause up and running wasn’t an easy task. Singhal noted how they had a different name originally and had to navigate the early processes of forming a nonprofit.
He also said they have had to adapt, make changes and learn as they go, especially as they continue to execute these packaging events.
Yet, despite these challenges, Singhal said he wants to keep this organization going and continue the work they are currently doing, especially as he plans to immerse himself more in the nonprofit world.
Singhal also pointed out how other Cards for a Cause chapters have begun popping up locally, like the one in San Mateo County, and around the country like in Texas, which only motivates him even more to keep this organization alive.
“I don’t want it to be something just for high school and it just goes away once I graduate,” Singhal said.
“It’s something that I want to continue because I nurtured it for so long,” he added. “I don’t want all that hard work to go to waste and I want the seniors and veterans who we care for … to have the benefits that we’re giving them.”
