For young adults in the Magnolia area, Raj Hope Foundation seeks to provide educational, sporting and physical fitness opportunities to adults with limited abilities after high school graduation, founder Viren Vansadia said.

Named for his son Raj who has Down syndrome, Vansadia said he began the foundation as a way to give back to the community. The vision for Raj Hope Foundation was born 10 years ago as Raj was preparing to graduate from Magnolia High School.

“Why don’t we start something locally that somebody like Raj and others can go to when they graduate from high school?” Vansadia said. “Because we are there right now, those parents [at Magnolia schools] don’t have to worry where their student will go [after graduation].”

The Vansadia family was recognized by the city of Magnolia in May as the Texas Special Olympics Family of the Year.

The organization began offering cooking and educational classes in 2011. Classes are offered three days per week for three hours each day during the school year and four hours each day during the summer months.

Seven students are enrolled in classes this summer, and three teachers alternate teaching the classes, Vansadia said.

The small class size allows students to receive individual attention, but as the foundation keeps in touch with Magnolia ISD, Vansadia said he expects enrollment to increase in the next few years.

“Hopefully, in the future, we will be pretty big,” he said.

Raj Hope also includes a tennis program, participates in Special Olympics programs and hosts a Christmas party each year, complete with dancing, a three-course dinner and a silent auction.

Vansadia said the foundation has operated out of various spaces since its founding but looks forward to one day having its own facility.

For now, classes are held at the  Magnolia United Methodist Church.

“That is the goal: to have our own facility. Right now local churches are very gracious,” Vansadia said. “But if five years from today I have 15-20 students, it would be almost necessary to have our own facility.”

832-858-4647 www.rajhopefoundation.org