HAU members pose with items they donated to Rosie’s Place, a homeless shelter in Boston.

What started as a high school club has transformed into a nonprofit organization that aims to help the unhoused.

Called Hopkinton Advocacy for the Unhoused (HAU), the initiative is the brainchild of HHS senior Madhav Saxena.

Saxena serves as president of the 26-member student group, whose fundraisers late last year bought in $1,200 used to purchase clothes, blankets and hygiene products like toothbrushes and toiletries for Rosie’s Place, a Boston-based women’s shelter.

Saxena said other fundraisers included hosting a 5K, selling baked goods and candles, and selling earrings made by a club member. Significantly, members were able to raise awareness and money by visiting homes in town to tell residents what HAU is about.

“Going door to door, I learned so much about the community and the personal connections many people have to homelessness — knowing someone who is or was unhoused,” he said.

Saxena said there is “100%” still a stigma about individuals who do not have a roof over their heads through no fault of their own.

“Many people couldn’t do anything else,” he said. “They lost their jobs, their rents went up or they had no cushion of money when these things happened.”

Inflation, cost-of-living increases and stagnant wages have contributed to the problem.

The organization strives to fight the discrimination that exists for people who are less fortunate, Saxena said.

In Massachusetts, an estimated 190,000 people are unhoused.

Saxena said he began the school club because he always had a desire to assist homeless people. The process to submit paperwork and become a nonprofit took approximately four months.

Managing teams, conducting community outreach, designing a website (hauhelps.org) and working with fundraising and finances will help him in his future career in business, Saxena said.

The best ways people can help HAU achieve its goals — advocacy, awareness and action — is by donating money, new items or food, or becoming a volunteer, he noted.

Examples of needed donations for Rosie’s Place include body wash, deodorant, socks (new in original packaging), underwear and sports bras.

This year, the organization is planning to organize a 5K in the spring as well as a soccer fundraiser in the middle school gym.

The other officers of the nonprofit organization are treasurer Dilpreet Gill, clerk Yaashwanth Narendran and branch manager Maanya Shettigar.

Serving on the board of directors are Aarush Naik, Madhav Warrier and Raghav Saxena.

In December 2025, another branch was established in Westford, and one is in the works in Holliston.

Saxena said the group’s work is grounded in the belief that no one should face these societal pressures alone.

“Shelter is one of our basic human needs. Communities have a responsibility to support those most affected by economic instability,” he said. “It’s on us.”