Tanmayi Mendu and Dream Dresses Unite Cultures, Boost Confidence

Across India, festivals like Holi and Diwali are marked by color, music, sweets, and celebrations. Children perform dances, families gather, and traditional clothing becomes a symbol of pride and joy. Yet for millions of children, these moments pass quietly. Approximately 52 million children in India face extreme poverty, without access to clothing that allows them to be immersed in cultural celebrations or express their identity.

Dream Dresses works to bridge this gap. A teen-led nonprofit based in the United States, Dream Dresses helps these kids get access to traditional clothes. By collecting gently used traditional Indian garments from families in the U.S. and redistributing them to underprivileged children across India, the organization addresses an often overlooked need – cultural inclusion through clothing.

Dream Dresses began in March 2021, when Avani Bansal, 14 at the time, faced a simple problem with no solution. She had outgrown her Indian dresses, but donation centers like Goodwill had no use for them. Rather than letting them go to waste, she began collecting similar donations from her friends and family. With the help of her grandmother, Avani made her first donation to the Aarna foundation in Mumbai. From there, what began as a small personal effort evolved into the internationally connected nonprofit it is now. Today, Dream Dresses is partnered with eight international organizations across India, and they have donated to twelve states there.

In August, leadership passed to Tanmayi Mendu, 16, who had been involved with Dream Dresses since its early days. She started as a social media volunteer, later becoming a Social Media Team co-lead, and now serves as President. “Dream Dresses stood out to me because we focus on something people often overlook,” she explains. “Clothing, as such an important way kids feel accepted, should not be a luxury. When children can’t take part in their culture because of circumstances beyond their control, we owe it to them to help.”

Tanmayi spends time attending meetings for all five subteams of Dream Dresses: Social Media, News Media, Fundraising, Marketing, and Research, working closely with the team leads to promote Dream Dresses’ reach. Under her leadership, through consistent outreach and online engagement, the organization has seen a surge in volunteers and collection centers in states like Michigan, North Carolina, and Illinois. Today, Dream Dresses operates with 50 volunteers and 14 collection centers across the United States.

Looking ahead, one of Tanmayi’s major goals for 2026 is establishing sustainable annual shipping. While donations continue to increase, shipping remains the organization’s greatest challenge. Currently, Dream Dresses relies on its Carry-a-Bag program, in which travelers volunteer suitcase space to transport clothing to India. Although impactful, with the nonprofit surpassing 11,000 donations this way, the program largely depends on availability and timing. “If we can guarantee that donations reach India every year, regardless of travel logistics, we can secure the long-term future of Dream Dresses,” Tanmayi says.