Near 2nd Anniversary Of Livingston Teen's Death, Friend Raises Money

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Shiv Kulkarni was a kind, talented, and athletic 14-year-old about to enter Livingston High School in summer 2021, when he lost his battle with depression.

Now, his equally kind and talented friends have found ways to honor charities that honor him and spread awareness.

Livingston High School junior Siddharth "Sid" Sanjeev, who knew Shiv, has been tutoring fifth and sixth graders through a donation-based math tutoring service called “Sid for Shiv." He has passed along more than $4,000 in proceeds for charities aligned with his friend's interests.

This past weekend, Sid, a fan of the game cricket, held a cricket tournament on Saturday to raise more funds.

Approximately 50 people came out to participate in the double-wicket leather ball and tennis ball cricket tournament on Saturday.

Shiv was known for his abilities in art, piano, and various sports, but suffered from Major Depressive Disorder. He was also part of the LGBTQ+ community and sometimes worried he wouldn't be accepted by others.

His parents started an organization in his memory, Shiv's Third Eye, that has several goals:

• Awareness & Education for parents about youth mental health & mental hygiene,
• Support the families of youth grappling with mental illness,
• Fundraising to sponsor breakthrough research on treatment-resistant adolescent depression.

Sid Sanjeev's donations through "Sid for Shiv" have also helped raise awareness for causes aligned with Shiv's interests. Donations received by Sid for tutoring have already been passed along to a volunteer organization called “Desi Rainbow-Parents and Allies.”

The organization provides space to LGBTQ+ youth and seeks to build a community where "diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity are affirmed, valued and celebrated," said Sid's father.

The Sid for Shiv cricket tournament, held with the support of Sanskriti of NJ, "was a grand success," said Sid's father, Sanjeev, on Monday. "The highlight of the tournament was the speeches made by Sid and the founder of Desi Rainbow Parents & Allies Inc. The winners of the double-wicket leather ball cricket tournament were Chanchal Kala and Chandra Valmikinathan. The runners-up were Ankur Tiku and Suri Kalidindi."

Find out more about Desi Rainbow at www.desirainbow.org.

For information on Sid for Shiv, reach out to sidforshiv@gmail.com.