At age ten, Jai Mehra took a tour of the local homeless shelter with his parents and was told that because of budget cuts, their homework program was being cut.

This preyed on his mind. And the way he figured it, a quiet place to study with help from a tutor was even more important to kids living in a homeless shelter. They've got all kinds of stress that kids who have their own homes don't have to worry about.

"I asked my mom if it was OK if I tried to help," said Jai, who finally decided to become a fundraiser.

(READ the Mike Cassidy column in the Mercury News)