Altamont student donates water fountain for Jemison Trail

When Arjun Lakhanpal went running without his water bottle one day, he realized Jemison Trail’s one water fountain was not enough. A few months later, the Altamont junior went in front of the Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation Board to propose a second water fountain, this one in memory of his uncle Sundeep Caplash, who died in a running accident five years ago.

Caplash was an avid runner who worked to give back to the community, Arjun said, and the water fountain seemed like a fitting way to remember him.

“It wasn’t just doing a memorial because we’re originally from India and we’re Hindu, and we believe in cremation,” said Arjun’s mother, Geeta Lakhanpal. “We don’t bury or have a memorial. This way, it would be remembering him, but also doing something [with] his legacy, which was helping people.”

After getting approval from the Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation Board, Arjun worked to raise the money for the fountain.

“I set up a GoFundMe page, and the necessary funds I needed to raise was about $7,000,” he said. “I was able to get that in less than 24 hours.”

The next few months included discussions on location, ordering the fountain and installing the fixture. In January, a few days before the fifth anniversary of Caplash’s death, the “Fountain of Memories” was up and running by the intersection of Overbrook and Beechwood roads.

“It felt pretty good once the water fountain was actually installed, and it felt good taking the initiative on something,” Arjun said. “Running past that sometimes, and seeing the water fountain there, it kind of brings back the memory that I was able to make that happen.”

Arjun said he credits the C. Kyser Miree Ethical Leadership Center at Altamont with preparing him to take on his own project. The program requires students to attend cultural events, complete community service and finish a project, but he said it also instilled a desire to give back.

As an official part of the Miree Program, Arjun has volunteered his time with an organization called LETT (learning excellence through tennis), taught at EPIC Elementary and has volunteered at Mitchell’s Place. 

“Volunteering there and the LETT organization project led me to realize I like doing things in the community, and that led to that [water fountain] project,” Arjun said.

Arjun’s mother said she saw Arjun realize how much he enjoyed giving back the more he got involved in the community. 

“The Kyser Miree program, without that, I don’t think I would have gone to the community and taken the leadership and initiative on the project with LETT and also with the water fountain,” Arjun said. “I think it’s really good for us to learn these leadership skills when we’re in high school.”

Normally, he would not feel comfortable approaching the Parks and Recreation Board about a project, Arjun said, but his experience provided the confidence to get the ball rolling. 

In the few months since the fountain was installed, Arjun and his mother said they have heard positive feedback from community members. Shanda Williams, superintendent of Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation, said the fountain has been well-received and she has received multiple calls complimenting it. Arjun said he hopes people will continue to enjoy the fountain, and he is glad to have helped provide a long-standing resource on the trail.

“It wasn’t just an idea I thought of one day and said, ‘That’d be cool if I did something like that.’ I was actually able to follow through and go through with it,” Arjun said. “I think it’d make my uncle proud because he always gave back to the community, and I try to give back to the community in his honor.”