One of the most important ways to have a large impact in life is by focusing on communities that are ignored and overlooked. These communities are often the ones most in need of help, tools, and services but for a variety of reasons the largest players in most industries chose not to work on serving them. We’ve been so touched by the thousands of members of our community who are working on serving the underserved from tackling food deserts to building empowering solutions for the neurodiverse. Each week, you’ll find us highlighting folks serving underserved communities.

Dr. Trisha Bailey

My epiphany for serving the underserved occurred in my thirties when I began to travel for a purpose. My journeys took me to Southeast Asia, where I met remarkable business owners who weren’t focused solely on profit but on using their enterprises as vehicles to provide jobs, education, and skills to their communities. Witnessing their unwavering commitment to social impact, I felt compelled to support and empower these visionary leaders. Growing up in a small town, I always felt the urge to see the world. I didn’t want to visit the “easy” destinations that I could save for later; instead, I ventured to places like Southeast Asia and Africa. During my travels, I met ordinary people teaching life-changing skills with almost no resources, empowering others to lift themselves out of generational poverty. Read more>>

David Scruggs

Boudoir is so often marketed as an outlet for the self-indulgent, a visual playground for the self-confident. Just search “boudoir near me” and filter on images, and you’ll be treated to a long scroll of fit and ample models lounging in lingerie. Our brand, One Soul Boudoir and Fine Art Portraits, does the same for all the women who’ve performed that search and surmised that the camera just isn’t for them. Most of our clients, in fact, are women whose lives are spent in the moment, working, living and loving. Our main constituent is the over-40 mom. Common in our lobby are women who’ve poured themselves into building a business or climbing a company ladder and women who’ve been scarred by physical, medical, or emotional trauma.  Read more>>

Mannini Mokhothu

Yes Bonnini Art Residency is a place where artists and socially conscious travelers meet to experience the local community, be involved with local artists, and exchange stories and ideas that are usually unrecognized. Most people in Semonkong village have never seen life outside Lesotho. there are no basic resource for education and no social assistance towards cultural institutions. These limitations have negative impact on personal and professional development especially for the youth whose dreams remain shuttered. Bonnini’s journey is about using creative mechanisms for changing cultural isolation into cultural inclusion whereby local people can meet creative travelers on common topics/creative projects. workshops, classes, mentorship programs to the people of Haeso Semonkong are hugely important to invoke exposure to new ideas, and transfer creative skills into this young and ambitious community. Read more>>

Florencio Palomo

I founded REACH swim over 9 years ago with the goal of creating a safe, nurturing, and welcoming environment for special needs kids, a community that is underserved in many recreational activities, especially swim. 80% of all our students are special needs, 95% of those being from low-income and racial minority communities. Though I started REACH 9 years ago, my work experience with special needs kids started at the beginning of my recreation career nearly 30 years ago. nearly 30 years ago, I was offered a promotion in my career with one stipulation, I had to learn how to swim so I could manage the recreation department of my community fully. Having nearly drowned as a child and my family not being able to afford swim lessons, the fear of swimming and water stayed with me unit the age of 26, when the promotion offer came. Wanting the promotion I decided to face my fears and try to learn to swim. Read more>>

Tyriek Murphy

MES has provided health and wellness services to the underserved community of Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York for over three (3) years with our MES Seminoles Agility and Conditioning Workout Session Program (MESSAC). The MESSAC has produced positive results of increased physical healthier youth within the community. MESSAC primary objective is to render direct education an implementation of the MESSAC to all youth, from ages 5 to 18, to meet set/flexible athletic/health expectations while simultaneously having fun. MES will provide explicit guidance, support, and actional feedback to Participants, Participant Parents, and/or Entity/School Administrators stemmed from Participant’s interaction and progression. MES will conduct assessments with timely feedback either orally or in writing. The MESAC has successfully operated within Uncommon Excellence Boys since 2021. In which, MESSAC has led to the Uncommon Excellence Varsity Football Team winning the 2023 Uncommon School League Championship and the Junior Varsity Team making the 2023 League Playoffs. All accomplished with scholars who were either on High Honor Roll or Honor Roll Academic Status, energy and focus they built through MESSAC participation. Additionally, two of those 2023 Scholars earned full scholarships to high-quality secondary academic institutions in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Read more>>