We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angelese Calderon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angelese, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

One of the most unforgettable moments in my journey happened one day when my children and I were out distributing food and homemade crosses to people living on the streets. The crosses were lovingly made by my kids, each one crafted to bring a little hope and encouragement to someone who might have felt forgotten.

As we handed out food and crosses, we met a woman who immediately broke down in tears. She told us she had been feeling completely alone, and that simple gesture—those small gifts of kindness—made her feel seen, loved, and not abandoned. It was such an emotional moment; we cried with her, and it reminded me why we do what we do.

Fast forward about a year later: I was working at a homeless day center, distributing essentials, when a woman approached me with a huge smile. It was her—the same woman from the street that day. She told me that our act of kindness had been a turning point for her. She got sober, rebuilt her life, and was now working at that very day center, helping others just like she had once been helped.

The emotions were overwhelming—joy, gratitude, pride, and awe all at once. It showed me that even the smallest acts of love can create ripples that change lives in ways we could never imagine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello! My name is Angelese Calderon, and I am the founder of Eagle Pathway, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving youth aging out of foster care, homeless individuals, and low-income families. I have spent over two decades working in community service, nonprofit leadership, and small business ownership — always with a heart for helping others create pathways to a better life.

My journey into this work came from a deeply personal place. As a mother — including to three children I adopted — I witnessed firsthand the struggles faced by young people without strong family support, especially those aging out of the foster system. I realized that many simply needed someone to believe in them, offer opportunity, and meet basic human needs like food, shelter, and dignity. That realization became the foundation for Eagle Pathway.

At Eagle Pathway, we provide a variety of services:

Emergency Food Support: Through mobile outreach and food distribution.

Life Skills Classes: Teaching youth critical skills for independence.

Housing Support: Connecting people to transitional and affordable housing options.

Community Outreach Projects: From distributing homemade crosses to our goals of building tiny homes for homeless families, our projects meet immediate and long-term needs.

The biggest problems we aim to solve are food insecurity, homelessness, emotional isolation, and lack of opportunity for marginalized groups. What sets us apart is our deeply personal approach — every program is built not just on good ideas, but on lived experience and genuine love for the people we serve. We believe in providing hope, dignity, and real-world support that helps people rise above their circumstances.

I am most proud of the tangible transformations we’ve witnessed — like people we once fed now leading programs themselves, or youth who aged out of foster care becoming self-sufficient adults because they were given a chance to succeed.

If there’s one thing I want potential supporters and partners to know, it’s this: Eagle Pathway is not just a nonprofit — it’s a movement of compassion. Every act of kindness, every donated meal, every class we teach becomes a stepping stone for someone’s future. We believe small actions create huge waves, and together, we can rebuild lives with love, dignity, and opportunity.

Thank you for getting to know us. We invite you to be part of this journey with us! 💙

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for us has always been community engagement and word-of-mouth referrals. When people experience the impact of Eagle Pathway firsthand — whether through receiving services, volunteering, or attending one of our outreach events — they naturally want to share it with others.

We’ve found that building genuine relationships within the community creates a ripple effect. Our clients, supporters, and volunteers often become our strongest advocates, telling others about the resources and hope they found through Eagle Pathway. Additionally, local partnerships with other nonprofits, businesses, and service organizations have helped introduce us to new individuals and families who need support.

At the heart of it, we believe trust, compassion, and consistently showing up for the community are what drive the steady growth of those we serve.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

When COVID hit, our entire program was almost shut down completely. Before the pandemic, we had an incredible community of support — sometimes as many as 200 volunteers would come out on weekends to help us run our thrift store, food pantry, and outreach programs. We were powered almost entirely by the heart and hard work of volunteers.

But when the pandemic struck, that number dropped dramatically. Some weekends, we were left with just 5 volunteers trying to keep everything afloat. It was a heartbreaking and exhausting time. For two years, we struggled to keep our programs open, holding onto every resource we could, working countless hours with a tiny team to keep serving the community.

Sadly, despite our efforts, we eventually had to close our thrift store, our food pantry, and several other key programs. It was devastating. We had spent two years before COVID collaborating with local nonprofits and the City of Phoenix to develop a tiny home project to house those in need. Just as we were gaining momentum, our funders decided not to move forward, and our builders went out of business during the economic downturn. It felt like the foundation we had built so carefully had crumbled overnight, and we were left starting again from scratch.

Despite all of that, we remained committed to our mission. We are so thankful that today Eagle Pathway is still up and running — even when so many of our friends in business and community work were not as fortunate. We are slowly rebuilding. Now, we are focused on opening a new food pantry, and with hope and determination, we are seeking funding once again to realize the dream of building tiny homes for those in need.

Our journey through COVID taught us resilience, patience, and the power of never giving up on a mission fueled by love and community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eaglepathway.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/eaglepathwayaz
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/eaglepathway
• Linkedin: eaglepathway
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/eaglepathway
• Youtube: utube.com/eaglepathway