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

Alright, Iyla thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

An Angel’s Advocate is a Nonprofit Organization whose mission is to serve the youth in our surroundings communities through advocacy, service and impact. As an educator I see first hand that some students are unable to come to school prepared, not because their parents don’t care, but because they simply don’t have the funds to purchase school supplies and pay bills that is if they even have a place to stay. In recent studies from Education in Atlanta “in Atlanta Public Schools, students identified as homeless make up 51% for elementary school, 19% for middle school, and 30% for high school.” It truly breaks my heart to see these statistics which is why it is imperative to make an impact when and where you can. On Monday July 31st 2023 An Angel’s Advocate hosted our 2nd Annual Back to School Supplies Giveaway at Saint Smyrna Baptist Church in my hometown Newnan Georgia. This event was a huge success and many left with fully loaded book bags and smiling faces!
As a product of being raised in a single parent household I understand it can be challenging during the holiday season to purchase gifts and make ends meet. It was an honor to spread holiday cheer and assist our first single parent family this past Christmas. I hope to make this annual as well and increase the number of families we can assist.

Iyla , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Iyla Wood the Founder and CEO of An Angel’s Advocate, a Nonprofit Organization located in Newnan Georgia serving the Metro Atlanta communities. I am currently a full time undergraduate student at Clark Atlanta University where I study Elementary Education as my major and African American studies as my minor. I always knew I had a passion to serve, but I didn’t exactly know that philanthropy was my purpose until March 2022. So almost two years ago in my freshman dorm (Pfieffer Hall) I had a vision about how I wanted to serve the youth. With God’s grace and guidance I was able to found my organization on May 15th, 2022 and start fundraising immediately after. With the support of my family, friends, and even strangers we were able to serve over 50 children in the first few months of being established. I am grateful to say we have now been able to serve over 150 children in the Metro Atlanta communities. I believe what makes An Angel’s Advocate different in the nonprofit industry is that its foundation came from a pure heart and personal experience. As the founder I strive to advocate and assist children and families in situations that I’ve personally experienced or have been exposed to through being an educator and volunteer. I am most proud of the opportunity to work with the Newnan High School Basketball Cheer Team during our 2nd Annual Back to School Supplies Giveaway. I cheered on this team just 3 years ago so it meant a lot to be able to educate this amazing group of young women on the importance of culture for service. They have already agreed to help out again this year! I pray they continue kind acts of service.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

In May of 2022 I began fundraising with an AirPod Pro raffle. It was an amazing idea, but unfortunately it didn’t receive the support I imagined. At the time I worked at Texas Roadhouse and for the month of July I saved half of my checks to fund our first Annual Back to School Supplies Giveaway. Now that I am a bit more experienced in fundraising I was able to use more efficient fundraisers such as a bake sale through my sister’s bakery Alicia’s Sugar House, Krispy Kreme Digital Donuts, and Double Good popcorn.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I always have to thank God for allowing me the privilege of having such an amazing village and also meeting great people along my journey. If it wasn’t for these individuals in my corner supporting my dreams I don’t think we would have that much of a social media presence. I deeply appreciate every like, share, and comment our pages receive. This is how we inform our supporters about fundraiser and upcoming events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/iylawood?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=e812676a-b326-4103-995f-70a747d1f624
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/an.angels.advocate?igsh=MTM2dnpnN2FlaTNxNA==
• Facebook: 📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/KVc5L8bt9xSjDYJT/?
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iyla-wood-813301246?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: https://x.com/iylatamar?s=21&t=ocJ-HE-NQFyGwKLqibVpew

Image Credits
Headshot taken by Cameron Smith.