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

Alright, Lawrence thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I used my upbringing and obstacles to form what is known now as Bullard Academy Inc. Growing up in Landover, Md (Washington Heights Apartments), a single parent household in an area surrounded by drugs, crime and liquor stores on every block will make you rethink a lot. So my mind set in building our nonprofit was just to be an active member in the community and assist our youth in creating a safe outlet for them to be kids. Be there for them as a male figure and extend my genuine love and support.

Lawrence , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The hardest part of building the dream was putting together a Team that has the same vision and ambition as yourself. I feel as though I’ve lived the life and withstood the lessons to be able to relay the message and give them truth about life. I’m so proud of the progress we are making and the positive feedback we’ve been getting from our parents and community partners. We’ve been able to partner with a few schools and provide a safe haven for them to have fun a let loose. We play basketball, provide snacks, play board games, design vision boards and just poor true love and attention to our mentees. It’s been a blast … they give me so much joy.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My cofounder, my President of Bullard Academy my wife of twenty years. Mrs. Latarsha Bullard has been by my side through the good and the ugly. Through the pain and the joy, but one thing we’ve always had in common is our love for the community and our children. I’ve been in the community volunteering for the last 10 years and Mrs. Bullard has been right by my side. Without her sacrifices we wouldn’t be in the position we are in today.

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

We are a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization. So we rely heavily on our community for donations and participation. We’ve been able to get great participation from our Team members and community partners. Without their help and support we couldn’t of reached as many families as we’ve had thus far.

Contact Info:

• Website: bullardacademyinc.org
• Instagram: bullard_academyinc_
• Facebook: Bullard Academy Inc.

Image Credits
Latarsha Bullard