Our stories are often hard to understand until folks understand our true motivations, our true drivers and the stories behind why our mission or purpose truly matters to us. We’ve asked some inspiring folks from the community to talk to us about why they do what they do and have shared some of our favorite responses below.

Leanne Hymes

My mission is to provide families with meaningful images that showcase their unique story, with an emphasis on the relationship between a mother and her children. Motherhood surprised me in many ways, both in how joyful it is and how hard it is. I want to give mothers photographs that let them feel the beauty in all of the hard work they pour into their families. Read more>>

Khalilah Douglas

Wine 210, a minority woman-owned bar in San Antonio, Texas, is on a mission that deeply resonates with our journey and purpose. Our mission, which is close to our hearts, is driven by our passion for creating meaningful experiences and connecting with our community through the world of wine. Read more>>

Karen GONZALEZ

The mission of both Helping Hands and Nurturing Lives is deeply personal and rooted in a profound life-changing experience. For Helping Hands, it all began with a harrowing journey through domestic violence, where my life and the life of my child were in grave danger. I had to make the heart-wrenching decision to escape, seeking refuge in a shelter. However, this experience opened my eyes to the painful reality that many survivors of domestic violence face. The lack of compassion and genuine support for survivors and their children in these shelters deeply troubled me. Read more>>

Christina Percario

When I started to pursue photography, I never imagined it would grow into what it has become today. I thought “I will just have fun with it,” so I didn’t take much time to think about the business side of things like my brand or my mission. As I have been learning more and more throughout this year and growing into the photographer I am today, I have realized how important those aspects of my business truly are. I like to think that even without putting much conscious thought into my brand and mission, I have effortlessly conveyed them by building my business around being authentically myself. Read more>>

Katie Ervin

Catalyst Development is a leadership skill building company. I have spend too many years sitting in meetings hearing people talk about the skills gap and I felt there were not people doing it in a way that really teaches career and power skills. I created curriculum 17 years ago to address this and while I was doing it on a small scale, I thought 2021 was a perfect time to expand the work to people at all career levels. It is important for us to also make our work assessable to all so we created programming to be able to grant fund seats in our programs to support individuals who are unemployed and underemployed to gain skills to find meaningful employment. Read more>>

Whitney Alexander

Can’t Stop My Pretty LLC was born from one of the lowest points in my life. I am a survivor of domestic violence and my abuser tried his absolute WORST to ruin my life, my image, my repuation and my self view. I had to cut myself off from society for a while for my safety and in that time I was in a deep depression. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror at all. However, day by day I started to realize that the TRUE ESSENCE of ME didn’t come from social media, or my friends, family, job, sorority, church, or partner. Everything I needed to turn the page in my life was right inside of me. He tried to stop me but he COULD NEVER. With makeup on or off, nothing and no one can stop my pretty! It is my mantra and naming my company after it reminds me daily of the obstacles I have overcome. Read more>>

Cheri Redgrave

If you are what you eat, I was a cheese ball. For 60+ years I ate whatever I wanted. Then I was diagnosed with allergies to wheat, dairy, eggs, and peas. This put me into a tail-spin as I began reimagining all my favorite recipes. I was making progress, a mixture of successes and failures, until I wanted white gravy to go with my newly created biscuits. What a hot mess!!! My husband grabbed the almond milk container and announced that I was simply pouring water into my gravy. I didn’t want gravy that tasted like coconut or oatmeal, and so our adventure began. Read more>>

Dionne Monique

Dionne Monique a Nanny, an educator, a motivational speaker, an Author, Member Leader with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and a fierce advocate for domestic workers. Like I stated earlier, God always put it on my heart to create a children’s book. During the pandemic, we were all at home thinking about ways to make good use of the free time that we have. So I came across a ad on Facebook and it was a five day book challenge. I joined a challenge, and I got great insight on how to get started on writing my book. Read more>>

Josh Lamkin

I started Lamkin Guitars almost by accident. I had friends and classmates back in Boston who would regularly come to me to have work done on their instruments because the local guitar shops took forever to do work, and they charged a small fortune. Lamkin Guitars became the local budget friendly option for local musicians. As I transitioned into building custom Guitars and Basses, I wanted to keep the same philosophy of crafting instruments made to be played by working musicians; Most importantly within a budget that makes it accessible to the everyday musician. Read more>>

Stefanie Corbin

My business is a Black, woman-owned bookstore, amplifying books and authors that are Black, Indigenous, and people of color for adults, teens and children. We are the only Black-owned bookstore on the south coast of Massachusetts and one of 4 Black-owned bookstores in the state. My bookstore is specifically designed to showcase books that represent the Black, Indigenous, and POC community, as well as, encompass a space for inclusivity and diversity. My bookstore highlights all aspects of BIPOC stories, such as, science fiction, romance, thrillers, poetry, cooking, art, and history. Read more>>

Jessie & Gary Menard

Our mission is helping those who are less fortunate. When i was growing up, the Salvation Army helped my family in times of need and around the holidays. My two little brothers and i would not have had some Thanksgivings or Christmases if it wasn’t for them. Now it’s our turn to “pay it forward” when ever we can. We are a very small mom & pop bicycle repair shop. We’ve been in the bicycle business for over 35 years. We truly are most proud of the fact that we are able to help others in so many ways. Whether it’s giving a bicycle to someone who needs it for transportation, giving away free tubes, free tires or other free bicycle items. We are also proud of the great customer service we give to everyone, treating them like we would like to be treated. Read more>>

Julia Nickell

In 2020, when the world was going through the Covid pandemic, it became very important to me to lessen the toxins in my home. I had been an avid candle buyer for years. Out of shear boredom, I started researching the ingredients used by my favorite candle companies. What I found appalled me. Harsh toxins and chemicals were found in almost all of them. Not only were they generally unsafe to breathe in, but some also caused birth deformities, infertility and cancer. Read more>>

Krista Jenkins

I began crocheting about ten years ago to support my mental health. I’ve always been very driven by productivity and achievement. After graduating college, my evenings were no longer consumed by homework or sports. Instead of feeling liberated by the new free-time, I felt lost. I didn’t know who I was if I wasn’t producing or achieving. I’d come home from a full day of work, and my body needed rest but my anxiety prevented me from taking it. I started crocheting so I could do something with my hands and feel “productive” while resting in the evenings. Read more>>

Shela Adams

Our mission from the start has been to bring eco-friendly skincare & home products to our customers without the use of fragrance oils or unnatural, chemical-based ingredients. We strive to be a source of handmade goods that brings customers back to using simple, natural & effective products. When our small business was still just a hobby, it was founded on the same principles. We were determined to bring natural products to our friends and family without using wasteful, plastic containers. Read more>>

Daniela Peel

Born and raised in Europe as an Army Brat, I cherish the early years of my life. They were filled with the warmth of family, shared with my younger brother and parents, who celebrated 35 years of marriage. In 2004, I took my own steps down the aisle, full of dreams and aspirations. In 2008, I welcomed my incredible son into the world. But life had unexpected twists in store for me. Read more>>