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.
Charlotte Garnes
In Southeast Georgia, Charlotte Garnes spearheads ReNforce, a nonprofit that supports justice-impacted individuals in reintegrating into society and the workforce. Read more>>
Holli Wright
I have always had a passion to help others. From my many years as an elementary teacher, to being a counselor for incarcerated women and troubled teen girls; supporting others is a huge part of who I am. Read more>>
Shauna Hinchen-Joyal
Both of my parents loved community and bringing people together for small and large gatherings. My mother could make anyone feel special and celebrated. Read more>>
Mary & Chris Ginder
In the early days, while conceptualizing our company, a friend and fellow business owner gave us the advice to start with a mission statement. Read more>>
Francesca Borgo
It’s fun for me to think that, being an artist, my main need was originally pretty egoistical. I love to paint – from ideation to the physical act of painting – because that takes me to places of the mind where I feel comfortable, Read more>>
Romeo Pough
My mission started when I was young winning writing competitions and creating stories about imaginary characters that I use to draw Read more>>
Miranda Embry
This company was started for one reason only: …because music is life… Our mission is to help grow the independent music scene… We do this by working with musicians on their road to success through booking them shows, putting on concerts, promoting bands; Read more>>
Whoman Ryder
Our journey toward a mission-driven company began in childhood, fueled by a desire to alleviate suffering born from my multicultural upbringing. Read more>>
Sara ONeil
My mission became very clear over the past few years–I talk to people about relationships and boundaries and inspire them to honor themselves. Read more>>
Joscynthia Mason
My mission is deeply rooted in my decades-long dedication to enhancing beauty, empowering others, and fostering excellence in the beauty profession. Read more>>
Jamie Evans
One of my earliest childhood memories was helping my grandparents prepare for their gourmet club. Every year, I looked forward to visiting to help with the elegant dinners they would organize for a group of their culinary-loving friends. Read more>>
Claire Pinckney
Having worked in fashion for many years, and whilst I have always loved it, it began to feel like it had no soul. Year after year, we cranked out more and more designs, with no consideration of the impact it was having on the planet and it sort of lost its luster and meaning to me. Read more>>
Cyntiria Lockley
As a wife, mother and entrepreneur, I understand the challenges that life throws at us. It was my own journey of overcoming generational curses and embarking on a path of self-healing and self-discovery that led me to where I am today. Read more>>
Shelby Eloria
Our core focus is to guide people to own their presence. I started this business because I saw, and experienced, the power that clothing has – both when we wear something we love and when we wear something that does not feel like us. Read more>>
Marvina Haynes
I have experienced first-hand how families are affected when their loved ones are wrongfully incarcerated, my goal is to uplift and empower other families to become a voice for their loved ones that are wrongfully incarcerated. Read more>>
Don Tenniswood
I create to bring joy into my life and the lives of others. Read more>>
Lorraine Lindsey
My mission revolves around mindset. I firmly believe that the ability to shift one’s perspective can catalyze profound change in one’s life. Read more>>
Ariana Bejar-Nasseri
Sports have always been apart of my life. Whether I was watching Lakers games with my dad or participating in everything from cheer to competitive swim to water polo to basketball, I loved every minute of it. Read more>>
Candide Jones
(By the way, the options on the first page–third question–don’t apply. I just put something because I had to.) Piedmont Animal Welfare Alliance (PAW Alliance) was formed to re-start the New Leash on Life (NLOL) prison dog-training program at Forsyth Correctional Center (FCC), Read more>>
Kadi Tsang
The fire that fuels my work burns with the desire to bridge divides and foster understanding. Our world is fractured along lines of age, culture, background, and belief. Read more>>
Sarah Tsistinas
My first step into the floral industry came with quite a shock regarding the amount of waste, non-sustainable materials, the miles of travel that flowers take to get to the store, and the amount of compostable material just thrown into trash bags and landfills. Read more>>
David Kitchen
As a former Division 1 Coach, I have had the opportunity to see leadership, culture, and high performance across multiple organizations at the highest level of college athletics and on the biggest stages. Read more>>
Bernadette Ojao
When I was growing up, menstruation was not just a monthly inconvenience; it was a significant barrier to my education. I vividly remember the days I had to miss school because I couldn’t afford sanitary pads. Read more>>
Tracy Luckow
In 2020, the world became an even more serious, stressful, divided place. As the world grew gray from fear, my sister and I were determined to be courageous. Read more>>
Gabriela Oltean
As a model for many years, and now a Photographer for the last seven years, I realize that I have a personal connection with my subjects given the fact that I am able to channel their position in front of the lens the way I’ve done it myself. Read more>>
LaTanya Steele
Although I have been a professional hair stylist for over 20yrs, I have always had a passion to help others and see them win at something they were passionate about. Read more>>
Siraaj Woods
SWC emerged as a response to a pressing need as more Black owned businesses were being founded during the pandemic, the need of powerful marketing strategies within the social media realm that harness the potential of digital platforms. Read more>>
Giovanni Pagano
Our Mission “At GP1 Media, our mission is to empower businesses through innovative digital marketing strategies tailored to their unique needs. Read more>>
David Homan
I came from the world of global philanthropy. Every day someone new had a brilliant idea–they’d do their own thing their own way, and ask everyone else to fund it–ignoring experts with deep experience, other charities doing related work, and then be surprised when their impact wasn’t solved, Read more>>
Angela LoMenzo
The motivation for writing my book, Wisdom of Wildly Creative Women, came from wanting to inspire women who have lost themselves in life’s challenges and given up on following their dreams—which was exactly what happened to me in my late forties. Read more>>
Ebony Hutchinson
The Community Reach is a nonprofit that was established to provide holistic community based programming and services to marginalized communities. I started the agency after Read more>>
Maggie Dozier
I work with Inspira Dance, a 501(c)3 non-profit started just a couple years ago by my friend Stephanie. The mission from the beginning has been to provide dance education programs in local Title I schools, Read more>>
Lex Williams
I’ve loved all things beauty and art related for as long as I can remember. I also learned pretty early on that I love to make other people happy. Read more>>
Joni Holifield
HeartSmiles was born from the pain of the Freddie Gray uprising. Because I grew up in West Baltimore, 21217, the same neighborhood where the riots kicked off, it was personal to me. Read more>>
Poulami Datta
My mission is to bring benchside discoveries to bedside Read more>>
Marla McKenna
As an author, my true passion is visiting schools with my children’s books and teaching the students about the publishing, writing, editing, and illustrating process while focusing on the power of patience, positivity, and perseverance. Read more>>
Tamara Lee
At age 26, I filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Prior to this moment happening, I had walked out to get in my car to go to work and it had been repossessed due to late payments. Read more>>
Renata Hill
Moodfuel endeavors to increase health equity and access to care for neighbors, especially those in under-resourced communities, who struggle in Colorado’s rocky terrain of mental health. Read more>>
Mike Hernandez
Its hard to really pin point where this mission actually started since it stems from my lifelong hobby of gaming. Growing up I played a wide variety of games which lead me to meeting many different genres of people. Read more>>
Dana Hayes
My name is Dana Hayes and I founded the nonprofit organization Junior Cosmetology in 2016. Our family has more than 40 years of experience in providing high-level cosmetology services in Port Allen and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Read more>>
Cheri Strange
My mission was birthed through daily opportunities to trust God to give me courage to do things this timid wallflower didn’t think she could, stretching further than a small-minded girl like myself is comfortable thinking or moving. Read more>>
Joelle Gordon
My Mission… I was working at a large investment bank in Calgary, Canada; and frankly I wasn’t a great investment banker, in part because I was happier teaching people about money and investments than selling the investments. Read more>>
Linda Negron
Our mission at Nobleer Media is deeply rooted in our belief that every individual and every business possesses unique expertise and insights that have the power to positively impact the world. Read more>>
Melanie Davis
I am the founder of Triumph Press, a publishing company for those who have important stories to share that can make a difference in the world. Read more>>