There’s a concept of the Matthew Effect which uses math to illustrate what folks have lamented about for thousands of years – the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Take tech for example – the rich and poor often have different problems, but because it’s more profitable to solve problems for the wealthy a disproportionate share of tech innovation focuses on solving problems for the affluent. However, it doesn’t have to be this way – and we have been blown away by the thousands of members of our community who have devoted their lives through their businesses, organizations and art to serve the underserved.

Joylynn Ross

I am an African American woman with over two decades of creative and managerial experience in the literary industry. From day one, I have watched Black writers – underrepresented begging for diversity and inclusion – being controlled by the gatekeepers. I have also observed the same financial investments (publishing advances or marketing and promotions efforts) that Black writers receive, compared to those incentives available to their white counterparts. Read more>>

Tamra Ryan

C was born an addict. Her mom got her hooked on heroin in utero. She spent the first eight years of her life on methadone, a non-addictive treatment for heroin, only to get hooked again at ten when her uncle shot her up as his first step toward abusing her. She never told because she wanted to protect her siblings and her cousins. Into her late 20’s C was an addict until finally being arrested and sent to prison for possession with intent to distribute. She was living in a halfway house when she became one of my co-workers at Women’s Bean Project. Read more>>

Jessica Fierro

Atrevida Beer Company is an independent craft beer brewery where a Latina is owner/head brewer and operates a woman forward business. Our company motto, tagline and culture is “Diversity, it’s on tap!” We challenge the standard definition of craft beer by changing the narrative one pint at a time. We are in an industry that is white male dominated. I strive to give women, bipoc people and the LGBTQ+ community the opportunities that I was not given but wanted in my journey as a brewer. In this industry people of color or the the BIPOC community account for about 2% of the craft bee industry. Additionally, women account for just slightly over 1% of the industry.

Kadijatu Grace Ahene-Kamara

I started a vision and mission to serve the underserved and organization call psychology of Winning where I saw that there’s a need for mindset change in this day and age that we find ourselves and so I travel 2 to 3 times every year to serve my people my community and my country and in transforming one young mind at a time creating Generational leaders. Read more>>

Ryan Taylor

There’s been a trend over the past decade or so in barbering of sort of virtue signaling with our houseless friends. You’ll see a barber with 20k followers on instagram go out to a camp with a camera crew and set up and do some dramatic makeover on someone and do a flashy edit with sad music and blast it all over social media for their followers. Then the attention is all over the barber for how amazing they are for being selfless and serving. Which- service is absolutely a beautiful thing and necessary and amazing, we need to shift our attention off the back pats and more on community organization. Read more>>

Said Abiyow

The Somali Bantu Association of America (SBAOA) was founded in 2011 to serve Somali Bantu and other similarly underserved and disadvantaged refugees resettling in the United States. Our flagship program Women Entrepreneurs: Developing Refugee Economic Advancement through Microenterprise (WE DREAM) is rooted in the struggles my mother faced when we both arrived in the US after spending 15 years in Kenyan refugee camps. With no English language skills, and complete sense of alienation from the daily life in the US, my mother soon developed severe symptoms of PTSD, and depression. It is no surprise that we were completely overwhelmed with the thoughts of us attempting to find employment or education that would cross the language and cultural barriers. Read more>>

Roosevelt Williams III

“Roosevelt Williams, III, founder, family man, and visionary formed Young Black & N’ Business with the hopes of providing a ladder for upward mobility for his community. This ladder would do more than help people leave the “physical” hood, but release the mental shackles formed by systematic marginalization. Today, Young Black & N’ Business is proud to bring early entrepreneurs out of the darkness and into the light by helping them grow their professional network, providing high value exposure opportunities, and entrepreneurial content from real entrepreneurs. Read more>>

Audrey Sayles Staci Beauford

Living in eastern Colorado is a beautiful thing. Amazing people, the small town life, people helping people. But life here comes also with making sacrifices and learning to do without, esp when it comes to luxuries as art. In our region, we are serving not only the underserved and also the underrepresented. Folks living here are hard working and involved in everything. Unlike our neighbors in more urban settings, we do not have the boards or the financing to bring large scale parks,recreation, let alone art. Art takes a back seat to things like keeping our grocery or feeds stores alive. Read more>>

Bill Ellison

Coming from homeless at 8-9 years old and living on welfare my entire childhood on welfare, today we build affordable housing that serves those exact people who deserve home ownership. Read more>>

Dr. Terri Grant

In caring for the underserved, I work in communities where many residents are below the poverty level, have a significant amount of chronic health problems and medical disabilities, addictions, homeliness and reside in geographic isolated areas, and don’t have access to clean water or food to make a basic meal. It’s important to reach out to these communities because it gives you an opportunity to learn about an entirely different subgroup of the population. The needs are great, but by assisting underserved communities, you encounter new areas of need and new methods to deliver services. It definitely gives you a new perspective on life. Read more>>

Laura Pahules

Control Alt Delete was founded 9/2/2019 to bridge a gap in services by providing one time assistance to people as they escape domestic abuse. Arizona has fantastic shelter services once Survivors have escaped but there wasn’t anyone to actually help them flee. We assess each escape to identify the barrier that is keeping Survivors in unsafe and abusive situations then systemically remove those barriers. A Survivor may have support in another city or state but no ability to get there, over 98% of the Control Alt Delete escapes have been financially abused. We help with transportation needs so they can get to their support system. Read more>>

Daniel Wheat

One of the core values of human nature is to look out for their neighbor. I whole heartedly believe in this! If it weren’t for many individuals looking out for me I wouldn’t have the success that I do. I will l continue to give back as much as possible! Read more>>

Elizabeth Washburn

In 2007, I began volunteering for the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD). I had read yet another story about Marine casualties in Iraq and felt the need to try and do my part, in some way. As an artist, I knew what I could offer was making and teaching art, so I called ASYMCA asking if they wanted some free art classes for their wounded warriors, which they, in fact, did. A couple weeks later, I was in front of a group of Marines teaching them how to paint a mural, which turned into a weekly art class. Today, weekly classes for veterans continue, as well as for underserved teens who find themselves inside the juvenile justice system. Read more>>

Thomas Smith

Serving the underserved is something that I believe should be top of mind for every American, particularly those who have sufficient financial means and access to the basic life essentials of food, shelter, and clothing. As a country blessed with so many resources and so much to be thankful for, it should be instilled in all of us to help serve those fellow citizens less fortunate and in need. Just imagine what a different place our country would be if we significantly reduced the staggering number of fellow citizens who are homeless, hungry, and/or unemployed. Read more>>

Gustavo Gus” Barajas

“Helping Every Member at Every Opportunity” is my Vision for Adelante. I am the Originator and Co-Founder of Adelante con DISH. I have 20+ years as a results-driven nonprofit volunteer leader developing innovative programs that serve Hispanic students and professionals with professional and career challenges. I will leverage my National Board Leadership experiences from the Society of Hispanic Prof. Engineers, Society of Hispanic MBAs, De Colores – Phoenix AZ Women’s Domestic Violence Center, and the Purdue Latino Alumni Organization to continue designing and implementing Programs and Services with fellow Adelante Leaders to achieve our Mission. Read more>>

Caleb Blassingame

I offer help to young entrepreneurs that grew up in broken families who are eager to change their situation. As an individual who grew up in a broken household, I have firsthand experience of the many effects and disadvantageous teens face as they grow up in broken homes. Broken families earn less and experience lower levels of educational achievement. Worse, they pass the prospect of meager incomes and family instability on to their children, ensuring a continuing if not expanding cycle of economic distress. I was forced to grow up at a young age to survive. Read more>>