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.

Raylin Taylor

We specialize in working with the black owned business and set out to defeat the negative stereotypes that may blind their true character. 90Centre wants to level the playing field for all professionals when it comes to being expressive and sharing their story. Read more>>

Mark Overstreet

Hispanic Americans face a number of challenges when it comes to health care and medical procedures. Hispanic adults are less likely than other Americans to have health insurance. The reason is language and cultural barriers and higher levels of poverty . Hispanic immigrants are among the social and economic dynamics that contribute to desperate health outcomes for Hispanic Americans. Read more>>

Isaac Rendon

There was a documentary I had the opportunity on working on at the start of my career. A friend reached out to me about if I wanted to be apart of a project that deals with mental health specifically for men in the African American community and without a doubt I said yes. Something like this that has purpose and that brings awareness to people in your local /global communities is something that needed to be made and seen. It brought me joy seeing the faces of those that felt compelled to do something about this and educate myself and those around to better there neighborhoods with a conversation for caring another human being. Read more>>

Siddiqu Muhammad

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children” (Hosea 4:6) The obesity rates are highest amongst black people, so my team does health presentations on proper diet and exercise. We also do free workout classes for the public. We have done a classes as big as 2,000+ people at one time. The goal is to show people how fun exercise can be and also give information on what foods to remove from your diet. Read more>>

Jennifer Charles, PhD

At Building Block Resolutions, we don’t just serve a community; we advocate for a cause that is often overshadowed by numerous societal challenges – supporting autistic children and their families, especially those who are economically disadvantaged. Let me share a story (with names changed) that underscores the essence of our mission and the impact we strive to create every day. Meet Maria, a single mother of two, with her youngest, Alex, being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Living in a low-income neighborhood, Maria worked tirelessly to provide for her children, but specialized therapeutic services for Alex were financially out of reach. The available public services were stretched thin, and private therapies were financially burdensome. Read more>>

Justine and Todd Green

Over three million children or 4.3% of the population under the age of 18 has a disability, yet those with disabilities don’t reach the self-acceptance stage with their identity until their mid- to late-twenties. That’s just not fair. There is a clear need out there to educate children from a young age that our imperfections make us perfect and that we should celebrate our differences. That’s why I wrote the “Completely Me” series, because it’s something I needed growing up. Read more>>

Ishaan Patel

My nonprofit, Under My Umbrella serves the underserved community through our 4 programs. Our Neighbor Outreach program distributes hot meals, water, hygiene products, and basic essentials each week to our unsheltered neighbors. Our Rainy Day Program is where we fill in small but urgent needs in our community. Our UMU Youth Academy is our youth outreach program where we bring sports, the arts, and music to youth who may not have access to those activities. Our Holiday Outreach is our longest running program that I started in 2015 where we share the holiday spirit by providing mini trees and mini menorahs to families and seniors. Read more>>

Deniesha Johnson

Yes, my business serves an underserved community… the BIPOC community specifically African American community. I have sometimes created cards for other ethnicities and the LGBTQA+ community. My reason is from 2017 through 2020, I would attempt to shop greeting cards for my family and friends, but they didn’t quite represent “us” or say the message I wanted to say to the recipient. In most cases, the only cards available to shop were the same card designs that were available every year with little to no new designs. Read more>>

Chase Fleming

As I embarked on the journey of building my freelance photography business, a crucial goal for me was to maintain a commitment to serving the underserved even as my professional focus evolved. During my research into volunteer opportunities for photographers, one opportunity stood out – the chance to assist in connecting children available for adoption with loving families in Central Texas. Read more>>

Kylie Sweet

Recently I had set up my jumping castle at a large church event for hundreds of kids to play on. When the event was over I started ushering all of the kids out and was going to start tearing everything down, and a mom walked up to me and asked if I minded allowing her autistic son to jump a couple times now that the other kids were out. The mom started to tell me about how her son has a hard time socially and how he gets very easily overloaded in large groups so he often misses out on these types of things at events. Read more>>

Jasmine Ellis

Throughout an 11-year career, Major League Baseball player Dock Ellis became an all-star and world champion. After his retirement in 1978, he embraced a life of sobriety. He advocated for the rights of fellow players and African Americans, helped others in their recovery journey, and worked to rehabilitate incarcerated minorities in Pennsylvania. Dock and his colleagues also launched the Black Athletes Foundation for Sickle Cell Research. Read more>>