Listen Now

Jelly Robinson is a hairstylist with a special gift for helping children feel safe and confident while getting their hair cut. With her mobile salon, Peace & Love Studios, Jelly is on a mission to make sure children with autism have access to sensory-friendly haircuts.

Inspired by their mothers' efforts to feed their local San Jose community, Ayaan and Josh are making a difference for those experiencing homelessness with simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches—and they're inspiring other young people to get involved, too.

For the past three years, Hassan Abdus-Sabur has concluded a multi-hundred mile scholarship fundraising bike ride by riding onto the Howard University campus, exhausted and proud. In these moments when Hassan is surrounded by congratulations and applause, he can’t help but flash back to his own time at the prestigious school over 30 years ago, cut unexpectedly short by lack of funds. Not finishing school is Hassan’s only regret in life. The bike ride started when the niece of Hassan's former Howard classmate also got accepted there, and her family became concerned about the high tuition cost. Propelled by his own past experience, Hassan figured out a way to help, and the resulting impact was far bigger than he ever expected.

After Annel Alvarez had her son Adrian, she was going through a pretty dark time in her life, feeling a sense of losing her identity. She knew she needed to do something to pull her out of it, but also knew she couldn’t do it alone—so she called up an old friend with an idea: “let’s start a dance troupe!” A pretty simple idea on its face, but what turned out to have so much power to build community, celebrate Hispanic culture, and provide space for healing. 

When Shanice Fleming left her career as a chef in New York City to start her own business as a farmer, her path seemed straight and clear. But with the help of mentors, community, and a beautiful epiphany, Shanice found something more—the desire to promote Black representation in the cut flower industry through her business, Queenz Cut Flower Farm. 

The Watson family is committed to feeding their neighbors in their small town of Frazeysburg, Ohio. What started as a community food pantry has grown into an ice cream truck that delivers free hot meals—and of course, ice cream.

Photographer Jeff Rease is dedicated to honoring the stories of WWII veterans through portraiture. What started with one photograph in Alabama has grown into an international project featuring more than 290 veterans, and he has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

When a high school all-girls robotics team from Huntsville, Alabama landed a seat at the Tech Challenge World Championships, they weren’t sure they would be able to afford to compete. Lucky for them, their local community came to the rescue. Their presence at the competition made history, and they continue to inspire other young women & girls in their community by showing there is a seat at the table for them in the world of robotics & STEM fields as a whole. 

When a chance encounter on the internet brought together Anne, a Black female professional fiddle player, and Amanda, the only Black female violin maker in the United States, the serendipity wasn't lost on them. They immediately knew that with the help of their community, they could make history—and inspire others to live out their dreams.

As a non-binary content creator, Laurenzo knows first-hand the struggles that LGBTQ+ youth face and how important it is to have a place where everyone can feel like they belong. That’s why they started the Laurenzo Community, a space for LGBTQ+ people to find and connect with each other online. Laurenzo starts a new GoFundMe each month to cover the membership fee for applicants who can’t afford to join the Laurenzo Community—but this Pride Month, Laurenzo is doing something even bigger. 

When Joseph Gutierrez moved to Nashville in 2017, he started to ask himself some honest questions about his new city. He wasn’t sure what the city meant to him, and vice versa. To explore these questions further, he started to have conversations with other local folks from the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and realized there was an existing lack of awareness and understanding about their cultures and identities. In response to the rising anti-AAPI hate crimes following the pandemic, Joseph and his community felt compelled to do something to help—and they believed the power of stories had the opportunity to make a big difference.

While in a refugee camp as a child, Chef Alex Hanesakda watched his father cook meals for friends, family, and even strangers. It was in those moments when he learned how food could break down barriers and bring communities together. Now, years later, Alex has started his own restaurant that honors the refugee experience, gives back to the community—and most importantly, brings people together.

In communities that lack access to fresh food, healthy eating options are limited. To Chloe Moore, the solution runs just as deep as the roots of the problem. She works at Southside Community Farm, a small urban food space that provides access to fresh produce to those living in Asheville’s historically Black Southside neighborhood. And with plans to create more services that bring healthy food access to more people, Chloe also aims to change the narrative around agriculture in Black communities.

Taylor McCowan always knew that confidence is key, but one day while she was volunteering in her community, that phrase took on a new meaning. Taylor identified a surprising need in her local unhoused community—a lack of access to menstrual products, something that affects millions of people worldwide. In response, she decided to start a community service project in hopes of giving people much more than just confidence.

Not many kids get exactly what they want for their birthday for ten years in a row. But since Kai Martin was five years old, that’s exactly what’s happened. However, he never asks for what a typical kid his age might ask for; all he wants for his birthday, year after year, is for people to donate to a cause that has had a significant impact his family.

US Navy Veteran Kenny Jary – or “Patriotic Kenny” as he’s come to be called in his community – knows what it’s like to rely on a mobility scooter for even the most simple of freedoms. So when his own scooter broke down, his friend Amanda Kline started a GoFundMe to help raise funds for a new one. After receiving more help than they expected, Kenny realized he wanted to pay it forward. Using Kenny’s sizable TikTok following, the two set out to help other veterans and were blown away by what happened next.

Latanya DeVaughn believes that every neighborhood deserves a bookstore—even if it's just for one day. 

When John Barry and Alison Brown unexpectedly lost their 22-year-old son Ian in a tragic accident, their hearts were shattered. They knew how much he meant to them, but only when over 600 people showed up to his memorial did they begin to realize what a profound impact their quiet, caring son made on the community as a whole. As a way to process their grief, they decided to give back to the community by spreading the love of Ian’s favorite outdoor activities and spreading Ian’s legacy of kindness and compassion.

Claudia Wheeler is a full-time mother, as well as an elementary school teacher based in Jersey City, NJ. On top of all of her other responsibilities in life, Claudia also manages to drive across the entire city, 7 days a week, on food rescue missions to help provide sustenance to those experiencing food insecurity in her community. In total, she has rescued and delivered over 130,000 pounds of fruit, vegetables, grains to families and organizations in need.

After he was kicked out of his family home at 15 for being gay, Kemar Jewel found his chosen family through the underground Philadelphia dance scene. There, he leaned into his passion for movement and truly understood how Black queer men can help each other heal from trauma. Now a choreographer and director, Kemar is blending art and activism to spread hope, love, and healing—all while uplifting Black LGBTQ voices.