True Stories of Good People GoFundMe

When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the US, it shook New York City especially hard. At a time when so many New Yorkers felt hopeless, New York native and tech entrepreneur Ben Wei found the courage to act. Now, one year later, he’s on another mission to help others; this time, to unite the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the fight against hate, racism, and systemic injustice.

When Ashley Webb moved her family from Los Angeles to New Orleans in 2017, it was a huge culture shock. Not only was the city very different, but the neighborhood they moved into was considered a food desert, meaning there is no immediate access to fresh produce. Wanting to change this, Ashley and her husband started a community garden—and it blossomed into a much bigger project than they ever imagined.

Most people know will.i.am as the founding member of The Black Eyed Peas, one of the most popular hip hop groups of all time. Aside from music, however, Will actually has another passion: education. Since founding the “i.am.angel foundation” in 2009, Will has worked tirelessly to set up robotics programs in schools, get kids into STEAM fields, and help high school students get prepared for and accepted into college.

For formerly incarcerated individuals, safe, stable and affordable housing is the foundation of a smooth reentry into society. Unfortunately, it’s often the most difficult resource for them to obtain. Recognizing this need, one San Francisco Bay Area collective—run by and for formerly incarcerated Californians—is bringing housing and other necessary resources to people who have been similarly impacted by the criminal justice system.

When Katie Blomquist was in her mid-20s, she left her career in marketing and PR to pursue something more personally fulfilling: teaching. After landing a job at a school in Charleston, South Carolina, Katie quickly fell in love with her students. When she learned that most of them didn’t have access to simple childhood pleasures such as bicycles, she wanted to change that. What started out as a singular act of kindness has grown into a movement that is bringing joy to kids in Charleston and beyond.

Eleven-year-old Genevieve may be young, but she has big dreams. After going through the application process to foster a kitten, she was inspired to start her own nonprofit organization to improve the foster matching system in her local area. While Genevieve’s efforts are virtual-only for now due to COVID-19, she dreams of someday expanding to an in-person rescue center where she can house and care for animals of all shapes and sizes.