True Stories of Good People GoFundMe

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.