Friendship is a beautiful thing that can enrich our lives in profound ways, but it’s especially magical when you find that friend who you not only share dreams with, but both of you push each other to make it happen. In this case, we have friends Sarah & Francine, and the dream is helping support Philadelphia’s homeless population. Today, you’ll get to hear all about their friendship, and the amazing things that have been born from it.

Braden Baker has worn hearing aids since he was 3 months old. Each device costs over $3,000 and isn’t covered by insurance, so when the family dog chewed one up, Braden’s mother Ashley wanted to use the moment to help him understand that while their family was lucky enough to be able to afford a replacement, many other families couldn’t. Braden had never thought about this before and thought it was unfair that other kids couldn’t afford to hear, so he decided to do something to help.

Rebel Ventures is a collective of high school students from the Philadelphia area who are making a huge impact in their city. What started out as an effort to bring affordable, healthy food options to Philly-area students has turned into a truly unique and inspiring community of young people who are entrepreneurial, extremely creative, and deeply dedicated to improving student’s lives, one meal at a time.

10 years ago, Philip Pavone was diagnosed with cancer. After a grueling battle, he recovered, but he came away from the experience with a newfound respect for those who are going through medical crises. Not long after, Philip began collecting unwanted motorized wheelchairs, refurbishing them, and giving them away to those who cannot afford them. His generosity has changed the lives of hundreds of families in Connecticut, and his advocacy has brought attention to an incredibly important and unseen issue. 

Thirty years ago, Letitia Conliffe was living on the streets with her 1-year-old daughter, Chasity. Eventually, she got back on her feet and recovered, but the problems in her community did not. Drugs, broken homes, and hopelessness plagued her town and the children in it. Letitia knew from experience where that path could lead, and she didn’t want that fate for anyone else. So she dedicated her life to saving the children of Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Eric Jordan is a high school teacher in Brownsville, which is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier in life, Eric had the chance to live abroad and it left a profound impact on him. He noticed that a lot of his students didn’t have access to the same kinds of opportunities, so he set out to find a way to bring the dream of travel a little bit closer for them. 

When Seth Owen was forced to come out to his family in high school, his parents immediately sent him to a conversion therapist. When that did not provide the results they wanted, they gave him an ultimatum: continue to attend their church which had outwardly attacked him for his sexual orientation, or move out. For his safety, Seth chose the latter... but he was only 18-years-old at the time. Seth's teacher stepped in to help and the resulting story is one of incredible community support that has now turned into a movement. 

Fred Guttenberg tragically lost his 14-year-old daughter Jaime on February 14th, 2018, in the horrific shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since the terrible events of that day, Fred has become a full-time activist, fighting for public safety and common sense gun laws. 

Paul Crowell has loved dogs ever since he was a kid. He’s now a grown man and has taken his passion for our four-legged friends to a new level and has helped feed thousands of homeless dogs in the San Francisco area.

Oscar Wang has spent most of his career in the public education space and was troubled by the statistics surrounding the college dropout rate and the associated debt. He also noticed a trend in Philadelphia’s food economy - the food scene itself continued to grow, but the turnover rate at restaurants continued to increase. Eventually, he came up with a brilliant idea for how to solve both problems at once - and Hospitality Together was born.