Brittany’s Baskets of Hope is a nonprofit organization that makes and delivers baskets to celebrate the arrival of babies with Down syndrome. Since delivering their first basket in October 2016, they have now sent over hundreds of baskets to families in all 50 states.

Today we’re catching up with two wonderful returning guests, Mike and Jenny Shaw of Team Jenny Bean. Jenny Shaw was only 6 years old when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. Despite going through such a scary experience at such a young age, she kept her spirits up the whole time, and helped her family do the same. Fast forward to today, Jenny is cancer free, and has turned her experience into a way to help other kids going through the same thing.

Brooke and Breanna Bennett always wanted to make a positive impact in their community, but weren’t exactly sure where to start. When they heard about young students in their mother’s class at school who couldn’t afford menstrual hygiene products, they came up with an idea for how to help—and it turned into something that grew bigger than they ever imagined.

Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens are the powerful duo behind “The Conscious Kid”, an education, research, and policy organization dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in children. In addition to their incredible advocacy work and their amazingly popular Instagram account, they have recently harnessed their community to help provide rent relief for families struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.

Christopher Vane has always had a deep connection with animals. In 2017, he moved to Southwest Florida to be closer to his parents, and at the same time left his career in real estate because he no longer had passion for the work. He was thinking about what to do next, when a new dream came to him, suddenly clear: Chris wanted to open an animal sanctuary to give a safe and happy home to animals living in less than ideal conditions. With conviction and a clear vision, Christopher got to work, and a few years later, the Little Bear Sanctuary was born.

To her local community, Marcella Thompson is a living angel. Marcella saw that many local families were struggling to make ends meet and felt compelled to help. And so, for the past 4 years she has been helping to feed and clothe the children in her neighborhood. The impact she has had in these kids’ and families lives is profound, and has grown to encompass so much more than providing meals.

Minneapolis-area parents Ron and Shani Johnson have always taught their two young daughters to love other people and to give back. After the death of George Floyd, Ron was feeling lost. Following in her parent’s footsteps, Kamryn, Ron & Shani's oldest daughter, came up with an idea for how to help their community when it needed it most — and the results surprised everyone.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted millions of families across the United States. People are facing job loss, depleted savings, food insecurity, and so much more. Minda Brusse and Alex Iskold wanted to figure out a way to make an impact for these families, and came up with a truly innovative idea that has taken on a life of its own.

Karida Collins is a small business owner based in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to her passion for hand-dyed yarns and fibers, which she sells at her store Neighborhood Fiber Co., she is also deeply passionate about her local community. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests that erupted around the country, Karida had an idea for how to get her community involved in a big way — and the results are truly astonishing.

Ever since Ellie Laks was a young girl, she felt a deep connection with animals. Their gentleness and unconditional love has always touched her, and even helped her get through some dark times in her life. Fast-forward to 1999, Ellie was on an errand and happened to drive past a petting zoo that was keeping the animals in terrible conditions. Outraged, she set out to rescue as many of the animals as she could and give them a new home — and what happened next surprised even Ellie.