There are few places in America where the gap between the rich and poor, and the privileged and the underserved, is as evident as it is in our inner cities. Raising a child in Harlem, Alize Beal’s parents understood early on the importance of instilling her with a commitment to community and the value giving back.

The lessons she learned at home followed her as a student in the classroom of Ron Clark and as a member of Upward Bound. After graduating from Howard, Beal decided to dedicate her career to serving her community.

“If my work isn’t positively impacting others than I can’t do it,” said Alize Beal, founder of We Give Too. “That’s something that I want the youth to consider as they are growing and maturing their passions and careers. No matter what field you’re in think about how your work is going to or is inspiring or helping someone else.”

To fulfill that promise, Beal founded We Give Too, a non-profit aimed at helping millennials of color find community service projects, volunteer opportunities and ways to make monetary donations to various local nonprofit organizations that support the causes they’re passionate about.

During her time as the associate director of outreach and recruitment for Big Brothers Big Sisters NYC, Beal found that BBBS and other non-profits have a need for mentors of color. Research shows that young people of color, particularly black boys and girls, experience significant barriers connecting to mentors who don’ t look like them.

We Give Too is creating a pathway to change that.

“I believe the need for diverse volunteers and dollars to support nonprofit organizations couldn’t be higher. We Give Too is building a bridge between millennials of color and the organizations that need their time and money,” said Beal.

We Give Too aggregates events and service opportunities in New York City, Washington D.C. and Atlanta and leverages social media reach more young people.

“A lot of people want to volunteer in their heart, but find it difficult to find the time or may not think they have the skills or money to do so,” said Beal. “My goal is to make the process as seamless as possible and to highlight those who have made a commitment to giving back.”

Learn more about We Give Too and community service opportunities on their website.

Upward Bound

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