I dream of opening a nonprofit that aids those in the homeless community. As of January 2020, just over 580,000 people experienced homelessness in the United States. There is a community looking for help, and I can help them. This is why I chose to pursue a business degree. When one lives on the streets, they lack access to shower facilities, health care and are exposed to the elements of nature. Due to this lack and exposure, hygiene is a barrier to homeless people. People need products like a toothbrush, deodorants, feminine hygiene products, and undergarments to take care of themselves traditionally. When they are unable to do so, they are stripped of their confidence and humanity. Their chances for infection increase dramatically, it turns others away from lending a hand and can skew the view of potential employers. Everyone deserves an opportunity to better themselves and be confident in their appearance and feelings. While many shelters throughout the country attempt to offer hygienic resources, many are in constant need of those items. In fact, some of the most needed items are hygiene products and socks. These items need to be new, and many people, while saying the problem of homelessness needs to be solved, don't buy these items to donate. There is a lack of hygiene products in shelters and a need for them in the homeless community. I plan to start this organization in my community of Tulsa, Oklahoma, hoping to expand it to other cities in need. I want to provide the homeless community with access to hygiene products. By raising awareness of the issue and gaining monetary support from donors, I can provide those in the homeless community with essential hygiene products like dental care, deodorant, feminine products, socks, and soaps. I can help restore their confidence and empower them to believe in a better life. Doing so will make them feel more capable of going into the world to better themselves. The first step in starting this organization is obtaining a B.S. in Marketing and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. It will teach me all aspects of running a business and emphasize how to lead a nonprofit organization. I am currently in school and volunteering at a local homeless shelter. This gives me hands-on experience with the community I want to help and an inside look at how a nonprofit can help the community. Along with volunteering and working on my degree, I am connecting with fellow students and faculty. I hope to use these relationships to form a board for my organization and support the beginning of our work. I want to lead people to make a difference in the world, and it starts in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

My dream is to open a nonprofit that aids those in the homeless community. As of January 2020, just over 580,000 people experienced homelessness in the United States. There is a community looking for help, and I can help them. This is why I chose to pursue a business degree. When one lives on the streets, they lack access to shower facilities, health care, and are exposed to the elements of nature. Due to this lack and exposure, hygiene is a barrier to homeless people. People need products like a toothbrush, deodorants, feminine hygiene products, and undergarments to take care of themselves in the traditional way. When they are unable to do so, they are stripped of their confidence and humanity. Their chances for infection increase dramatically, it turns others away from lending a hand, and can skew the view of potential employers. Everyone deserves an opportunity to better themselves and be confident in how they look and feel. While there are many shelters throughout the country that attempt to offer hygienic resources, many are in constant need of those items. In fact some of the most needed items are hygiene products and socks. These items need to be new, and many people, while saying the problem of homelessness needs to be solved, don't buy these items to donate. There is a lack of hygiene products in shelters and a need for them in the homeless community. This is why I hope to start a nonprofit to provide the homeless community with access to hygiene products. By raising awareness of the issue and gaining monetary support from donors, we can provide those in the homeless community with basic hygiene products like dental care, deodorant, feminine products, socks, and soaps. We can restore their confidence and empower them to believe for a better life. This is why I chose a degree in business. I want to start my own nonprofit where I will be the CEO. After taking a Principles of Marketing class during my first year of college, I fell in love with it. Consumer behavior intrigues me, and I enjoy sharing why a product or service is worth purchasing. Marketing allows me to be creative and utilize my graphic design background while being educated on how businesses run. I want to be involved in my business and help with day-to-day operations in the beginning. I am truly passionate about the homeless community and look forward to building a team to bring hope to this community. I believe my degree in marketing will prepare me to start my own business in the nonprofit sector. It will teach me all aspects of how to run a business and emphasize how to bring attention to it. I want to lead people in making a difference in the world. I want to change people’s lives. But, it starts with a degree for me.