Champions in Action

These nonprofits are adapting to shifting community needs, demonstrating resilience, creativity, and a clear commitment to continuous improvement, finding new ways to enhance programs, streamline processes, and deliver greater impact.

• Access Institute – San Francisco, CA
  Access Institute delivers trauma-informed mental health care to children, families, and older adults in under-resourced communities in San Francisco, while training the next generation of mental health professionals through internships, fellowships, and psychiatric nurse-practitioner training. Their volunteer-powered clinical training model injects significant in-kind expertise every year to help close local access gaps. With Champions in Action funding, Access Institute will expand its training programs — increasing capacity for mental health interns and nurse-practitioner fellows — and deepen its reach across outpatient clinics, school-based services, and elder programs.
• Catalyst Miami – South Florida
  Catalyst Miami supports low-income and immigrant communities with small-business assistance, civic engagement, financial empowerment, and free tax preparation through its VITA program — helping families access tax refunds and credits they often need for housing, bills, and stability. As a Certified Acceptance Agent, Catalyst also provides free ITIN services to immigrant households otherwise unable to access federal tax benefits. Champions in Action funding will enable Catalyst Miami to expand its VITA operations and ITIN services, increasing reach to more households and bringing essential economic relief to some of Florida's most vulnerable residents.
• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell – Massachusetts
  The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell offers youth development and workforce-readiness opportunities to teens in Lowell, including its paid Youth Leaders program where teens earn wages while mentoring younger members and gaining job experience. This work helps break cycles of poverty by building skills, confidence, and a path toward stable employment. With Champions in Action funds, the Club will fund wages, uniforms, and training for its Youth Leaders during the 2026–2027 school year — enabling continued paid employment, mentorship, and leadership development for local teens.
• Latin American Economic Development Association (LAEDA) – New Jersey
  Latin American Economic Development Association (LAEDA) drives inclusive economic revitalization by providing entrepreneurship training, coaching, and access to capital for people looking to start or grow businesses — building generational wealth and strengthening neighborhood commercial corridors across New Jersey. Their culturally competent approach meets people where they are, including caregivers, working adults, and first-generation entrepreneurs. Champions in Action support will fund the development and pilot launch of a hybrid version of their Entrepreneurial Development Training Program (EDTP), making training more accessible to those balancing jobs, family, or transportation constraints.
• Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) – New Hampshire
  Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) operates one of the Northeast's only year-round, high-altitude weather research and forecasting centers — producing critical climate data, public-safety alerts, and STEM education programs that benefit New England communities. It also runs training and internship opportunities to prepare future meteorologists and climate communicators. With Champions in Action funding, MWOBS will expand its internship and apprenticeship programs (including summit-based research roles), add an educator to boost school outreach, and launch a broadcast meteorology internship to develop climate-savvy communicators.
• Rhode Island Free Clinic – Rhode Island
  Rhode Island Free Clinic provides comprehensive preventive health care to uninsured and low-income adults while training future healthcare professionals, offering a vital "medical home" for underserved communities. As a previous Champions in Action winner in 2004, the Clinic has expanded over decades to deliver culturally responsive care and build a sustainable training pipeline for diverse clinicians. With new funding, the Clinic will hire two part-time Community Health Workers to help patients navigate care, access resources, overcome social and economic barriers, and improve health outcomes — strengthening follow-up care and expanding access to barrier-free, high-quality health services.
• Pennsylvania Women Work – Western Pennsylvania
  Pennsylvania Women Work supports women seeking meaningful employment through coaching, career development, and mentoring — helping them increase their incomes and achieve long-term financial independence. Their work targets women at different life stages, including those returning to work after career breaks or needing flexible, stable employment. Champions in Action funding will launch Next Chapter Careers, a program tailored to women 50+, offering individualized coaching, job-search assistance, skills training, and employer connections to help experienced women re-enter the workforce with dignity and confidence.
• StreetWise Partners – NYC
  StreetWise Partners connects adults from underserved communities with corporate mentors who offer job-skills workshops, coaching, and networking support — helping participants overcome hiring barriers and gain quality employment. Their programs focus on preparing clients for modern job markets, including resume building, interview training, and career coaching. Champions in Action funding will support the StreetWise Bridge Program (13 weeks of intensive training + nine months of coaching) and enable volunteer-led events (mock interviews, LinkedIn clinics, speed networking) with Citizens colleagues to deepen impact and expand mentorship reach.
• Women's Opportunity Resource Center (WORC) – Eastern Pennsylvania
  Women's Opportunity Resource Center (WORC) empowers women through microlending, small-business training, and matched-savings programs, helping clients build credit, grow savings, and launch sustainable businesses. Their holistic model supports both individual entrepreneurs and their families, giving them tools for long-term financial stability. With Champions in Action support, WORC will expand its Credit-Builder Loan fund and matched savings incentives to reach more clients with limited or no credit history and strengthen their path toward financial empowerment and business ownership.

These nonprofits are providing career training, job placement, mentorship, and workplace accommodations for individuals with diverse abilities, as well as creating inclusive employment pathways and partnerships with employers for inclusive hiring practices.

• Easterseals Northern California – San Francisco, CA
  Easterseals Northern California empowers individuals with developmental disabilities to live with purpose and independence by reimagining how care and support are delivered across a lifetime. Through their Kaleidoscope Community Adult Program (KCAP), participants build social, living, and employment skills in a supportive, community-driven environment tailored to local needs. The program fosters confidence, self-advocacy, and career readiness, helping individuals discover their strengths and thrive. Champions in Action funding will support KCAP's continued growth, expanding access to pre-employment training and community integration that transforms lives and uplifts families.
• Hope Clubhouse – South Florida
  Hope Clubhouse provides a supportive community for adults living with mental illness in Southwest Florida. Through its Work-Ordered Day model, members engage in meaningful work across culinary, horticulture, and business units while building skills for employment and independence. The organization's collaborative approach empowers members to take charge of their lives, reduce stigma, and thrive in a structured, inclusive environment. Champions in Action funding will support the launch of a Culinary Food Handler Certification program, opening new pathways for young adults to gain confidence, wellness, and job readiness.
• Evolve Coaching – Western Pennsylvania
  Evolve Coaching provides neurodivergent individuals with personalized coaching, social groups, and mentorship that support independent living, college success, and career readiness. With a proven track record and client-centered approach, Evolve prepares students for the workforce through trial work experiences, financial literacy, and robust private support services. Champions in Action funding will support employment coaching, employer trainings, and stipends for participants in their Film Apprenticeship Program and Future Camp. These initiatives provide hands-on learning, mentorship, and workplace preparation — ensuring neurodivergent individuals thrive in inclusive, purpose-driven careers.
• Opportunity Networks – New Hampshire
  Opportunity Networks empowers individuals with diverse abilities through personalized career training, mentorship, and on-the-job support. With over 40 years of impact and an 80% job retention rate, their person-centered approach ensures participants find not just jobs but fulfilling careers. Champions in Action funding will enable the relaunch of NHET-Works, an after-hours supported employment program offering career training, job placement, mentorship, and individualized planning for long-term success. This expansion will strengthen their mission to break down employment barriers and foster independence through inclusive workforce solutions.
• Partners for Youth with Disabilities – Massachusetts
  Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD) empowers youth ages 12-26 with a wide range of disabilities to lead self-determined lives through mentoring, career readiness, and leadership development. Their programs foster disability pride, build confidence, and prepare youth for meaningful employment and education opportunities. As a national leader in inclusion and workforce development, PYD continues to expand its reach through strategic partnerships with schools, colleges, and community organizations. Champions in Action funding will support the expansion of their Career Readiness program, helping more youth transition successfully into adulthood and thrive in inclusive communities.
• Spectrum Works – New Jersey
  Spectrum Works is transforming the employment landscape for neurodiverse young adults by providing job training, mentorship, and paid on-the-job experiences tailored to autistic high school students and recent graduates. Their innovative model bridges the gap between school and career, equipping participants with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in inclusive workplaces. By partnering with major employers, Spectrum Works integrates real-world training into corporate environments, creating pathways to meaningful employment. Champions in Action funding will enhance their post-high school program, expanding access to job exploration, workplace readiness, and individualized support that empowers more neurodiverse individuals to succeed.
• RI Developmental Disabilities Council
  The Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council (RIDDC) supports individuals with disabilities through self-employment, transforming lives and communities by fostering independence and economic inclusion. Since 2018, RIDDC has helped over 150 individuals launch or grow their own businesses and pioneered the nationally recognized Small Business Saturday SHOP RI, the only model in the U.S. that highlights entrepreneurs with disabilities. Champions in Action funding will support 25–40 new entrepreneurs through RIDDC's Business Development Series, offering mini-grants, a statewide pitch contest, and data tracking to showcase the economic contributions of business owners with disabilities. This investment will amplify RIDDC's impact, advancing equity and opportunity across Rhode Island.
• Tech Kids Unlimited - NYC
  Tech Kids Unlimited (TKU) empowers neurodiverse students through technology, creativity, and social-emotional learning, helping them build confidence and work-readiness skills in a supportive environment. Their Career Ladder programs offer real-world experience in digital design, video editing, and project-based learning, all guided by a high-touch instructional model tailored to each student's needs. TKU also partners with schools, employers, and community organizations to promote inclusive hiring and expand access to career pathways. Champions in Action funding will support the Career Ladder's four signature programs, including paid internships, afterschool digital agency work, and boot camps that prepare students for entry-level roles in today's tech-driven workforce.
• Variety – the Children's Charity of the Delaware Valley – Eastern Pennsylvania
  Variety - the Children's Charity of the Delaware Valley promotes vocational training for youth with disabilities, offering a robust pipeline of services from childhood through adulthood. Through its innovative VarietyWorks model, the organization provides individualized workforce development programs that support young adults with disabilities as they transition from school to employment. With a growing network of community business partners and a commitment to lifelong support, Variety empowers participants to build independence and achieve meaningful employment. Champions in Action funding will expand services for out-of-school young adults, enhancing weekday programs and one-on-one job coaching that change lives and strengthen communities.

These nonprofits are delivering and advocating for mental health and well-being services and resources needed to help people achieve their potential.

• Bay Area Creativa - San Francisco, CA
  Bay Area Creative empowers individuals through creative expression, focusing on spoken word poetry and hip-hop dance, to foster empathic communication and positive change. They work predominantly with families of color in underserved neighborhoods across various cities in the Bay Area. Their programs, such as SPARC Creativity and Revisions, provide poetry and dance workshops, as well as therapeutic arts services, to support the mental health and well-being of youth.

• Black Brain Campaign - Eastern Pennsylvania
  Black Brain Campaign was created to eradicate the stigma against mental health in the Black community by providing a holistic approach to therapy treatment. Their mission is to address the needs of their constituents and establish equity within the communities that need it most by offering free individual and group therapeutic services and culturally competent training for clinicians through their Licensure Education Assistance Program (LEAP). Black Brain Campaign innovatively breaks barriers to make mental health services accessible to those in need, advocating for both clinicians and families.

• Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County - New Jersey
  BGC Monmouth County provides a safe environment for children to learn and grow, fostering relationships with caring adult professionals, offering life-enhancing programs, and creating opportunities for hope and success. BGCM reduces barriers and creates access to mental health and well-being resources and experiences that build resilience and critical skills necessary for adulthood. Their trauma-informed journey includes the Positive Deviance approach, identifying staff who excel at creating positive and safe experiences for members.

• Children's Bereavement Center - South Florida
  Children's Bereavement Center provides support to children, young adults, and their families to find hope after the loss of a loved one, promoting healthful grief, healing, and growth. CBC provides high-quality, comprehensive grief support to families across South Florida's diverse communities, including underrepresented and high-need areas. They offer free, culturally inclusive grief support groups and grief-informed education to promote mental health and well-being, addressing barriers such as language, cost, and lack of culturally relevant services.

• King Against Violence Initiative - NYC
  KAVI addresses the high number of youth admitted to hospitals with violence-induced injuries by partnering with communities to invest in youths' mental health and well-being. They tackle critical social issues such as violence through wellness, education, and employment, aiming to change the course of historical inequities. They recruit individuals with lived experience to implement their violence prevention and healing curriculums, achieving the lowest recidivism rate among hospital violence intervention programs in New York City and an 85% retention rate in their school-based program.

• MentorRI - Rhode Island
  MENTOR Rhode Island is committed to expanding quality mentoring services for Rhode Island youth, ensuring they have access to supportive relationships to grow into confident, successful adults. The organization works to increase the number of mentors serving youth and offers trainings and workshops on mentoring and youth work. They support student mental health needs with evidence-based prevention practices and trauma-informed care. Collaborating with Bradley Hospital, they provide mental health literacy training to youth, families, and mentors.

• NurturePA - Western Pennsylvania
  Nurture PA provides support to empower mothers of young children through a virtual mentorship program. Their trained mentors, who are mothers themselves, offer compassionate guidance and support via text message, making it convenient and accessible for moms to engage at their own pace. The program highlights the importance of maternal mental health and its impact on children's social-emotional development. By addressing the stigma around stress, anxiety, and depression in new moms, NurturePA fosters open conversations about the challenges of motherhood and encourages seeking help.

• Operation Delta Dog - New Hampshire
  Operation Delta Dog is dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of veterans by rescuing homeless dogs and training them as psychiatric service companions for those suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma. The organization aims to alleviate veteran suicides and overflowing animal shelters by recognizing the bond between veterans and service dogs. Operation Delta Dog brings veterans out of isolation and back to life through wrap-around services and a close-knit community, giving every hero a fighting chance for a successful transition to civilian life.

• Sociedad Latina - Massachusetts
  Sociedad Latina addresses the significant decline in Latine youth and youth of color mental health caused by factors such as the pandemic, social media, climate change, and institutional racism. Through a multifaceted approach, their work is youth and community-driven, constantly adapting to the needs voiced by the communities they partner with. They host a "Youth Wellness Committee" comprised of youth from their Pathways to Success programming, who meet regularly with the organization's Wellness Manager and staff to discuss challenges faced in school, at home, and online.

These nonprofits are dedicated to preparing students and workers for in demand digital and technology jobs in order to meet the workforce needs of the future.

• 1Hood Media Academy – Western Pennsylvania

  1Hood Media Academy envisions a world where every person is ensured equity, has multiple opportunities to achieve their fullest potential, and contributes to all aspects of life. 1Hood Media's programs provide digital upskilling opportunities that help bridge the digital divide by helping youth and adults learn the skills necessary to think, act, and thrive in an ever-changing world that systematically leaves marginalized communities unprepared to navigate and understand these and other technological advances.

• America on Tech – New York City

  America on Tech (AOT) creates tech career-connected pathways for underestimated students into degrees and careers in technology, empowering young people of color to disrupt inequitable and exclusionary systems. Programs focus on in-demand tech skills such as Web Development, UX Design, Product Management, Digital Marketing, Data Science, and Cyber Security. Youth can access services like mentorship, resume building, interview prep, stipends, exposure to hiring managers, and internship/job placements through AOT's mentorship model.

• Boston Music Project – Massachusetts

  Boston Music Project is actively dismantling barriers to access in the music industry for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged youth. Since their founding in 2011, BMP has offered extensive creative development programs to thousands of Boston youth, recently expanding to include a paid Music Workforce Training program for youth, ages 14-22. This initiative prepares students for a spectrum of roles in the music industry, equipping them with vital skills to remain at the forefront of technological advancements and industry trends while ensuring a diverse and innovative future.

• The Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket – Rhode Island

  Boys and Girls Club of Pawtucket aims to inspire and enable young people from Pawtucket and surrounding communities to realize their full potential as healthy, productive, responsible, and caring citizens. Through their workforce development program, Members of Moguls, youth learn new skills through the digital literacy curriculum for STEM career initiatives, such as coding and information technology, to provide equitable access to education and employment for local youth.

• GI Go Fund – New Jersey

  GI Go Fund is an organization that assists military veterans and their families, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated individuals, and all people in need with employment, entrepreneurship, benefits, and housing. Inspired by Marine Lt. Col. Justin Constantine, the GI Go Fund uses the innovative Constantine model to evolve with the needs of their entrepreneurs, helping them to not only provide office space, but also deliver critical infrastructure support to help them thrive.

• Launchpad – Eastern Pennsylvania

  Launchpad aims to build accelerated pathways from high school to high paying tech careers, especially for Black and Latinx youth. They prepare students to enter the tech talent pipeline, meet industry needs, and diversify the tech sector. Unlike traditional programs, Launchpad integrates essential soft skills into its curriculum, producing well-rounded graduates poised for success. They bridge the digital skills gap by providing free access to tech education.

• Makers Mill – New Hampshire

  Makers Mill's mission is to support workforce development and career pathways by providing access to resources and training, relative to the current job market. With a 10,000 square foot facility, individuals can access workforce and vocational training with a digital and technology focus to prepare students and workers for in-demand digital and technology jobs.