In 2023, roughly 1 in 5,000 Americans experienced homelessness, and that number continues to rise. In this week’s episode, Vicki speaks with Robb Munger of Exodus Place – an organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that merges passion with innovation to provide personal and professional development and housing to men in transition.

What needs to be done to ensure that technology created for those with vision impairments is truly accessible for them? In this episode, Vicki is joined by Evan Bonfield, Head of Business Development at ReBokeh Vision Technologies. He and Vicki discuss ReBokeh’s mission to provide sleek, affordable and streamlined assistive technologies that make it simple for all individuals to see.

Whether you’re new to your neighborhood or have lived in the same city for years, finding community and connecting with others can be challenging- and the COVID-19 pandemic made this even more difficult. That’s what inspired this episode’s guest, Casey Springer, to found Hot Walk Indy, an inclusive social walking club that invites participants of all genders and backgrounds to stroll and socialize all over the Greater Indianapolis area.

Calling all CSR bookworms! The Sustainable Entrepreneur is the next book you need on your shelf. This episode features Kumar Vijayendra, a thought leader in small business transformation and author of The Sustainable Entrepreneur. He and Vicki discuss how small businesses can set themselves up for success when they factor in sustainability as one of their key business strategies. You can learn more about Kumar and find his book at iamkumarv.com.

The most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone—it requires a collective effort. This episode’s guest is Jenny Morgan of Tradewater, a carbon offset company that targets the most potent greenhouse gases and destroys them before they ever reach the atmosphere. Learn more about Jenny’s passion for changing the way we view business and industry to both be profitable and purposeful.

It seems like there’s a service for everything nowadays! In this episode, Vicki chats with Bryan Clayton, a true lawn care aficionado and founder of GreenPal. GreenPal offers an all-in-one place to find, schedule, and pay the best fit lawn pro for your yard. Bryan’s platform is also taking some interesting steps towards reducing their environmental impact using closed loop systems to ensure they are taking care in business.

You’re in for a treat this episode! Vicki speaks with Cindy Carter and Carmela Toler of Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, a business powered by amazing ice cream served by amazing people. At Howdy’s, they do things a little differently. They’re on a mission to create jobs for those with developmental and intellectual disabilities through the power of smiles and amazing ice cream.

Over the past four decades, the price of a college education has increased by over 900%—and that didn’t sit well with Hope College. Enter: Hope Forward, an initiative to provide fully-funded tuition for every Hope College student by leveraging the generosity and gratitude of a pay-it-forward approach. In this episode, Vicki chats with Nicole Dunteman, Program Manager at Hope College (and Vicki’s niece!), about how this funding model based on generosity and giving could change everything.

There’s a new player in the game when it comes to surgical healthcare. Vicki speaks with serial entrepreneur Jeff Williams, who co-founded Wellbridge Surgical, a surgery center that offers transparent, up-front pricing and eliminates the need for an insurance-based middleman. Jeff’s goal with Wellbridge is to give everyone a fairly-priced alternative to the “way it’s always been done.”

Navigating the world of cryptocurrencies doesn’t have to be challenging. In this episode, Vicki speaks with Octavio Gallego of Global Investment Crypto Exchange (GIE), a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange platform. GIE donates a percentage of monthly revenue to their nonprofit partners; and these contributions only go to verified mission-driven local and global charities, particularly those that offset the crypto industry’s carbon footprint.