Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquis Bynum and Aubrey Lewis.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The idea of Project H.E.L.P. (Humanity Evolves from Loving People) really started with two questions: What can WE do different for the city? How can we give back to the same place that gave so much to us?
I don’t think we really knew it at the time, but those two questions would set the foundation for our organization. A few years apart age and grade wise, but two kids from Judson High School who grew up with very similar experiences in Converse, Texas and now trying to be the role models we needed growing up.
We knew we wanted to help those who couldn’t help themselves or just needed a little push. We also knew we wanted to have fun doing it. We didn’t want to change who we were, but we wanted to give charitable volunteering a new and refreshing look and one that the community would look forward to again and again. It was in that spirit (pun intended), the idea of combining charity with a party vibe hit us both.
And on October 19, 2019, Project H.E.L.P. was born.
Our first event was small. Extra small. Nine of us on a Friday night at Marquis’ house, music playing, Little Caesar’s hot-n-ready’s, red solo cups labeled with each volunteer’s choice beverage making sandwiches and stuffing waters, chips, deodorants, toothpastes and toothbrushes inside all white bags with personalized hand written letters inside – “Just because YOU matter.” “You are not forgotten.” It was important to let them know someone out there thought of them. Because sometimes that’s all we need, no matter where we sit in life. I think we maybe made 50 bags and 50 sandwiches – budgetary constraints – but, it was a start. The next morning, we all met up just on the outskirts of downtown at Healy Murphy Park, drew up a rough plan for a car caravan, and drove the city looking for our houseless neighbors.
** We refer to our communities in need as “Houseless” instead of Homeless. Simply because “Home” is anywhere you make it.**
From one side of downtown San Antonio to the other we met and interacted with those often pushed to the fringes of the city. Heard some of their stories. Celebrated with them when they told us they had been drug free for however long and thanked us for being their angels, but little did they know.. they were ours.
Over time, our group of nine grew to 20 and then 30, and 50. 10+ car caravan’s all through the city holding up traffic for a cause and still meeting up at Healy Murphy passing out sandwiches, survival kits, blankets and hoodies in the winter, and Covid-19 masks and CDC instructions and guidance when the city’s shelters closed down. We worked with local small businesses for our Pizza Pop-ups and watched the communities share full boxes amongst each other. As we also watched our preconceived notions break down of what we thought about houseless individuals and realized that the most giving of people were those who didn’t have much to give.
We’ve now evolved our organizational and community outreach beyond our Humanity Events for the houseless and really began giving back to the area we grew up in. We’ve hosted bookbag drives at Judson Cares and run Homework H.E.L.P. and Bilingual Storytime events with the Converse Public Library, Thanksgiving drives and Merry H.E.L.P.mas family giveaways. A block party for breast cancer awareness in honor of Aubrey’s mother, Genna, who passed away from cancer in May of 2018. Initiated a Kids Can H.E.L.P. Youth Division to get the kiddos involved and on July 2nd we are hosting our 1st annual “Par 4 Humanity” charity golf tournament at Willow Springs Golf Course (no shame plug).
And the humanity doesn’t just stop here in San Antonio. We’ve also inspired other communities beyond the Countdown City, establishing Project H.E.L.P. chapters in Atlanta and Houston and making plans to break ground in Denver and Dallas next.
Still pretty grassroots, but we think we are well on our way to really bringing true humanity to the city. Just wait on it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We came into this thing without any real ideas of where it would go, so because we were just going with the flow, it all went very smooth in the beginning. Almost too smooth, but once we realized this was beginning to turn into something much larger than we initially conceived, the work REALLY came in. Learning how to legitimize and establish ourselves as a registered non-profit was just the beginning and moving on to figuring out organizational structure, balancing finances, and raising brand awareness. It was quite the handful. All we wanted to do was help. This thing was evolving into a credible business, but we were up for the challenge.
We began to find ourselves working our actual day jobs and then working Project H.E.L.P. as a second job on top of just living our lives as Marquis and Aubrey. Focusing on our next events and learning how to actually run a non-profit locally, while expanding to different cities and getting them started was a juggling act in itself.
But we’ve been blessed with having an amazing network of people behind us, incredible volunteers who show up full of energy and love. Even when we think an event didn’t run as planned, the smiles, laughs, and tears at the end always prove us wrong. And most important, we have a committee of selfless individuals who commit their time to planning meetings, non-stop text messages, the occasional progressive debates, and managing volunteers – and doing all that without a paycheck – but simply because they are committed to the idea of bringing some Humanity to an individual who may need something much more.
The struggles are absolutely there, but having those things in our corner make them easier to manage and make us as successful as we’ve been thus far.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Marquis – I’m currently in the Air Force Reserve as an intelligence analyst for Search and Rescue Pararescuemen down in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and working the everyday job as a contracted analyst for the U.S. Army here at Ft. Sam Houston. When I’m not helping run the Project H.E.L.P. biz, I’m a writer, published author and Black History curator. What I’m most proud of and what sets me apart is the fact that I actually found something I love and I’ve put enough passion into it to actually see it through to get it off the ground. Whoever said “find something you love and you will never work a day in your life” was a liar, because it’s most definitely work – but it’s beyond meaningful and it’s going to leave a mark in the city one day. That’s enough for me.
Aubrey – Contracting is what keeps me employed. I spent 4 years in the Air Force where I had the opportunity to learn how to be a contract specialist. Lucky for me, I was able to carry that skill set from active duty to the civilian world where I now write the same kinds of contracts for the government, just now with regular clothes on. I would say I’m known for my attention to detail as well as my work ethic. As a contract specialist it is imperative that I play close attention to the details as I deal with many laws and legally binding statements. If I had to say one thing I’m most proud of, it would be my service to this country. Although it was a short stint, it was something I take great pride in and has definitely taught me some lessons I continue to carry with me personally and professionally.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Marquis – I came from a single parent, only mom household, but also raised by my granny and great granny. All three in some fashion would always tell me, “Be mindful, you never know what someone else is going through.” The young me, never really understood fully what that meant, but the past few years has changed that sentence dramatically. Most especially in the sense that we are all just one or two bad days away from an unwanted situation. And in the meantime, as long as I’m capable, I can still spread humanity and help someone who may be one or two days away from their best day in a long time.
Aubrey – My first experience with houselessness came at 6 years old when my aunt had enough of me being ungrateful. She took me to the local shelter to show me just how well I had it in comparison to others who weren’t as fortunate. I cried when I realized the kids didn’t have their own beds. I think from that moment on, it was instilled in me that you take only what you need and help others every chance you get.
Contact Info:
- Email: projecthelpsatx@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.weareprojecthelp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projecthelp_satx/?utm_source=ig_embed
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ProjectHELPSA
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2GBQYEQ92FOEH?ref_=wl_share
Image Credits
Chris Henry
Brandon Concepcion
