How We Got Started

In the Spring of 2009 one of the original Co-Founders of Hello Somebody, was on a mission trip in Honduras. While feeding people there, he encountered children who preferred food over toys. His host, Jimmy Hughes' tagline when he spoke was "hello somebody," which he used almost as a question for people to become aware of those around them who were in need. This tagline would ring through his dreams, in the voices of the children he had met..."Hello Somebody. Is anyone listening?" His call to action was to feed a million meals in one calendar year. In early 2010, after sharing his dream with many people, he met Manny Martinez Co-Founder and CEO of Hello Somebody, who was serving on crisis relief teams to Haiti. Together, they launched the Hello Somebody movement.

Our Success

Prior to our first event, Manny contacted recording artist Ryan Edgar, to create a song for Hello Somebody. A month later, he reached out to Bryce Avary, of The Rocket Summer, who was about to embark on a National Tour. Hello Somebody's sponsorship of this tour helped us gain a nationwide presence. Working with designers, artists and countless volunteers, the Hello Somebody brand was born. By providing products with a purpose, we met the initial dream of distributing over a million meals.

Special Thanks to the people who were a crucial part of our continued success: James Lee, COO, for connecting Hello Somebody with the Catalyst Conference, Warped Tour and numerous summer festivals. Austin Cox, Creative Director, for our designs, and spending his Summer on the Warped Tour. His dedication to serve has been amazing. Michael Laymon, Program and Communications Director, for creating the Rwanda Street Boys Campaign. Thanks for the countless hours spent on our website. Esther Havens, thank you for encouraging us along this journey. Ashley Upham-Rokks and Carrie Allen for your support and insight throughout the past year. Catherine Martinez, Operations Director, thanks for the commitment to provide customer service to our supporters. Special thanks to Callie Pirtle and Christian Joy Lee for your unending support. Ben Pirtle, special thanks for your willingness to share your dream of Hello Somebody with us all.

Moving Forward

We are thankful for the success we saw in our first year. Moving forward as an organization, we are committed to more than feeding. We believe education is the key to put an end to the poverty and hunger cycle. Our Mission is to feed and educate children, by providing an avenue of knowledge, in order to break the cycle of poverty and hunger within their generation. We are connecting with local feeding centers and schools to set up benevolent projects in strategic locations that will employ local workers, buy local product and feed, clothe and educate local children in a coordinated effort to not only meet the crisis need, but sustain the growth and improvement of their local economies.