Conversations with Gary Leon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Leon. 

Hi Gary, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I started this journey to founding a nonprofit back in 2006. A young man was killed in Queens NY and I wanted to do something to help instead of just talking about it. At the time I had a store where we did T-shirts and Tattoos. So, I created a T-shirt reached out to his family, and asked them with their Blessing could I sell the shirts and give the proceeds directly to them. They agreed and the shirts were selling all over NYC. I then reached out to famous celebrities’ website and ask them if they would put the shirt on their website to get more exposure. They agreed and it went from being a local thing to a nationwide movement. I was able to give more to his family and reach more people. That sparked the idea with me of combining small business with community-based projects that would directly impact those in need. I moved to Maryland in 2010 and ever since 2006 I would use my own money once a year to fund a project to give back. We did Food drives, Toy drives, Clothing drives, I taught kids in a group home about Entrepreneurship, and every year I would sponsor a family for Christmas. In 2018 I wanted to create a summer camp to teach kids about all the things I wished I had learned when I was younger. I went to a school in Southeast D.C. and pitched the idea to the principal. He loved it and let me use his school for the program. We called it The Young Entrepreneur Program and we had 5 kids in a six-week program. I taught them about money, credit, marketing and they started their own online t-shirt company and kept all the proceeds. 

After doing that project the principal sat me down and told me I should start My own Nonprofit. I filed in January of 2020 and in April 2020, they gave me my 501c3 status and started The Cooperative Opportunity Project aka The Co-Op Project. Today we are here doing program locally and nationwide. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a process I will say that. It is hard to get people to care about things that is in their community. Giving back is not really a cool thing or trendy that people promote. The people who are in power are not going to change things dramatically and we can’t keep waiting for them to save the day. Trying to bring awareness and raise money to things that will directly impact the people who need it the most is hard. You can get Millions of people to do a Tik Tok dance challenge but can’t raise $10,000 to fund a program that’s needed. The other thing is just being proactive when something tragic happens everybody is outraged and social media pics are reposted and hashtags are everywhere. If we took that same energy to get things done proactively, we would be in a better situation. There is always beauty in the struggle thou and that what keeps me going. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have always been a creative person when I was younger, I would draw all the time. I would do graffiti and that led me into making my own T-shirts and selling them. I have been doing shirts since 1998 and I still teach kids how to create their own shirts and sell them. I am good at graphic design and I have always had a “Think outside the box” mentality when it came to designing. I love to show kids how to create their designs and see the look on their face when they put it on for the first. The thing that sets me an apart from others is simple. I have no problem sharing information so people don’t have to go through all the obstacles I had to when I was trying to learn. 

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is doing what you said you was going to do and giving it your all. So many people have great ideas and talent. But most people are too scared to bet on themselves because they are scared to fail. You have to have a different kind of mindset to push through even after you fail and not doubt yourself and your purpose. You have to understand that everybody won’t see your vision but if you stay true to it and do it you already achieved success. 

Contact Info:

• Email: Gary@theco-opproject.org
• Website: www.theco-opproject.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/THECO_OPPROJECTS/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecooperativeopportunityproject
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/co_opproject
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWToeT6Wz313MSzELJ4XN5A