Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyson Smith
Hi Tyson, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in Baltimore City, MD coming from a single parent household where my mother (Mildred Boyer) was the sole provider and energy force to help instill knowledge, wisdom, love, and watered my seeds for all my aspirations and dreams. I grew up with my older brother (Tony Smith) who showed me brotherhood, tough love, how to be goal oriented, and live amongst great codes and principles to be the best version of myself and a great person. Our love for one another created a strong bond and we were told that anything is possible as long as you work for it and be good to others. Then came my love for basketball, as ambitious as I was I fell in love the first time I ever played in an actual rec league game. From there I told myself I’ll make something out of basketball and be great at it. Basketball took me a ton of places, won a lot of championships and open so many doors for me in life. Leaving a good mark has always been the goal for me while playing. To put it in perspective my middle school (Deer Park Middle School) I have a banner raised in there for the middle school championship, (Owings Mills High School) banner raised in there for Regional Championship back to back years. (Milford Mill Academy) banner raised in there for a County Championship (3-peat). So, Baltimore basketball was special to me and I love growing up in the environment of it because it taught me so much about life early on and teamwork working well with others to achieve a common goal. Setting goals for myself and reaching them. Consistency and dedication to my craft unlocked opportunities people wish for. Growing up in Baltimore is different from most places because of it’s uniqueness of harsh reality, high crime, drugs, negative influences, and peer pressure young teens and children have to endure. Seeing people make something out of themselves is sometimes foreign. So I took a lot of pride in making sure I showed different by wearing Baltimore on my sleeve and gave hope that if I can do it so can you. Transitioning from high school to college I went to Loyola University of Chicago (Division 1). Where I played 3.5yrs (2015-2018) won a regular season championship, conference championship, south regional championship in the NCAA tournament, and a trip to the Final Four. Talk about dreams coming true, that was a ride of a lifetime for me and my family. My mother, and brother sat front row next to two NBA Hall of Famer’s Steve Nash and Tony Parker. After graduating with my Bachelors in Psychology with a background in science. I attended University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley (2018-2019) for my graduate year were we broke history again as the first team in the program with the most wins in program history. I graduated from UTRGV with my Masters in Public Administration. With basketball still on the rise for me, I was able to transition to become a professional athlete and played overseas in Northern Europe (Tbilisi, Georgia) where in my first year I won Player of the year, Guard of the year, and finished the #1 team in the league prior to Covid. I made a swift return home once Covid hit and went to be with my family here in Baltimore. During my collegiate career I always had talks with coaches and peers to have aspirations to gain a sharp business mind and come up with a plan to start my own business once my basketball career ended. My passion for opening my Nonprofit organization came from my works in the communities at events and outings where I was put in the position to speak at school for various causes, mentor kids in after school programs, and being a role-model and inspirational figure back in my hometown. Knowing the need of having leadership, mentorship, and community outreach in our communities. My passion switched focus and THK Worldwide Incorporated was created and has been operating since 2022. While creating his platform for Baltimore in hopes to expand Nationwide. Eight of my close friends who work in school systems, own their own businesses, and work in the DDA field (Developmental Disabled Administration) banded together to create our board of directors and carry out our mission/initiative. Which is to serve the communities that once served us. Since operating in 2022 THK has hosted and participated in partnership at a multitude of events across Baltimore City and County. Feeding over 400+ families with our annual turkey drive for Thanksgiving and feeding the homeless initiative. Partnered with the mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott as corporate partners to assist with the spring cleanup initiative that had local businesses and corporations such as Department of Public Works, BCFD, BPD, JP Morgan Chase, M&T Bank, BGE/Exelon, and others to clean up neighborhoods in different Baltimore zones running across the entire West Baltimore. Community events where we partnered with Sky Zone and Reginald F. Lewis Museum for BHM, as well as Family day and school givebacks at local high schools to encourage education, health and wellness, community support, and community enrichment activities. We’ve also spoken at local high schools and did interactive workshops to present our frontline approach at the peak of their educational experiences on the daily within the school systems. THK is invested into the communities and youth to provide an outlet and platform for them to grow and harbor skills, dreams, plans of actions, and resources to be conducive to their everyday life and programming outside of traditional educational settings/classrooms. THK wants to build the community and break down the problem to allow for youth and families to navigate through the harsh environments and obstacles they face growing up in Baltimore to allow them to have a stable and supportive foundation which will lead to more successful outcomes and opportunities for them. THK has big plans and wants to continue to collaborate with like minded companies and individuals to carry out our mission beneficial to all and achieve our goals which is Better-Baltimore.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing comes from a smooth road, they say “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”. So, beginning and running this process took time and perseverance to overcome obstacles and roadblocks. THK has a big board of directors so a lot of us have to agree on decisions to better the overall well-being of our organization and mission. Some challenges we’ve faced is getting funding or contributions from the local government or community/businesses to carry out our plans. This goes a long way being an owner for a nonprofit because everything we do is charitable. The purpose is for the people so we need donations and contributions from not just our team but others to help pour back into the communities.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So currently I am a Program Manager at a licensed DDA (Developmental Disabled Administration) agency where we work in compliance with the state of MD under COMAR regulations, rendering and providing services for youth and adults with developmental disabilities (5-21) & (21+), to promote quality of care and quality of life for our individuals with disabilities. We service participants all across Baltimore including some who originated in different parts of MD. We also provide residential care for our individuals where we place them in homes and integrate them into the communities as we are a community based program. On the daily I am the operations person to help ensure all services and quality of life is being rendered to our participants around the clock. Which could be on the frontline in the homes cleaning rooms, doing site visits, checking medical documentation or facilitating meetings for our individuals as advocates and working with their support networks, other governing agencies, and MDH (Maryland Department of Health). I’ve been in this profession for over six years now it has been a true joy because it showed me things about myself that I love and most importantly gives me purpose on a daily basis. I am most proud about the work we do in these communities for underserved individuals this helps me follow my mantra of “impact one life per day”. I’m known for being a basketball player, now business man and health professional. What sets me apart is that I have a frontline approach and direct access to all types of youth, adults, and families in need to allow me to directly source and partner with entities with visions such as ours at THK. We bridge the gap for education, resources, and organization/presence to help our families/communities be apart of something cool and positive. We are able to be seen more frequent in the hearts of the communities also while being the ones who make decisions in board rooms and meetings. Plus, it’s for us and by us, having strong black leaders and organizations who look like the communities they serve and can provide relatability and an acceptance to resources and services. We back our people and promote instrumental change within our culture. Changing the narrative of “see something say something” into “see something, do something” we are providing solutions to problems that have plagued our communities for countless of decades.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
THK was started from a vision of hope, the brand came from a question. “I wonder if we could do this?” That thing or ambition we have all inside of us, resonated with me and seven other people which is now what it is today. Also, a myth buster about non profits is a surprising fact about many nonprofit organizations is that they can actually generate significant revenue, sometimes even more than for-profit businesses. While their primary mission is to serve a cause, many nonprofits operate like businesses, with income coming from grants, donations, and even commercial activities. Some nonprofits run social enterprises or have endowments that allow them to generate income while still focusing on their mission, allowing them to be self-sustaining and not reliant on donations alone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekeepersorg?igsh=YWkzNGg1NGRlNTJl&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BXyCS6myW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyson-smith-722360118?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/thekeepersorg?s=21&t=65grzFyrMH8WAq7tg6itkA
