In December 2023, Ieshia Lee received the Vital Village Networks Unsung Hero Award for her outstanding leadership as an advocate for children and communities. She wears many hats, fulfilling different roles and capacities. She is a mom of six, a doula, a lactation counselor, an intensive care coordinator, a mediator, and has recently started her own business called Amanté WhileLaboring.

In our recent conversation with Ieshia, she shared an overview of all the valuable work she does within her community. To highlight a few, she participated in the United Against Race program with Mass General Brigham Hospital as a doula. She is also a certified participating doula through DONA International. She is currently getting a certification with Mama Glow as a Childbirth Educator.

Adriana Cordero Raines describes community connection as a group of individuals who have a common goal and purpose, come together intentionally, and, despite their differences, decide on something they want to improve or have an impact on.

“Community to me is a feeling… I walk into a Vital Village event and I belong there. So that feeling that this is your tribe. [They are] your people and you can relate to them.”

Although people in positions of power, such as political figures, are important because they help us move initiatives forward, Adriana recognizes the true power that lies with individuals and community members and their lived experiences. And because every individual has different experiences and priorities, when coming together with a common goal, it’s important to “organize, prioritize, and have a strategic structure on how to get there.”

Adriana is an Afro-Latina woman and the founder and CEO of a consultancy practice of 10 years, and she has been affiliated with Vital Village Networks for many years. In December 2023, she received the Unsung Hero Innovation Award for innovative leadership in service to children and families.

In December of 2022, Benjamin Buggs was awarded the Vital Village National Partnership and Collaborative Leadership for his work fighting food insecurity in Vallejo, California. 

Benjamin Buggs grew up in Muncie, Indiana. He was recruited to play basketball for the University of Pacific in Northern California, and eventually earned his Bachelors with a concentration in marketing. He played basketball professionally for many teams, including the Sacramento Kings, and continued his education to get his MBA and his JD in law school. Benjamin currently resides in Vallejo, California married to his wife Mary Ann Buggs, and is father to five children and 23 grandchildren. 

For background, Vallejo used to be home to a large naval base before it closed, leaving tens of thousands of people unemployed, devastating the entire town. This led to a lasting impact on the residents of Vallejo, and combined with the fact that much of the town is in a food desert- an area with limited access to affordable and nutritious food- Benjamin saw food insecurity everywhere. Benjamin decided to start Faith Food Fridays with his wife and with the support of his local church to help the people of Vallejo access free and nutritious food. He said when people have to make the choice between rent and dinner, many people go hungry. Faith Food Fridays helps alleviate that budget stress.

In December 2022, Edwige M. Jean earned the Vital Village Excellence in Mentorship Award for her outstanding dedication to the community and passion for lactation mentorship. 

Edwige is the daughter of Haitian immigrants, born and raised in Dorchester, where she still lives with her 13-year-old son. She has worked in the medical field for many years, mainly in OB-GYN clinical and administrative roles. She has degrees in Natural Science, Sociology, and Maternal Child Health with Human Lactation and aspires to become an IBCLC. Her very own experience led her on this Lactation career path; at a young age, Edwige had her son and decided to breastfeed. The recent generation of women in her family rarely breastfed their children and could not offer her much guidance. Edwige sought professional support but left feeling treated unfairly, however, this did not deter her from breastfeeding. Though she superseded her own breastfeeding goals and expectations, she knew that other people must also have the same experience of struggling with breastfeeding and not getting adequate support and guidance. She did not want others to experience the same marginalization that she felt.

Terry Alves-Hunter is a Cape Cod local, mother to one, and dedicated community advocate for racial trauma training in the Falmouth Public School system. 

After adopting her son from foster care, Terry enrolled him in the Massachusetts public schools. Within this school system, her son was racially attacked, harassed, and marginalized. Years later, in the Falmouth Public Schools, the racial discrimination continued. She took it upon herself to meet with the administration, and explain that bullying and racial discrimination are separate issues, and this presence of racial prejudice needed to be addressed. She saw the problem of racial trauma in the school system, and got to work to make a difference.