Lisa Truong launched a diaper drive that's distributed more than 66 million diapers across California; Rudy Corpuz Jr. turned his rough past into a peacekeeping mission; and Chris Thoms ran every street in Alameda County to fight hunger.
One night in 2009, Lisa Truong sat on her couch watching The Oprah Winfrey Show while her infant and toddler slept nearby. Oprah posed a question—what can you do to help families in your own community?—and Lisa didn’t just hear it. She answered it.
The next week, over a glass of wine with her friend Rachel Fudge, Lisa came up with an idea that would soon grow into a full-blown nonprofit operation. They decided to organize a Mother’s Day diaper drive. The concept was simple, but radical—help new moms with the one thing no one was talking about: diapers. Within weeks, they had collected 15,000. Within months, they’d uncovered a national policy gap when they learned diapers weren’t covered by WIC or food stamps. And within a few years, they were changing state policy.
Fifteen years later, Lisa’s organization, Help a Mother Out, has distributed more than 66 million diapers across California, developed a first-of-its-kind citywide diaper bank in San Francisco, and helped spark public funding models adopted by other states. But for Lisa, it’s not about the numbers—it’s about the mom who didn’t have to dilute her baby’s bottles to ration diapers. The one who didn’t get arrested for shoplifting diapers, and the one who could finally exhale.
A daughter of Vietnamese immigrants and a longtime nonprofit ops pro who once dreamed of being a documentary filmmaker, Lisa is driven by enduring compassion and a firm belief in community. “We are so interconnected,” she says of the Bay Area. “If we can strengthen our most vulnerable, we make the whole region stronger. It’s about lifting each other up, not just handing out help.”
In 1994, Rudy Corpuz Jr. walked out of prison and into a job at Balboa High School, where he was tasked with helping prevent student violence. A Filipino American raised in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, Corpuz had firsthand experience with the kind of gang activity he was now being asked to address. Instead of dictating change, he asked the students what they needed to stay out of trouble. Their answers—basketball, flag football, talent shows—became the foundation for United Playaz, a youth violence prevention program that continues to grow three decades later.
United Playaz has since expanded across the city and beyond, with a clubhouse in SoMa that serves hundreds of youth each year. Many of its early participants now have children in the program. The group also runs a gun buyback initiative in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, which has collected over 3,000 firearms since 2014.
In 2023, Corpuz opened a SoMa cannabis dispensary through the Stiiizy franchise, with profits earmarked for gun buybacks and family support services. A longtime advocate for legalization, he sees this as another avenue to serve the same community he once harmed.
His transformation—from a self-described “destroyer” to a mentor and community leader—is deeply rooted in a commitment to restorative justice. The quote painted on his dispensary wall sums it up best: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Over six years, Alameda resident Chris Thoms completed an incredible challenge: running every street in Alameda County — all 16,218 of them across 20 cities. What began as a personal exploration of his new neighborhood turned into a county-wide mission after he discovered CityStrides, a tracking app that gamifies street completion and helped fuel his obsession.
Starting in February 2019, Thoms ran five to six days a week, averaging 6–10 miles on weekdays and longer runs on Sundays. He expanded his routes to Menlo Park and Kensington, ultimately completing 7,118 miles over 1,087 runs and more than 1,100 hours on foot. He wrapped up his journey with a 37-mile run on May 10, 2025, finishing on Bear Creek Drive in Livermore with his children by his side.
Along the way, he encountered a wide variety of terrain, from suburban streets to rural stretches with cows, dogs, peacocks, and pigs. His quest not only brought personal fulfillment but also served as a fundraiser for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Thoms pledged 10 cents per street, personally matched 2-to-1, and ultimately helped raise over $5,000 to fight food insecurity in the region.
Currently ranked #25 globally on CityStrides, Thoms sees this project as part of a bigger athletic dream: to one day qualify for the Boston Marathon, inspired by a childhood memory watching runners race past Fenway Park.
Reflecting on his journey, he acknowledged the challenges but emphasized the reward: “During it might be hard, but you don’t regret it at the end.”
Image via Help a Mother Out on Facebook
Previously: Notable Humans: Record-Breaking Bay FC Women’s Soccer Star Empowers Zambian Youth
