Meet Demitria Ricks | Philanthropist & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Demitria Ricks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Demitria, how does your business help the community?
UTCP (Unite The Community Project) not only will help the community but is also aimed to helping the world. It is a nonprofit organization helping the homeless, the youth, or anybody that’s in need. UTCP was founded in Texas and right now it is very hot here. So I just recently started doing pop up hydration station coolers in the Arlington area. I fill coolers with cold bottles of water and place them at random locations for the community. It is very important to stay hydrated. I know with these coolers I am helping or even saving someone. The plan is to do these pop up hydration station coolers every summer in different locations as well as in different states. UTCP also does bags for the homeless that I call “I’m G.O.O.D.” Bags, standing for (I’m Getting Over Obstacles Daily). The bags consist of items such as hygiene products, a bottle of water, first aid kit, non perishable items, wash cloth, a pair of socks, along with some other items. These bags roughly cost between $10-$15 to make. I have them in a box and whenever I go out I bring them with me and give them to the homeless that I come across. UTCP will eventually go to other communities all over the world to distribute these bags. Any help is better than no help. Being a part of this organization has been a great experience so far. I enjoy and love helping others and together we can create a better world because life has a purpose!

What should our readers know about your business?
UTCP (Unite The Community Project Inc.) was founded by me in 2021. I always knew that I wanted to help people but I just didn’t know how or where to start. I have experienced and went through a lot in my life and along the way I had people helping me and guiding me. People that I didn’t even know was actually there for me. I have been homeless before and when you’re alone with no help from family or friends, strangers become your help because they want to help. There was times I had to sleep in my car, even in a laundry mat before. Not where I would have wanted to be but it was apart of my journey. A church that I went to also helped me find a woman’s shelter, which I stayed at for a couple of months. Those are just a few of my experiences which led me to want to help others just like others have helped me throughout my life. Starting UTCP was definitely a challenge in the beginning. I didn’t know where to start considering the fact I was doing this alone without a team. I have many notebooks with ideas that I came up with years before I even thought about having my own nonprofit. As I was looking through my ideas I came across a shirt that I sketched out I’m G.O.O.D. on the front. The idea was to have shirts with this acronym on it but it quickly became another thought that evolved into making bags for the homeless because I know that there are a lot of obstacles that they have to endure on a daily. So I started to make the (I’m G.O.O.D.) bags to distribute. It made me feel good inside just to be able to help in some way. Then another opportunity came up to make 100 ER sack lunches for Arlington Life Shelter. A few months passed and I had another opportunity to do 100 more ER sack lunches for the same shelter. In every bag, I always include a index card with some resources as well as a motivational quote on the back. There have been many ups and downs along the way, considering the fact that I have no team at the moment, I am starting to find my flow. I have received donations from so many people, including my parents and my hometown church in Clarksville, TX. I moved away to follow my dreams and now that I am making my dreams my reality, I am looking forward to the future of UTCP and what’s to come. It’s about making a difference in this world because life has a purpose.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am all about fun, so we would definitely go check out Texas Live! It is located near the AT&T stadium as well as the Texas Rangers stadium. With lots of great food and music. Living in the DFW area, there is something to always do. We would go to downtown Dallas to check out the museum of illusions, the reunion tower, and the aquarium, capturing moments with everything we do. We would catch some laughs at the improv as well as catch a great movie, maybe even go to adventure landing and ride some go karts and water bumper boats. There is this steakhouse called The Keg and the steak and shrimp are delicious. Very upscale. Reservations are needed. The DFW area never disappoints, there is something different to do everyday of the week when visiting.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to first recognize my fiancée, she has believed in me from the beginning. In everything that I’ve done so far, she has supported me and been there. Even when times was rough and I felt like giving up, she was there motivating me and encouraging me. Any idea that I brought to her attention she always gave me good feedback and let me know what she thought. She’s a great human being and I don’t think I would’ve gotten this far in my career without her. I also would like to shout out my little brother, he has also supported me throughout my journey. He has a great hustle inside of him and whenever I do something he is definitely there to support anyway he can. Along with a bunch of other family and friends whom have supported me as well, even if it was just to call or text to say how proud of me they were or a share on social media of my videos. I want to thank each and every one of you. I could not have done this or gotten this far without y’all.

Website: https://linktr.ee/unitethecommunityproject?subscribe

Instagram: @unitethecommunityproject