Community Champion of the Week: Amazing People Fund

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Amazing People started in January 2020 during the pandemic. Kurt Krasavage was tired of seeing all the negativity in the media, so he decided to create a Facebook Group called Amazing People of NEPA where anyone could share a positive or inspirational message that highlighted local people doing amazing things in the community. The public group still exists and has grown to more than two thousand members.

Giving back became an integral part of Kurt’s life as his mother survived a devastating stroke in 2014. His late grandmother is also a major influence in this project as he spent most of his childhood growing up with the hundreds of children that she fostered, and he also watched her battle diabetes for decades.

In 2022 after losing his corporate job and spending time on the Back Mountain Trail, Kurt decided he wanted to follow his passion to improve the community and help people. While donating to Parenting Autism United, Lindsay Dragon, Founder, and Executive Director, gave Kurt a tour of her facility that changed his life and helped form the mission of the Amazing People Fund.

Up until now, nobody has been going on-site to film these non-profit organizations. Kurt believes that when people can see these local heroes show what they are doing and what they need at their facility, more people will get involved and it will have a huge ripple effect across the community.

Kurt has partnered with #OnTheStacks, a local media company, to produce the first season of Amazing People of NEPA. The first season will be a docuseries featured on YouTube where five non-profits are highlighted in 5–7-minute segments in similar fashion to “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”. The goal is to inspire, educate, and entertain viewers. The expected release date for the first episode is toward the end of July or early August.

The Amazing People Fund exists because local non-profits struggle to get their mission seen, and they do not have the resources to get professional media production. Kurt says that while he self-funded the first season, he needs the public’s help to continue production and grant-making for these local organizations.

The Luzerne Foundation plays a crucial role as the grant-making partner by managing all accounts and financial transactions for the Amazing People Fund. This allows the dedicated team and other volunteers of Amazing People to concentrate on assisting nonprofits in expanding their impact and fulfilling their mission through the strategic use of media and fundraising efforts.

To learn more about the Amazing People or to donate please visit www.theamazingpeople.org or contact Kurt directly at [email protected].

Working together makes our community stronger. If you have a cause near to your heart and want to make a difference here in Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond, please call us at the Luzerne Foundation or visit www.luzfdn.org for more information.

Do you want to make our community better? So do we. Let’s do it together.

Because of you and for you, we are… Here for good. ™