Former Waitress Gives Hope and $100 Bills to Those in Need

Believe Project Expands from Local Holiday Initiative to National, Year-Round Nonprofit

Wouldn’t you love to see someone who is struggling—say, the neighbor who lost their job or the senior who’s raising their grandkids—receive a crisp, new $100 bill?

Believe it or not, there’s a charity for that. The Believe Project (believeproject.net) bestows $100 bills—along with inspirational messages—on nominated recipients every day of the year. The goal is to bring hope and a bit of help to good people experiencing hard times, while inspiring others to care and give.

The nonprofit is the brainchild of Carolyn Gable, a once struggling single mom and waitress who went on to build a multimillion-dollar business. Five years ago, she kicked off the project as a holiday giving campaign.

Now based in Malibu, she took the Believe Project national and expanded it to a year-round basis. To date, it has touched nearly 1,000 recipients.

How does it work? Simple. To nominate someone—or in Gable’s terms, become a Steward of Love—visit believeproject.net and complete a form, telling their story in 100 words or less. If the person that you nominated is chosen, you’ll be mailed a small “Believe” envelope—stuffed with $100 and inspirational message cards—to present to that deserving person.

The program creates a circle of giving and gratitude that far out values $100, encompassing those who nominate others…thankful recipients…and donors who contribute to the fund.

Gable created the Believe Project—an offshoot of the Carolyn J. Gable Foundation—as a result of her own life experiences. Although her family had little, even as a child she was compelled to help out her ill neighbor. Throughout her waitressing days, she kept working hard, trusting her faith to deliver a miracle. And it did.

After landing a job at a trucking company, she worked her way up, eventually forming her own business, New Age Transportation, which she grew into a multimillion-dollar operation. Her secret strategy: treat people kindly and provide stellar service.

Along the way, the single mother of seven children formed The Expect-A-Miracle Foundation, a 501c3 not-for profit that helps single, working parents provide extracurricular activities for their kids.

She also wrote and published an autobiography, Everything I Know as a CEO I Learned as a Waitress, explaining her philosophy of giving.

“People like Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett inspire me,” says Gable, who sold her business last year. “They understand that in giving, it comes back to you and then some.”

“I’ve always been drawn to helping the working poor,” says Gable, “$100 isn’t going to change someone’s life—but it tells them someone cares, and it may inspire them to keep reaching.”

Some recent Believe Projects recipients include:

• A local foundation that provides necessities to disabled citizens and veterans.
• A single, working father of four worried about providing Christmas gifts to his kids.
• A special ed teacher who often spends her own money on classroom supplies.
• A 77 year-old woman who continues to work full-time to support her disabled relatives.

“Caring has a ripple effect,” says Gable. “It’s contagious. Once you feel it, you want to keep giving kindness and inspiration.”