Our Story

Hi, I am Tyrone Starkie, Founder/CEO of Community Heroes; in 2001, I had a reality check! I was a special needs student who transitioned into traditional classroom settings. No school official or public figure had seriously questioned me about my ambitions after school. I had no idea what career I could pursue. James Lebrecht's (2020) statement sums up my feelings and thoughts best: "You don’t have anything to strive for if you don’t know it exists.” Advocates for special needs in Wayne County seemed limited, in my opinion. I was a senior at Eastern Wayne High with no plan for life after school. The H.S. finally referred me to Vocational Rehabilitation. In a hasty attempt to get into a four-year college, I worked with Vocational Rehabilitation for six months before graduating. During the six months I took the SAT twice, our goal was to score high enough to get into North Carolina State University. I failed to score high enough, so I decided to go to Wayne Community College.,

In 2004 I obtained my associate's degree and already had my sights on pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I graduated from North Carolina Wesleyan in December of 2006. In the spring of 2007, I received my M.S. in Psychology in 2009. 

After receiving my master’s degree, I applied to various institutions in Wayne County for employment. The responses seemed to be the same for each business. Suddenly, I realized I had obtained all this education but had limited work experience. A year passed, and I was still unemployed and could not get an interview. One day Wayne Community employee, friend, and mentor Demarcus Reid advised me to contact the HR Director at WCC. She suggested I should volunteer at WCC. This one move started the sequence of getting hired part-time. I eventually started teaching psychology courses at North Carolina Wesleyan College. As I became employed, I gained independence by buying a mini-van; I found a wife, moved into my place, took the road, and went on a cruise.

The Start of Community Heroes

Sixteen years after graduating high school, I still witnessed the disproportion of special needs in Wayne County. I knew I had to help rectify this issue. After two years of studying how to form a non-profit organization, I finally formed a phenomenal board of directors and registered Community Heroes on April 30, 2019. Three major experiences have directly inspired me to create community heroes. The first experience is being unprepared for life after grade school. The second contributor is the inability to self-identify with someone with my limitations. The other major factor is the lack of employment opportunities. 

We Are Doing This Now to Fix the Problem

Community Heroes solves this problem by offering the following services. Mentoring the targeted population, finding employment and lifestyle options that are accessible to the population. We’re offering mentorship, motivational video testimonies, and raising awareness in the community. We’re raising awareness through seminars that inform businesses, residents, and the community. Also, we raise awareness of barriers within the community that hinder the all-inclusive concept needed in businesses and communities to achieve equal accessibility. Lastly, we initiate transformation, offering job placement assistance, trade skills, and scholarships for education and consistent employment. If a mentee takes advantage of all the services provided, their probability of being independent and starting a career should be high.

Tyrone Starkie

CEO/Founder

Non-Profit Community Heroes 

"Mentoring.Educating.Transforming"