Atlanta Nonprofit Celebrates 15 Years of Impact Through 2,500 Student Stories
When Sam Bracken boarded a plane in Las Vegas to attend Georgia Tech on a full-ride football scholarship, he could fit everything he owned in a single orange duffel bag. Bracken had been experiencing homelessness since the age of 15. A foundational moment in Bracken’s journey at Georgia Tech was training with Coach Bill Curry, who provided coaching and care both on and off the field.
Inspired by the support that he received from Coach Curry, Bracken was driven to help others. In 2011, he co-founded and is the spokesperson for Orange Duffel Bag Initiative (ODBI), an Atlanta-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Bracken co-founded ODBI with Echo Garrett (ODBI Board Member), Michael Daly (ODBI President), and Diana Black (ODBI Vice President).
In ODBI’s first 15 years of operations, 2,500 high school and college students in need have graduated from ODBI’s coaching programs, whose curricula are based on Bracken’s “7 Rules for the Road” from his mini-memoir, My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change, which was co-authored by Bracken and Garrett.
On Saturday, July 11, 2026, over 150 kids, coaches, and community members gathered on Georgia Tech’s campus at Bobby Dodd Stadium to celebrate the unbreakable bond between Bracken and Coach Curry, the graduates of ODBI programs, and the expanding waves of ODBI’s 15 years of impact in the community.
The celebration also highlighted the launch of a new Coaching to Career Success program in partnership with The nsoro Educational Foundation to support youth as they transition to their career paths and also the nationwide expansion of the data-driven Coaching to College Completion program nationwide.
Overlooking the very stadium, steps, and field where Bracken and Curry trained, celebrated wins and losses, and faced life's challenges together, they shared stories and inspirations.
“In my orange duffel bag, I had a few pairs of jeans and some clothes packed,” said Bracken. “But what I had also packed were my hopes and dreams.”
Coach Curry added, “Sam’s bag had more than jeans; it also had a miracle in there. And look at what’s happened.”
The ODBI provides ongoing advocacy and certified life plan coaching free to youth, starting at age 14 and throughout their journey into young adulthood, who are in foster care, aging out of the system, or experiencing high poverty and/or homelessness. ODBI President, Michael Daly, and ODBI Vice President, Diana Black, run ODBI’s daily operations, coordinating fund raising for the organization and engaging with new volunteers, advocates, and partners.
“Words Matter”
A sentiment that resonated throughout the ODBI 15th Anniversary Grads and Partners Appreciation Celebration, and that was shared by both ODBI’s co-founders, Bracken and Garrett, was “Words Matter.”
Central to ODBI’s 12-week coaching program, curricula, and advocacy is helping students to each uniquely share, reframe, and draw strength from their own stories.
“Words plant the seeds for the emotions that can feed you or drain you,” said Bracken.
Garrett, when speaking of co-authoring My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change with Bracken, said, “We learned the power of adults speaking about their own stories; it helps students not feel alone and then open up.”
One of those stories that highlights the impact of empowering youth came from Dedrick Leonard, an ODBI Board Member, who served as the celebration’s Master of Ceremonies. Leonard, who entered foster care at eight years old, is an ODBI alumnus from the program’s 2nd cohort and is now the first-ever program graduate on ODBI’s Board of Directors.
“I went from not liking public speaking to talking to people all the time,” said Leonard. “In ODBI, through coaching and by showing students someone who looks like them, that representation matters. By giving students space to share their story, put it on the table, grieve, and embrace it, they are then able to create a new story and move on to pursue their dreams without carrying this heavy baggage from their formative years.”
By supporting youth through life’s major transitions, from graduating high school to attending college and transitioning into a career, ODBI is uniquely dedicated to long-term advocacy and support of its participants in their youth and beyond. “Healing is not a single moment; it’s ongoing,” said Leonard.
Evidence-Driven and Expert Coaching
“It’s a big responsibility to be part of someone’s life,” said ODBI coach, Luis Castro.
Over the course of the 12 weeks in each of the 2.5-hour sessions, students have access to a coach, an assistant coach, and 4-6 advocates who are all providing support. “We invest in our students with new laptops, and our ODBI coaches are all internationally certified life coaches who are dedicated to taking kids seriously,” said Garrett. All ODBI coaches are certified through either the International Coaching Federation, the John Maxwell certification program, or the ODBI Coaching Certification.
ODBI’s curriculum is evidence-based, engaging in systematic pre- and post-evaluations of the program’s activities and impact, and draws inspiration and methods from other data-driven and successful organizations. “What we do works; we’ve proven it. We see it in the graduation rates, and how the students raise their grades,” said Garrett.
When discussing advice for others who are looking to be a coach, Castro said, “Investigate the reason why you want to be a coach. It’s about having empathy and the capacity to focus on the students, to meet them where they are at, and to ask them thoughtful questions.” Castro pointed to a water bottle on the table, “It’s like this bottle of water. Here it’s full. As coaches, we want to create capacity first, because only so much can be in the water bottle. Then when there is space, we can pour in as much as we can.”
Grounded in these foundational stories, ongoing impact, and evidence-based approach, ODBI is ready for the next chapter as it plans to expand the program’s scale to a nationwide level and the scope of coaching to extend to support participants' career success.
The Next Chapter
Collaborative and innovative teams begin with each person and the journey they took. This journey includes the people who saw their potential, believed in them, and supported them through life’s successes and challenges. “No one succeeds alone,” Bracken said to the program graduates, coaches, and community members at the celebration.
As a result of organizations like ODBI’s coaching and educational efforts, more students are able to reach their academic and professional goals. This may be helping others, starting companies, innovating solutions, and solving societal problems, informed by their unique experiences, stories, and knowledge.
Reflecting on the importance of ensuring all students have an opportunity to reach their goals, Bracken said, “When kids spend time in fight or flight mode, their cortisol increases and their focus in the classroom decreases, and they are constantly not reaching their potential,” adding, “At ODBI, we support students to get out of fight or flight by reframing challenges as fuel to feed constructive emotions and thoughts.”
“There are disparate services on campus, and that makes it challenging for students,” said Garrett. “With ODBI, we are streamlining access to resources, so kids don’t have to do so much while they are also pursuing their life goals.” A 2023-2024 survey by the Hope Center found that 14% of students experienced homelessness.
In classrooms, workplaces, and innovative teams, welcoming people with different skills, perspectives, and lived experiences is essential. Both for asking questions that need to be asked and for developing solutions that address real people’s and society’s needs.
“We are all here because Sam told his story,” said Leonard during the celebration’s opening remarks. “We can use our stories to create a better story.”
Bracken’s message to ODBI program graduates in attendance: “Your journey is just beginning.”