David Sagae and his younger brother, Jared, have always been engaged in service
Whether it was through their church or a Boy Scouts of America project, the two liked helping those in need.
But the brothers have taken it to a new level.
When current Eccles School freshman David Sagae was 16 and his brother was 14, the two used their entrepreneurship to start the nonprofit TrialSizeDonations.org.
“We wanted to find a sustainable way to supply rescue missions with toiletry items,” David Sagae said. “The last thing on someone’s mind when they’re looking for food and a place to live is how to stay healthy and clean — that immediately gets cut from a budget.”
But the nonprofit connects with donors to collect trial-size 
and travel-size toiletries to distribute at homeless shelters and missions across the state and country.
The brothers worked with Frontier Communications in Provo to host a donation drive, and they partnered with a veterans charity in Texas called HRMAC.
“We’re expanding to California as well, but we’re making sure not to miss out on opportunities here in Utah,” David Sagae said, adding that he has worked with the local Ronald McDonald House.
The nonprofit, which is an official 501(c)3, has an all-volunteer board and the Sagae brothers donate their time, too — David Sagae said the nonprofit can take anywhere between five hours to 40 hours a week to run, on top of taking 18 credit hours and working a few other jobs.
“It’s a big responsibility,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s taught me how to run finances, how we get this project here to these people over there without going over budget and in a timely manner, how to coordinate volunteers and how to publicly communicate.”
To get involved as a volunteer or donor, click here.
How have you used your entrepreneurial skills to improve your community?