Building Homes. Strengthening Communities. Creating Opportunity.
EACH ONE TEACH 1 INC.
Our Origin Story
A Legacy Born from Love, Responsibility, and Action
Each One Teach 1 Inc. began with a simple but powerful question:
What kind of legacy do we want to leave for our daughter—and what example do we want her to see?
In 2019, while Kondwani “KD” Patterson and his daughter’s mother were preparing for the birth of their child, they began thinking deeply about legacy. They did not want their daughter to grow up simply hearing about the importance of serving others. They wanted her to witness it firsthand.
They wanted to create something that would invest in the community, open doors for others, and demonstrate what it means to lead by example.
That vision became the foundation of Each One Teach 1 Inc.
From Advice to Action
During that time, KD met with then–Town Manager Todd Day to discuss how he could make a meaningful and lasting impact in the community.
Todd offered advice that would help shape the organization’s future. He explained that a community organization needed to be capable of operating independently. If it was going to request support, raise funds, accept charitable contributions, and work alongside local government, it needed the proper nonprofit structure. It also needed the ability to manage projects responsibly—from the first idea through completion—so the Town and its staff could remain focused on their public responsibilities.
KD took that advice seriously.
He did not leave the meeting with only good intentions. He left with a mission—and immediately went to work.
By March 2020, the same month his daughter was born, Each One Teach 1 Inc. had been founded. The organization and his daughter entered the world at nearly the same time, forever connecting its mission to family, responsibility, and generational legacy.
Turning Obstacles into Determination
The journey toward becoming an established nonprofit was not easy.
Each One Teach 1 Inc. encountered major challenges while seeking federal recognition as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. After working with attorneys, receiving conflicting information, and facing uncertainty about whether the organization’s Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, and federal application had been properly prepared or filed, nearly an entire year passed without clear answers.
It would have been easy to become discouraged.
Instead, every obstacle strengthened the organization’s determination.
While working through those administrative challenges, KD continued developing plans, building relationships, and presenting a vision for community improvement. Each One Teach 1 Inc. brought proposals for a community park and community center before the Town Council, Town Manager, and Mayor.
The vision was rooted in the historic Shakerag community—a neighborhood with a proud history, strong families, and generations of people who deserved continued investment. The community center that many residents had grown up using was no longer available to serve the neighborhood in the same way. Rather than accept the loss of a gathering place, Each One Teach 1 Inc. began working to create a new center of recreation, opportunity, wellness, and pride.
The Town’s leadership responded with a unanimous decision supporting the park initiative.
That decision gave the vision a home.
The Birth of Warhawk Park
What began as a conversation about legacy was becoming a visible investment in the community.
Each One Teach 1 Inc. began developing what would become Warhawk Park—a place designed to bring children, families, seniors, athletes, and neighbors together. The goal was never simply to install equipment. The goal was to restore community pride, promote healthier lifestyles, create safe opportunities for young people, and demonstrate what can happen when citizens, nonprofit organizations, businesses, foundations, churches, and local government work together.
One of the organization’s earliest important steps was securing access to parking through First Baptist Church on Carline. This support helped strengthen the park’s feasibility and demonstrated that the community was willing to contribute resources to move the vision forward.
Every partnership brought the project one step closer to reality.
An Angel in the Journey
A transformational relationship developed when Each One Teach 1 Inc. approached Clinch Valley Community Action for assistance.
Executive Director Roberta A. “Robin” Boyd stepped forward like an angel.
Robin did more than offer encouragement. She helped turn ideas into fundable projects. She prepared grant applications supporting a new playground and community garden, providing critical expertise and institutional support when the organization needed it most.
Her involvement helped build credibility, attract resources, and demonstrate that the vision for Warhawk Park was both needed and achievable.
That partnership continues today.
Robin and Clinch Valley Community Action have remained closely involved as Each One Teach 1 Inc. advances affordable-housing initiatives and works toward completing Phase Three of Warhawk Park. Her leadership reflects the meaning behind the organization’s name: when one person shares knowledge, opens a door, or helps another person move forward, that impact continues spreading throughout the community.
Relationships That Created Momentum
Another important chapter began when KD met Amanda Killen.
Amanda offered valuable guidance about securing funding and building relationships with people and organizations that believed in community development. She introduced KD directly to influential community partners, including Jeff Mansour and the Thompson Charitable Foundation and Larry Davidson of Back of the Dragon.
She also shared numerous ideas for building momentum, strengthening the project, and expanding public support.
Those introductions and that guidance helped Each One Teach 1 Inc. move from vision to measurable progress. The relationship ultimately contributed to the Thompson Charitable Foundation awarding a matching grant for the park—an investment that helped validate years of persistence and community-centered planning.
Each connection became another link in a growing chain of people who believed that the Shakerag community deserved a safe, beautiful, and welcoming place for recreation and fellowship.
A Broader Vision for Community Development
The organization’s mission continued expanding beyond recreation.
During a 2019 meeting with Tazewell County Administrator and Attorney Eric Young, KD discussed community needs and opportunities for long-term development. Eric provided helpful guidance and encouraged thoughtful planning around housing and community investment.
That conversation helped give birth to what would become Each One Teach 1 Inc.’s affordable-housing initiative.
The organization recognized that community development is interconnected. Children need safe places to play. Families need stable and affordable homes. Seniors and veterans need supportive housing options. Neighborhoods need investment, economic opportunity, wellness resources, and organizations capable of connecting people to those opportunities.
Warhawk Park and the affordable-housing initiative are therefore not separate dreams. They are parts of one larger mission: building stronger people, stronger families, and stronger communities.
What “Each One Teach 1” Means
The name Each One Teach 1 expresses the organization’s belief that everyone has something valuable to contribute.
One person may have knowledge.
Another may have access to resources.
Someone else may have land, equipment, influence, labor, or professional expertise.
When each person teaches, supports, or opens a door for someone else, the entire community becomes stronger.
The organization was built through this very principle. Todd Day offered foundational advice. Robin Boyd helped translate community needs into grant opportunities. Amanda Killen created important connections. Jeff Mansour, the Thompson Charitable Foundation, Larry Davidson, Back of the Dragon, Eric Young, local government leaders, churches, businesses, volunteers, and residents all contributed to moving the mission forward.
No single person built this organization alone.
It was built through relationships, persistence, faith, shared responsibility, and the belief that lasting change is possible when people work together.
Our Legacy Is Still Being Written
Each One Teach 1 Inc. was founded for a daughter, but its mission now reaches an entire community.
It began as a promise from parents who wanted their child to see what leadership, service, and community investment looked like. It grew through adversity, surviving administrative setbacks, misinformation, delayed filings, and moments when the path forward was uncertain.
Yet the organization continued.
Today, Each One Teach 1 Inc. is helping transform Warhawk Park, advance affordable-housing opportunities, support young people, strengthen families, build partnerships, and create a model of community-led development.
The work is not finished.
Every completed project becomes a lesson for the next generation. Every partnership proves that collaboration can overcome limited resources. Every child who plays safely, every family that finds support, and every resident who sees new investment in the community becomes part of the legacy.
Each One Teach 1 Inc. exists because we believe that real leadership is not simply telling people what should be done. It is stepping forward, doing the work, investing in others, and showing the next generation the way.
This is how our story began.
And together, we are still writing what comes next.
