Amplify POC

05/28/2026

📣📣📣 VENDORS WANTED!! 📣📣📣 Read More: 👇🏾

Amplify POC Cape Cod is excited to announce our 2026 Summer Festival and we are looking for amazing vendors, creatives, entrepreneurs, artisans, food vendors, community organizations, and small businesses to join us for an unforgettable day of culture, community, music, shopping, and fun!

📅 Saturday, July 11, 2026
⏰ 12PM–4PM
📍 Hyannis Village Green
367 Main Street, Hyannis, MA

This vibrant community event will bring together families, residents, and visitors from across Cape Cod to celebrate diversity, creativity, and local talent. This is how we Amplify! 🙌🏽

✨ Vendor Registration: $75
✨ Great opportunity to showcase your business
✨ Network with the community and other entrepreneurs
✨ Support a mission dedicated to empowering communities of color and closing the racial wealth gap

Spaces are limited, so secure your spot early!

🔗 Vendor Registration Form Here: https://forms.gle/p4EoVWvgDqe8QX2c9

Please share with your favorite local businesses, artists, makers, and food vendors!

05/27/2026

Congratulations to Amplify POC Board Member and Officer Brian Morrison on his well deserved retirement after decades of incredible and exemplary service to our community. 💜

Officer Morrison has dedicated his life to protecting, mentoring, uplifting, and building meaningful relationships throughout Cape Cod — especially with our youth and historically underserved communities. His commitment to community policing, mentorship, service, and humanity has left a lasting impact on so many lives.

We are incredibly fortunate and honored to have Brian serve on the Amplify POC Board. His wisdom, compassion, leadership, and genuine care for people continue to help guide and strengthen our work in meaningful ways.

Thank you for leading with integrity, humility, and heart all these years. Your presence, advocacy, and dedication have truly made a difference both in and out of uniform.

Congratulations on this next chapter, Brian. Your service and legacy will not be forgotten. Wishing you joy, rest, and continued blessings in retirement. You’ve earned every bit of it. 👏🏾💐

📸 Photo Cred: Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times

05/26/2026

Tonight! Join us for Boss Talk — an evening of networking, connection, community, and all things business! ✨

Boss Talk is Amplify POC’s monthly networking event, hosted at a different local establishment each month in partnership with our members and community collaborators. This month, we’re excited to gather in collaboration with both an Amplify POC member and valued community partner, Belonging Books! 📚💜
Come convene with the Bawses 😎 — or simply come to connect, build relationships, exchange ideas, and leave inspired. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creative, community leader, or someone looking to be in intentional space with good people, there’s a seat for you. Light appetizers and beverages included. Suggested $10 donation.

Huge thank you to our amazing sponsors, The Knack, for their continued support! 🙌🏾

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we honor and remember the brave souls who sacrificed, served, and fought for this country. We hold deep gratitude for their courage and service.

And while we honor that sacrifice, we also acknowledge the truth that freedom in this nation has not always been experienced equally. For many people of color, Indigenous communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and historically marginalized people, the promise of liberty and justice has too often remained incomplete.

May we continue the work of building a nation where freedom is not selective, justice is not conditional, and dignity truly belongs to all.

05/24/2026

05/24/2026

Congratulations to Allanah Bodah on the soft opening of the second location of The Karibbean Lounge + Market! 🎉 It was truly an honor to be part of such a special and joyful celebration. Kitchen coming soon but for now ve sure to stop in get your Caribbean goods! You can check them out at 31 Teaticket Highway in East Falmouth — you can’t miss the beautiful Jamaican flag billowing in the wind. 🇯🇲✨
Shoutout to for beautifully capturing the joy of the occasion! 📸

05/21/2026

✨ Amplify POC Leadership Spotlight: Leo Blandford ✨ Read More: 👇🏾

Amplify POC is honored to spotlight Leo Blandford, LICSW , Director of Health Equity & Community Impact at Outer Cape Health Services and a longtime advocate for equity, human rights, and community wellbeing across Cape Cod.

With a career spanning behavioral health, homelessness services, youth and family support, international disaster relief, and health equity leadership, Leo’s work centers on one powerful truth: our health and wellbeing are deeply connected to the conditions people are asked to survive within.

In reflecting on his work, Leo shared:

“Health equity work is about helping systems move beyond only managing symptoms toward understanding and transforming the underlying conditions producing them.”

Leo spoke passionately about the urgent need to address housing instability, economic insecurity, social isolation, racism, and barriers to opportunity throughout our region , while also strengthening belonging, participation, and community connection.

He emphasized that lasting change happens when organizations, residents, schools, healthcare systems, and community groups move beyond working in isolation and begin building shared trust and shared responsibility for community wellbeing.

As a longtime supporter of Amplify POC, Leo recognizes the importance of creating spaces where diverse voices, lived experiences, leadership, and cultural expression can shape the future of Cape Cod.

“The future of Cape Cod depends on whether we can build communities where people across backgrounds and experiences genuinely feel they belong and have a voice in shaping what comes next.”

Thank you, Leo, for your leadership, partnership, and commitment to advancing equity and community care across the Cape. 💜

HumanRights Equity CommunityLeadership SocialJustice OuterCapeHealthServices

05/20/2026

ANNOUNCEMENT: Amplify POC Awarded $50,000 to Support Local Small Businesses — Community Support Needed to Unlock Remaining Funds

Amplify POC Cape Cod, Inc. is proud to announce it has been awarded $50,000 through an FY25 earmark in the Massachusetts state budget to support local entrepreneurs through its Small Business Grant Assistance Program.

This funding was made possible through the advocacy and support of Kipp Diggs, whose leadership helped secure this critical investment in historically underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs across the region.

Supporting Local Entrepreneurs

The grant program provides direct financial assistance to small businesses actively engaged in Amplify POC’s business development programming, workshops, and community services. Due to high demand and limited resources, seven local small businesses have been selected from a previous grant waitlist based on demonstrated need and verified participation in required programming.

These businesses are currently being contacted to complete updated application materials and eligibility verification.

Urgent Funding Timeline & Matching Requirement

While the total award is $50,000, only $25,000 has been received to date. The remaining $25,000 is contingent upon raising matching funds by June 30, 2026.

Because the initial award was delayed in disbursement, Amplify POC must act quickly to ensure all funds are fully distributed within the required timeline. Without meeting the matching requirement, the remaining funds cannot be released.

Additionally, no additional state funding has been allocated for FY26 at this time, making community support even more essential to maximize the impact of this initiative.

Statement from Leadership

“This funding represents an incredible opportunity to invest directly into local entrepreneurs and small business owners who are working hard to strengthen our local economy and create lasting impact in our communities,” said Tara Vargas Wallace, Founder & CEO of Amplify POC. “We are deeply grateful to Representative Kipp Diggs for his support. At the same time, we urgently need community partners to help us unlock the remaining funds so we can fully deliver on this opportunity.”

Call to Action: Help Unlock $25,000

Community members, businesses, sponsors, and philanthropic partners are encouraged to contribute toward the matching fund goal to ensure the full $50,000 is distributed to local entrepreneurs in need.

Donate Online: Donate | Amplify People of Color on Cape Cod
https://www.amplifypoccapecod.com/donate

Donate by Mail: Checks payable to Amplify POC, Inc.
PO Box 284, Hyannis, MA 02601

Media & Partnership Inquiries

Tara Vargas Wallace
Founder & CEO
Amplify POC Cape Cod, Inc.
[email protected]