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10 Worcester Business Journal | August 19, 2024 | wbjournal.com 4 0 U N D E R F O R T Y Buerschaper is making her community healthier every day. As executive director of the Community Harvest Project, she brings volunteers together to grow fresh fruit and vegetables for hunger relief efforts in Greater Worcester, ultimately donating more than 1 million servings of produce each year. Under Buerschaper's leadership, the farm purchased its Grafton headquarters in 2023, restructuring the organization and ensuring cohesive- ness between the new headquarters and its Harvard orchard location. The farm has grown from a budget of $650,000 in 2020 to $1 million in 2024 and expanded from 18 distribution partners in 2020 to 26 in 2024. She launched a paid internship program in 2023 to provide opportunities for students. In her prior role as development manager, she raised the highest annual revenue in the organization's history, surpassing $1 million in 2020. Outside of the Community Harvest Project, Buerschaper serves as board president of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester, a non- profit providing one-on-one tutoring and English classes for the area's immigrant population. – S.B. If you had your own late night talk show, who would be your first guest? Pete Dunn, Greater Worcester Community Foundation's new CEO, to talk about nonprofit management and eradicating poverty. What s the hidden gem of Central Massachusetts? Donut Star in North Grafton. An incredible family-owned breakfast place with classic fare and the most amazing donuts, especially the apple fritters. Your next goal? Taking my 2-year-old son on great adventures throughout Central Mass. to favorite places and discover new ones together. As the director of CWE Central MA, Knight works to support entrepreneurs, especially women of color, through developing and implementing programs includ- ing the Black Entrepreneurs Business Summit, a col- laborative effort executed with community organizations. While studying at Becker College in Worcester, Knight found- ed the For One Child Foundation, a nonprofit providing learning materials and classroom necessities to children in rural areas in her home country of Jamaica. Since its launch, For One Child has provided more than 600 chairs and desks, thousands of books, and 30 laptops to schools and parishes throughout the country. In 2024, Knight was named a Commonwealth Heroine award recipient, a cohort of women who have made extraordi- nary contributions to their organizations and in their communities as identified by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women in partnership with state legislators. Knight hosts free work- shops at The Village Worcester, an Afrocentric cultural, learning, and healing center, to equip people of color with the resources needed to start their businesses. She meets with aspiring women entrepre- neurs at Worcester's Unique Café to help them kick start their businesses. – M.K.M. Would you rather time travel to the past or the future? Travel back in time to meet my ancestors, specifically Nanny of the Maroons, a courageous warrior queen who resisted British oppression during slavery, to learn from her strength and wisdom. Class of 2024 Tori Buerschaper, 37 Executive director Community Harvest Project, in Grafton Residence: Worcester Birthplace: Belmont College: Boston College Class of 2024 Racquel Knight, 34 Director, Center for Women & Enterprise Central MA, in Worcester Founder, For One Child Foundation, in Worcester Residence: Worcester Birthplace: Portland, Jamaica Colleges: The College of Agriculture, Science and Education in Jamaica, Becker College, Johnson & Wales University PHOTO | CHRISTINE PETERSON Red Apple Farm, in Phillipston