‘One More Person’

What started as a volunteer shift at the Special Olympics became his life’s work – and David Marvin isn’t done yet By Victoria Payne

As callings go, David Marvin’s came as a surprise. A pastor’s kid, he was halfway through college expecting to become a youth pastor when a casual invitation altered his plans. “Would you like to volunteer at the Special Olympics?” asked a friend.

“I wasn’t so sure about the idea, but I figured I’d give it a try,” he recalls. “I volunteered and really hit it off with the guy I was working with. Then his mom asked if I wanted to continue working with him, and that was it.”

Almost 20 years later, those youth pastor instincts – believing that the right investment in the right person makes a difference – have shaped a career fueled by his belief in human potential.

‘The World Would Not Be the Same Without Them’

Today, Marvin is the founder of APEX Partner Group, where he partners with purpose-driven entrepreneurs to serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While his mission has remained the same, his career began in a very different place than where it is today as an impact investor.

A Look Back: In 2015, Marvin and Tim Siler – one of his first clients with Alliance Services – work on the finer points of grocery shopping.

After college, Marvin worked as a life skills coach in Yamhill County, spending 60-hour work weeks – no sick leave, no vacation – caring for clients living with autism, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, and other types of special needs. More than a decade later, he still remembers the special moments that made the long days worth it.

One of his first clients really wanted to learn to swim, but he was afraid. Marvin spent two years taking him to the pool, encouraging him to go a little deeper each visit, and then one day, success. The man who’d been afraid to swim was now diving to the bottom of the deep end.

“There is so much joy in helping people with special needs accomplish their goals and to just live life,” Marvin says. “Most people look at someone with a disability and see what they can’t do. They see the person’s disability and not what they’re capable of. But the world would not be the same without them.”

Marvin’s career took another turn when, at 27, he received a second surprise invitation. This time, it was a caseworker asking if he had employees – she could use his help. Unfortunately, he was alone and he couldn’t manage another client. He’d already hung up the phone when he felt a quiet nudge. What if I found someone to help them? A week later, he found someone at his church to support the family. His phone kept ringing.

“There is so much joy in helping people with special needs accomplish their goals and to just live life. The world would not be the same without them.”

There was plenty of need in the region, and Marvin grew his first company, Alliance Services, to approximately 200 employees. The work expanded to address the full range of customers’ needs, with grocery runs and bus routes for some, feeding tubes and full-time care for others, and job coaching for those who needed someone in their corner.

Seven years later, after years of building a business and all it demanded of him, he made the decision most entrepreneurs dream about: He decided to sell.

Multiplying His Impact

Marvin expected happiness, but instead he felt lost. “When I sold my first company, I thought I would have tremendous joy, but it was really a lot of grief. I didn’t realize how much of my identity was in what I was doing.”

He describes it as an “ego death” – the collapse of an identity he hadn’t realized he’d created. “You are chasing worldly success, things you think will make you happy,” he says. “And then when you get there, you realize the only thing that’s going to bring true joy, true peace and true happiness is Christ.”

He came out of that season knowing two things: His identity was in Christ and his calling hadn’t changed. He thought back to what had drawn him to this work in the first place. “As I spent more time with people with special needs, I just realized that they are my people and they are always going to be,” he says. Plus, his type-A personality didn’t allow him to sit still for very long. So he went back to work.

This time, Marvin decided to grow three new companies, and a leadership team, in Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon – all devoted to serving those the world often forgets. In the years that followed, the three companies grew to over 2,300 employees, a testament to what happens when serving others becomes a business model.

When Marvin once again sold all three companies in January 2026, he already knew what came next. If anything, the 38-year-old father of three was ready to go faster. “I want to do the most I can with the time I have left,” he says. His current work at APEX is allowing him to do just that.

Marvin’s new mission is to identify 50 purpose-driven entrepreneurs who are ready to transform their talents and heart for service into thriving businesses dedicated to helping others. “I’m just trying to find people who want to serve well and give them a platform to make the biggest impact they can,” he says.

Recently, Marvin funded his first entrepreneur – Jared Thomas, a special education teacher focused on work-based learning – who had the heart and vision he was looking for. In just six weeks, Thomas’ company You Are Seen is already serving 13 customers. Recently, as a guest on a podcast, Thomas was asked what success looked like. He didn’t blink. “One more person,” he replied.

“It just makes me smile when I think about it,” Marvin says. “He gets it.”

Giving Back

Last fall, back at George Fox to serve on the President’s Advisory Council, Marvin met someone else who got it. He was introduced to Craig Inglesby, director of The Bridge Network – George Fox’s mentorship program pairing athletes with upperclassmen and Christian leaders in the community. Marvin recognized the model immediately.

“The program really resonated with me. I wouldn’t be where I am at right now without people pouring into me,” he says. “I just felt that tugging on my heart from God that I was supposed to give.” When he called home, as he always does before any big decision, his wife Mary Beth agreed.

Harnessing his latent youth pastor energy, Marvin thought the gift would mean a lot more if students were excited too. So he offered President Robin Baker a deal: Do the Polar Plunge with students, and he’d make a significant gift to The Bridge Network. President Baker, willing to do anything for students, said yes without hesitation.

Marvin cheers from the bank of Hess Creek as President Baker braves the cold waters and mud. The moment inspired Marvin to double his initial gift. “I’m all in,” he says.

A few months later, Marvin returned to watch the Polar Plunge with his 7-year-old son Carter. The two stood on the bank of Hess Creek cheering on over 600 students – and one committed college president – as they waded through the frigid and muddy water. Moved by what he witnessed, Marvin decided to double his original gift to The Bridge Network. “I am all in,” he says.

Marvin doesn’t consider himself a philanthropist. He considers himself a steward. “There are a lot of people out there who work harder than I do and have a lot less,” he says. “I just feel very blessed and believe that God is in what we’re doing.”