Max received a BS in Sociology and Journalism from the University of Colorado Denver., after which he attended Boston University’s graduate school of public relations and communications. During the 1980s, he was a professional fundraiser for various organizations and charities including National Jewish Hospital, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, National Asthma Center and the AMC Cancer Center, as well as several environmentally focused organizations. After experimenting with natural ingredients in his family’s garage, Max created a unique household cleaning product using orange oil, and in 1986, he and his wife Elaine co-founded Orange Glo International, which quickly grew into a $330-million company that offered more than 20 cleaning products, including OxiClean. The Appels sold the company to Church & Dwight in 2006.

For as long as he can remember, Max has had strong compassion for the homeless, often thinking long and hard of new and unique ways to help. Finally, after talking to numerous organizations to determine what they were doing to help prevent homelessness, he discovered there was a gap in the services available to the homeless community and decided it was time to take action. Max says, “No one should be homeless. As a country, don’t we have an obligation to care for our underserved community? They should not be living in the streets."