Posted: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 7:30 pm
St. Louis American
Which is scarier – taking honey from swarming bees or experiencing violence in the community? In North St. Louis, many young people have decided to take their chances with the bees in order to learn entrepreneurship.
Sweet Sensation is a social enterprise, led by Northside Community Center, which aims to reduce violence in schools, neighborhoods and communities by providing instruction in beekeeping.
Sweet Sensation was one of the six finalists of the second annual Marketplace of Ideas grant competition on July 10, initiated by Incarnate Word Foundation with the support of other local funders.
The Marketplace of Ideas is a community funding grant program to address the needs of children and families in North St. Louis. It seeks to spur collaboration between community members and to raise public awareness of the richness of community activity in North St. Louis. The success of the 2011 pilot program encouraged Incarnate Word Foundation to continue the Marketplace of Ideas as an annual funding program, organizers said.
The six finalists were presented with a $5,000 grant each from Incarnate Word Foundation to be used toward their projects.
“The showcase demonstrates how $5,000 can make a difference in North St. Louis,” said Connie Farrow, spokesperson for the showcase.
This year’s finalists focused on projects to provide employment to teens, address the need for better nutrition and stop violence in schools, neighborhoods and schools. The showcase was held at the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 3519 N. 14th St.
The finalists
The 2012 Marketplace of Ideas finalists are:
TAP STEP
A youth employment project led by the Acts Partnership that will provide teens in the 21st Ward with lawn service job opportunities this summer
JSO 21st Century Summer and Afterschool Learning Enrichment Program
A project led by HopeBUILD that engages children in relevant, hands-on nutrition education to build a solid foundation for healthy eating habits
The Sweet Potato Project
An employment program led by the North Area Community Development Corporation that will teach youth how to plant and harvest sweet potatoes and how to develop, package, market and distribute products developed from sweet potatoes
Sweet Sensation
A program designed to teach entrepreneurship and small business development skills to underserved teens through the design and operation of an urban beekeeping business.
Claver Works Landscaping and Savings Program
A youth employment program led by Revitalization 2000 that will provide an opportunities for employment, job training and savings through a landscaping program in the Ville
The Real Deal: Reducing Youth Violence Through Peer Influence Strategies
A comprehensive violence prevention program focusing on self-worth and bystander intervention techniques will be taught by St. Louis Families in Shearwater High School
Learn more at http://www.iwfdn.org/grants/marketplace-of-ideas/.
More about Business
- ARTICLE: Bank, credit union partner in underserved communities
- ARTICLE: $1B Impact reports $275M in new MBE contracts
- ARTICLE: What Is an Annuity?
- ARTICLE: Obama launches $26M manufacturing competition
Posted in
Local business
on
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 7:30 pm.
| Tags:
Speak Your Mind