Meet the Entrepreneurs Tackling Neighborhood Problems

Entrepreneurs are everywhere and their impact on their respective neighborhoods resounds. The Business Alliance of Living Local Economies (BALLE) — a nonprofit that supports local economic projects to benefit communities — recently named their 17 BALLE Fellows. Here are five of them.
Jose Corona, Oakland, Calif.
Corona is the CEO and president of Inner City Advisors. Working with entrepreneurs in the local, health food movement, Corona’s company provides startups and small businesses with mentorship in how to recruit and train workers. Currently, he works with companies making natural nut butters, roast coffee and local meat.
His most recent addition is the Fund Good Jobs initiative which invests in small businesses  offering living-wage jobs, benefits and advancement opportunities.
Aaron Tanaka, Boston
Since 2005, Tanaka has been working to improve the lives of workers in the Boston area. He began by helping start the Boston Workers’ Alliance, which represents unemployed and underemployed workers. In 2010, his “Ban the Box Campaign” to remove the question regarding prison history from job applications was included in Massachusetts’s criminal record reform bill.
Recently, he co-founded another organization: the Center for Economic Democracy. Youths were the focus of its last major project, which renovated a park and playground and supplied laptops to three public schools.
Jay Bad Heart Bull,Minneapolis
After moving from the Indian reservations in North and South Dakota, Bull settled in Minneapolis. While there, he noticed how the city’s wealth didn’t spread to the Native American population. So, as president and CEO of the Native American Community Development Initiative, he changed that. He brought a Native American-owned bank from Hinckley, Minn., to open a branch in Minneapolis. Further, he highlighted the unique Native American culture by opening an art gallery in the city.
Euneika Rogers-Sipp, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Rogers-Sipp left the south for college in London, but the draw of her hometown was too much, returning to form the Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families. The mission of the group is to revitalize the Deep South’s economy. Her first project started in Gees Bend, Wilcox County with quilting. The quilts were a symbol of the African-American culture, and with that Rogers-Sipp created a cottage industry to jumpstart a cultural tourism economy. She is now doing similar projects in other towns across the south.
Andrea Chen, New Orleans
A high school English teacher, Chen was dismayed to find that many of her 11th and 12th grade students could barely read above a fourth grade level. That’s why she started Propeller — a business incubator and co-working space — to support entrepreneurs and policymakers who want to fix societal problems, such as blighted land, poor schools and food scarcity.
To read about more of these entrepreneurs, click here.
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How Going to the Movies Can Help People with Developmental Disabilities

More than 65 percent of adults with disabilities are unemployed.
That’s a statistic Valerie Jensen was committed to change as the president of a Connecticut-based organization called SPHERE, which helps people with developmental disabilities.
One day, Jensen was inspired by an empty building that used to be a movie theater: Why not refurbish it and open it as a theater staffed by disabled adults?
Through plenty of hard work and collaboration with other organizations in Ridgefield, Conn., Jensen brought The Prospector Theater to life. Doyle Coffin Architecture designed the building, which features four theaters, a restaurant and a café, and chef Raffaele Gallo came up with the menu. Best yet? The program runs without any government funding, sustaining itself through donations and movie ticket and popcorn sales.
Prospector Theater employees offer moviegoers first-run films such as “Interstellar” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1,” plus first-class customer service. “We are returning the cinema to what movie going used to be like,” Jensen tells the Christian Science Monitor. “People will be dazzled by the fantastic customer service. And with that I hope their attitudes will be opened and changed about hiring people with disabilities. We want to break the cycle of unemployment.”
Prospector Theater shows many of its movies during the day — a must, Jensen explained — because it’s difficult for disabled people to find transportation for jobs at night. It also offers training to its employees in such skills as photo editing and cooking.
Jensen says, “Our goal is to have people leave us.” But not without helping plenty of customers have a stellar movie-going experience first.
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5 Things to Know Before You Give

There are more than two million nonprofits operating in the United States — roughly one for every 135 Americans. As the season of giving ramps up, how can you feel confident that your dollars will be spent responsibly? “If you find yourself considering a gift to charity that called you on the phone, you’ve already lost most of the battle to do as much good as possible,” writes Elie Hassenfeld, co-founder and co-executive director of GiveWell, an organization that highlights a few of the most effective nonprofits. “If you wait for charities to come to you, you’re just rewarding the ones that are most aggressive — not the ones that do the most good.” Read on to learn how you can avoid donor’s remorse.
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The Coordinated Rescue Team That Saved a Disabled Veteran from Homelessness

You’ve heard the sad stories of veterans falling through the social service cracks and ending up homeless.
This is not that.
Instead, it’s a happy tale about a group in South Carolina that united to patch those cracks in the system and efficiently coordinate resources available to help veterans.
Disabled U.S. Army Veteran Herbert Frink of Beaufort, S.C., hit upon hard times recently. He lost his job and went through an expensive divorce, both of which put him behind on his rent, utility and car payments. Frink gained custody of his two young children, but he knew he might lose them, too, if he lost his housing, so he asked for help at the American Red Cross.
His simple request set off a united effort to keep a roof over his head, made possible by the new Military and Veterans Service Alliance of the Lowcountry (MAVSA). The service, which began this year in the southern state, maintains a database of more than 40 organizations eager to help vets. Representatives from the nonprofits meet once a month to coordinate their efforts.
In Frink’s case, the Red Cross picked up the tab for his overdue electric bills, the Savannah chapter of Wounded Warriors got him up to date on his car payments and One80 Place, a Charleston, S.C.-based nonprofit that aims to prevent homelessness, paid for his rent and even found him a new job with a trucking company. They also found a daycare that would accept Frink’s kids and accommodate his job hours.
“They have done so much for me,” Frink tells the Beaufort Gazette. “The resources started pouring in once I contacted them, and they have not stopped.”
Frink isn’t the only veteran MAVSA has helped. In its first few months of operation, members have also connected a suicidal veteran with psychiatric care and helped others get back on their feet financially. The coalition hopes to expand their scope in the future, updating their website and partnering with law enforcement to initiate special veterans courts.
“As a veteran, it makes me feel so good to know that organizations in my hometown are helping veterans,” Frink says. “I never thought I’d experience it. Now that someone’s helping me, I need to give back. I owe a million thanks to them. They saved me and my children.”
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The Harry Potter Producer That Gave Up The Movie Business to Help Families with Sick Children

While working as an associate producer on the film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Paula DuPré Pesman received a phone call from an organization that grants wishes to critically ill kids. The child’s wish? To see the movie about the boy wizard before she died.
Presman’s initial reaction was that it was impossible. But in part because her own husband, Curt, was struggling with colon cancer at the time, she was determined to make it happen.
“We figured out a way to do a rough cut,” Pesman tells the Denver Post. “We got a screening room in San Francisco. We did a screening for this little girl, Gillian. Her picture hangs over my desk…She shot me out of a cannon, basically. It became my reason to go to work.”
After granting that wish, Pesman couldn’t stop there. She continued to make the dreams of sick kids come true with visits to the Harry Potter film set and screenings. Once, she mentioned to a sick child’s father that he must have a lot of friends helping him out. “He said, ‘Are you kidding?'” Pesman recalls. “We’re living a parent’s worst nightmare. People don’t know what to say or do, so they don’t do anything.”
So Pesman made helping such kids and their families her full-time mission. “I was walking away from something I loved. I loved working on films. I loved supporting the team. And I worked 16 years for the nicest company. You don’t walk away from a perfect job.”
But Pesman did, leaving the film industry to start There With Care out of her home in Boulder, Colo. The nonprofit takes care of every conceivable need that families of critically-ill children struggle with.
Volunteers make sure these families’ refrigerators are stocked and that they don’t run out of toilet paper. They deep-clean homes for kids coming home from the hospital with weakened immune systems, and they drive families to doctors’ appointments so the parents can provide comfort during the ride. Most importantly, the volunteers listen at a time when friends can turn away out of fear and shock about the situation.
Pesman runs the nonprofit full time — but she hasn’t completely stayed away from movie-making. She’s worked with Colorado filmmakers on such projects as “The Cove,” the 2009 Oscar nominee for best feature documentary, and last year’s Emmy-winning “Chasing Ice.”
“I was a control freak as a producer,” Pesman says. “I had to get everything done, everything perfect. I don’t do that anymore. I think Curt being sick changed all of that for me. I didn’t have a choice anymore. I saw how quickly things could change and be taken from you. That’s probably why I love documentary so much. You think you’re making this movie and you’re not. You’re making this one.”
MORE: Why Every American Should Read Harry Potter

When Skiers Leave Behind Warm Clothing, These Teens Dole It Out to the Homeless

There’s more than a mountain of snow at ski resorts each season, as giant piles of winter coats, mittens, hats and scarves accumulate in the lost-and-found departments.
Back in 2011, two 11-year-old ski racers from the Bay Area, Corinne Hindes and Katherine Kirsebom, noticed these mountains of unclaimed winter wear at Lake Tahoe ski resorts and decided to use them to help less fortunate people.
They didn’t stop with just donating one batch of coats to homeless shelters and other charities, however. The girls founded the nonprofit Warm Winters, and to date, the organization has donated 5,000 pieces of warm clothing to help thousands of homeless people.
Even though Hindes and Kirsebom are still only teenagers, they plan to expand Warm Winters nationally with the help of a 2013 Jefferson Award, given by a foundation that describes itself as “the country’s longest standing and most prestigious organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service.”
As part of the award, Hindes is studying leadership with the Jefferson Awards Globe Changers Leadership Program. She aims to expand Warm Winters to 10 ski-friendly states, while keeping the program a teen-led initiative as they work with the National Ski Area Association to get it off the ground at 50 or more ski resorts.
Hindes tells TalkingGood, “There was a time a few years back where I saw a homeless man in a T-shirt and jeans on a terribly cold day in winter and I was horrified by how cold he was, and the fact that he had no jacket to shield him from the cold broke my heart. That was a moment where I gained clarity about my purpose because I knew that I had to help him and others like him in any way that I could, and I had to do all that I could to make their situation better. When I gave my first coat to a homeless person, the smile on his face gave me the most rewarding feeling I had ever felt, and it still does today.”
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How Farmers Are Implementing a Sharing Economy

From a young age, we’re taught to share. And now as adults, it seems like we’re really putting that lesson into practice — from ride shares to community gardens and even shared farm equipment.
That’s right, in Maine, local farmers are sharing efficient and costly equipment that most could never afford on their own — all thanks to the Shared-Use Farm Equipment Pool (SUFE).

Organized through the partnership of the Maine Farmland Trust (MTF) and the Maine Organic Farms and Gardens Association (MOFGA), the Pool was started after MTF staff member Mike Gold saw a discrepancy between the needs of farmers and the equipment available to them.

So, how does the program work? According to Modern Farmer, for an annual fee of $100, farmers have access these six tools: seedbed cultivator, two-shank sub-soiler, plastic mulch layer, strip tiller, ridge tiller and tine weeder. All of the equipment improves farming efficiency, but is so expensive that it’s unattainable for the average local farmer. For instance, the 1,200 pound plastic mulch layer retails for about $2,000.

“The equipment we choose is relatively simple, fairly easy to understand and operate,” Gold tells Modern Farmer. “They see the opportunity to use that one piece of equipment that they may only use one year or once every few years.”
After joining the Pool, farmers participate in a springtime orientation where they learn how to use all of the machinery. Following that, sharing and coordination is managed via a Google Calendar, which members check for availability.
Equipment can be rented for up to three days, and SUFE does charge members for anything that’s returned late or dirty. According to Gold, there have been very few problems, as most respect the system.
Right now, most of the members are newer vegetable farmers, but the Pool’s number of senior farmers is growing as well. And, with increasing membership, Gold hopes to add more equipment to the inventory also.
For now, though, these farmers are just taking advantage of a great opportunity and learning the value of sharing along the way.
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For These Inmates, Class Is in Session

At California’s San Quentin Prison, inmates are intensely concentrating on the project at hand: learning the vast world of computer coding and programming.
That’s right, prison inmates now have the opportunity to learn computer skills and develop a business model that can be used upon their release. According to Fast Co. Exist, inmates are enrolled in Code 7370 for six months, a class brought to San Quentin by the nonprofit The Last Mile that teaches inmates about the world of business and entrepreneurship. The class is very selective, with only 18 of 100 applicants accepted.
Class meets four days a week, for eight hours each day, and during that time, inmates learn the ins-and-outs of Javascript, CSS and HTML. Their three instructors are from the San Francisco boot camp Hack Reactor and teach in-person or virtual lessons twice a week. For the other two days each week, the inmates practice their skills under the watch of Jonathon Gripshover of the California Prison Industry Authority.
The computer lab at the prison is stocked with refurbished computers, which used to belong to state employees and are now being used by the student inmates. However, none of the inmates have Internet access, so all of their work is completed in a custom off-line coding environment.
The most startling aspect of the program, perhaps, is that none of the participants have coding experience and many have never even used a computer before.
Jason Jones is one such example. Even though he has never used a smartphone and only used the internet for browsing, he has the plans for an app called In Touch that would instantly upload a student’s test scores and other information for parents to review in order to be more invested in their child’s education.
Once released, job opportunities for former inmates are very limited, but the hope is that through this training, employers will be open to hiring them.
For Aly Tamboura, Code 7370 gives him something he never had before: a marketable skill that makes him attractive to employers.
“I get these a-ha moments where a concept or certain element of what we’re learning makes sense,” Tamboura tells Fast Co. Exist. “When I get out, I’ll have a marketable skill.”
And that’s the greatest benefit of the program — a chance for a better life.
MORE: How A New York Program is Reframing Prison Education

In Boston’s Poorest Neighborhood, The Seeds of a Food Economy Are Being Sown

Boston can boast about many things – top colleges, rich history and vibrant business. And now, it can add one more item to that list: an emerging local food economy.
That’s right, ever since the 1980s, the areas of Roxbury and Dorchester have been slowly developing their communities into burgeoning food hubs. With community land trusts, local kitchens and retailers, a waste-management co-op and others, Boston is achieving an integrated food economy.
Back in the eighties, residents banned together and formed the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, acquiring 60 acres of land in the middle of the Dudley neighborhood. Since then, the land has been used to build homes and start a community land trust consisting of parks, gardens, a town common, community center, charter school and a community greenhouse.
That greenhouse is leased to the Food Project, a nonprofit focused on youth development and urban agriculture. Half of the greenhouse is used for produce that is sold to cover the majority of the operating costs, while the other 50 percent is utilized by local residents and organizations.
Food Project works with more than 150 teens and thousands of volunteers to produce food that is sold at famers’ markets and community agriculture programs in order to raise money for hunger relief programs.
Additionally, since 2001, the Grow or Die campaign run by Boston’s youth has been turning vacant lots into raised-bed community gardens servicing more than 100 families.
And in 2009, City Growers entered the scene. Started by Glynn Lloyd (who also runs Roxbury catering company City Fresh Foods) because he wanted access to fresh, local food, the for-profit farming venture is one of the area’s firsts.
Lloyd hasn’t stopped there, as he recently founded the Urban Farming Institute and facilitated in the passing of Article 89, a commercial urban agriculture zoning ordinance. As a result, a groundbreaking was held last July for the Garrison –Trotter Farm, which sits on two lots that had been vacant since the 1980s.
Along with the programs, gardens and more processing business, retailers and restaurants are emerging that want to utilize the local food. Linking all of these organizations is that community’s first step toward a successful local food network.
And for Lloyd, coordination and cooperation is the key for the future.
“Many of us don’t come from conventional business backgrounds,” Lloyd tells YES! Magazine. “Innovation won’t just come from private sector, nonprofits, or government, but from all of them working together.”
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