Grantees
The Yellow Brick Academy, Baton Rouge, LA
The Yellow Brick Academy led by Joyce James, stationed in the Baton Rouge area, is
a small business pilot program developed to address the barriers women of color face
in the small business ecosystem. The four week training program will aid women in
developing a feasible business plan given their available financial resources. At
the end of the workshops, small business owners will be knowledgeable about credit
and debt management, business skills, and capital access. Participants will be able
to practice healthy habits to tie in their physical and mental health while running
a small business.
North Baton Rouge Culinary and Hospitality Workforce - Becoming Better, Together!, Baton Rouge, LA
North Baton Rouge Culinary and Hospitality Workforce proposed by Laci Sherman, will
serve as a training program for at-risk, young adults ages 16 to 24. It will provide
life skills and job training in culinary arts, hospitality, personal development,
and professional growth. The primary goal of the program is to bridge the gap and
provide job opportunities to address the cycles of generational poverty, violence,
and neglect in the North Baton Rouge area. Café Reconcile has led this program successfully
in New Orleans for over sixteen years, and the Baton Rouge community is ready to get
some good results from this program as well.
New Orleans East Matters “Love the Boot” beautification initiative in Joe W. Brown Park, New Orleans, LA
The Friends of Joe W. Brown Park and the New Orleans East Matters groups will provide
meaningful beautification and community engagement to the New Orleans East area. New
Orleans East, a community still struggling with large swaths of blight and lack of
economic development recovery since Hurricane Katrina, will receive a much needed
makeover in Joe W. Brown Park and surrounding areas. The beautification plan for the
park includes landscaping, eventual light fixtures, a watering plan for new plants,
and painted park benches to enhance the look of the park. This area suffers from high
crime rates, the hopes of this initiative is to enhance the look of the community.
It would serve as a source of relief to the frustration and depression among residents,
as well as improve quality of life.
Lincoln Beach Project, New Orleans, LA
New Orleans for Lincoln Beach will take on the Lincoln Beach Project in collaboration with Water Leaders Institute, to host charrettes to develop a revitalization plan for Lincoln Beach. The historic site, which served as a Black community beach during segregation, closed in 1965. Revitalizing the beach requires input form the community, city officials and an advisory group. The Lincoln Beach Project calls for four charrettes and a final meeting to discuss the results of the data collected.If successful, the beach will bring back a meaningful site to the New Orleans area for generations to come.