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project leader
Miles T
location
1177 Dellwood
(Frayser, TN)
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the project

Girls Incorporated of Memphis (GIM) is sowing the seeds of a living-wage experiential employment opportunity for young social entrepreneurs. A new program from Girls Inc. will put teens to work on a small farm in Frayser, where the education goes far beyond growing vegetables. 

The youth farm will be a year-round program. Farm chores for income will include tilling, weeding, harvesting, processing and packing of produce. During the school year, the work will be part-time and focus on social entrepreneur engagement, such as workshops led by local experts, like Master Gardeners. In January, we will expand our public outreach through schools and churches to select the second farm crew next year. That crew will engage in greenhouse work, as well as planting seeds in the ground.

In addition to being paid to grow food, the girls will design a stand for use at the Memphis Farmers Market, and develop an outreach program and a marketing plan. Also, they will conduct community workshops and activities, some at the farm and some downtown at the Memphis Farmers Market.

The Youth Farm cultivates entrepreneurial skills like financial literacy, business planning, and marketing. Digging deeper, the farm is a social entrepreneurship incubator built on the platform of growing food.  Girls who are participants in the Girls Inc. program will begin learning job skills, such as developing a resume and securing references, in order to interview for one of the five spots in the first farm crew. Those chosen for the program will begin working part-time in June. By that time there will be food to harvest from 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables planned for the farm.

The goal of the program is in line with the Girls Inc. overall mission: to give the girls the tools to be strong, smart, and bold leaders.

Through ioby, we are raising money to buy much-needed supplies to help launch of the Girls Inc. Youth Farm. The supplies we need to purchase include a produce wash and processing station; walk-in cooler components; farmers’ market booth supplies; and tee-shirts and boots for the Youth Farm crew.

the steps

Once we meet our ioby project goal, we will immediately purchase the following items needed to “Get the Girls Growing” on the Girls Inc. Youth Farm

1. A Walk-In Cooler which will be created from a used shipping container which we will insulate and install a device called a CoolBot which will regulate a standard window A/C unit such that it creates a walk-in cooler and cold-storage space.

2. A Produce Wash and Processing Station will be built using plans developed by a team of university researchers who created the most efficient wash station design to be used for small-farm operations.

3. Farmers’ Market Booth Supplies to be used as a part of the youth program. The girls will design the market stand as well as advertising materials associated with the selling vegetables at the market stands.

4. Tee-shirts will be purchased for the Youth Farm crew so they have a work uniform to reinforce a real-world employment scenario and boots to protect the feet of the crew.

why we're doing it

With the launch of the Girls Inc. Youth Farm, Girls Inc. of Memphis is launching a new program to teach high school girls the skills necessary to start and run their own businesses.\\More than 42% of Frayser residents live below the poverty line (city-data.com), and the nearest farmers markets are in Millington, TN (13 miles away) and downtown Memphis (6 miles away).

Girls Inc. will address lack of access by providing: (1) A weekly market stand in Frayser; and (2) Weekly vegetable box subscription shares, which will be available for pickup at multiple community locations.

The farm will provide nourishment in more ways than just by bringing food to the table: it will provide the only product that enhances and invests in the community, empowers young leaders, reduces blight, actively reduces carbon emissions, and equips Memphis’ girls to be the leaders of the new economy.

 

budget

DISBURSEMENT BUDGET (as of 5/8/15):



RAISED = $3,601.00
ioby Platform Fee  $35.00
3rd Party Payment Processing Fee (3%) $103.86
TOTAL TO DISBURSE = $3,462.14

Walk-in cooler components
 - shipping container ($1,200)
 - AC unit ($600)
 - CoolBot ($300)
 - Electricity, tools & materials ($1,000)
Remaining amount to go towards purchasing T-shirts and boots for Youth Farm crew 

 

ORIGINAL BUDGET:
$1,000 - Produce wash/processing station

$3,100 - Walk-in cooler components
                  - shipping container ($1,200)
                  - AC unit ($600)
                  - CoolBot ($300)
                  - Electricity, tools & materials ($1,000)

$600 - Farmers Market Booth materials (banner, tables, chairs, etc.)

$300 - Tee-shirts and boots for Youth Farm crew

$5,000 - Total ioby project budget

 



SUBTOTAL = $5,000
ioby Platform Fee  $35
3rd Party Payment Processing Fee (3%) $150
TOTAL TO RAISE = $5,185

 

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photos

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donors

  • Nicole L.
  • Emma T.
  • Bob Clark
  • Ellen B.
  • Liz B
  • Karen S.
  • Adam Hohenberg
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Linden W.
  • Anonymous
  • Maria F
  • Emily Sharpe
  • William
  • William J
  • ML Ramsey
  • Karen W.
  • Leigh Chiles
  • Anonymous
  • Clare S.
  • Rita Chan
  • carol buchman
  • Anonymous
  • Eleanor Gipson
  • Jim
  • Griffin H.
  • Miles Tamboli
  • Emily Sharpe