I started a business in Kensington and need your help! I live in Kensington – the poorest neighborhood in Philadelphia, where I have been an anti-poverty community organizer for over 30 years and continue to organize. I started Unplugged Limited – a woman-owned business that prints and designs merchandise for anyone as well as in the process of designing our apparel line. In addition to providing jobs for poor people, we are building a cultural center in our office, where we provide free music and art lessons, and sports programs, and teach media, advocacy and leadership skills – ultimately we are here to build our community. Unplugged shares office space with the Poor People’s Army, which has had to hold meetings in the homes of our leaders in recent months. With the Unplugged Limited office based in the center of Kensington, considered one of the most dangerous areas of Philadelphia with its high rate of gun violence and drug use, the business will contribute to the local community by employing people wanting to get off the streets. Because of the extreme drug use in the neighborhood, our pipes are full of used needles that have caused flooding in our building. This needs to be repaired ASAP to fully launch Unplugged Limited and provide jobs for poor people in the neighborhood. Your donations will go towards Initial repairs and improvements to make the environment safe and secure for families Purchasing furniture to build a cultural center Hiring employees from the neighborhood Hosting a Grand Opening with food, performances and community building so we can make ourselves known throughout the city and neighborhood. Upcoming office rent We need the community to hear a positive message and provide an opportunity for local organizations and individuals to give back to poor and minority women and families. I don’t want to have just a fancy slogan. I want to tell our community something deeper and bigger than just a name on a shirt. I want to use my company to connect with people at a deeper level and spread positivity to help our community build relationships with each other and provide hope to women of all ages and backgrounds. Through the process of making shirts, mugs, hats and other merchandise, I will provide a space for poor women and minorities to come together to discuss the impacts of guns, drugs, rising costs of housing and lack of jobs in this post-industrial neighborhood where most of us struggle for daily survival. I also want to show children there is an alternative way to get ahead in society. I grew up in poverty and was a homeless teenage mother. Because my mother was a victim of domestic violence and did not have the ability to provide for herself, I was taken from her. Since then, I have been in situations of hitting the bottom of society too many times and witnessed the same with so many family, friends and others in my community. I want to provide hope for other women so they do not have to adjust to a lower standard of living and accept the suffering of poverty. Young women in Kensington often don’t have hope for the future and need positive role models. In my time as a community organizer and advocate, the women I work with and myself have been looked up to by countless women and girls. I want to model a different way forward for young women who cannot afford college. By seeing women of their same background empower herself to become an entrepreneur, I believe others will want to do the same. Please help me continue to help my community and empower poor and minority women, including myself, to build a future for ourselves and be self-sufficient.
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