Mentorship of Young Mothers through Generation Hope Scholar Program

Fewer than 2% of teen mothers earn a college degree before age 30 and more than half of all parenting college students leave school without a degree. P4D provides annual college tuition support and mentorship to a Generation Hope scholar. P4D mentorship provides encouragement and consistent support for the duration of the scholar’s college journey. The P4D mentor meets with the scholar once a month for an hour in addition to attending a training at the beginning of the journey. In the fall and winter of 2021 P4D mentor and scholar will be shadowed by a journalist that is doing a feature article on young parents and the role mentors play in their journey to success.

Mentorship of Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs and Businesswomen through Empowered Women International

P4D provides mentorship to EWI’s Entrepreneur Training for Success (ETS) participants. The ETS program is a three-month, 60-hour course in business, workforce, life and leadership skills. ETS strongly emphasizes the fundamentals of micro-entrepreneurship, combined with the basics of financial literacy. The goal of the EWI mentoring program is to engage ETS students and provide support and encouragement to help them develop and launch their small businesses. P4D mentor assists the mentee with the development of a viable business plan, in addition to offering advice, share skills, insight and professional knowledge to their mentees. They also provide a link for the women into the wider community.

Memphis Latin Festival

Pillars 4 Dignity will be supporting and participating in the third annual Latin Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. There are a number of acute barriers to food entrepreneurship, including startup costs, complex food and business regulations, and even linguistic challenges in communication for individuals who aren’t proficient in English. The fact of the matter is that establishing a business can be challenging for anyone. Moreover, the unfortunate reality is that women face many additional roadblocks, such as the gender wage gap trapping women in lower wage jobs to maintain and support their family’s livelihoods, which significantly hinder their ability to pursue entrepreneurship due to the lack of financial stability necessary to formalize a business.

Accordingly, Pillars 4 Dignity will support Latinx women food entrepreneurs as they participate in the third annual Latin Festival in Memphis, Tennessee as they sell their delicious specialties, such as empanadas, tacos, and agua de jamaica. Latin Festival provides a space for community members to experience Latin culture, including food, music, and dance, and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with friends and family. P4D will work alongside these women in an effort to achieve economic empowerment and kick-start their businesses with the intention of creating long-lasting, sustainable pathways to financial freedom and economic vitality.