#urbanventures

If you've been around Urban Ventures long enough, you might recognize this lady right here. If you don't recognize her, maybe you recognize her food truck -- @latortillacatering

On this International Women's Day, we wanted to share about Janette and how she made her dream a reality.

Janette and her family have been participants at UV for over six years, but their relationship to our organization goes much deeper than that. Together they’ve volunteered with our programs, spoken at our events, and advocated for the community.

Back in 2018 Janette was on a panel of women at a UV luncheon. She & her husband had recently started up a catering company. As she was sharing her dreams with the event guests, she confidently stated, "next time you have this event, you'll be eating my food!”

And she was right! To date, Janette and Luis have catered over 50 events for Urban Ventures! Their catering business grew quickly, and in 2020 Urban Ventures sold its food truck to Janette and Luis so they could expand even further. Now you'll find them all over the metro serving up their tasty nachos, cauliflower tacos, and burritos all over the place.

Janette moved to MN over 20 years ago and attributes a lot of her success to her own mother. Growing up in Mexico there were always a lot of labels put on women, but she knew she had more to offer the world. She shares that growing up women were told "be a wife, be a mom, be a housewife... but we were never told to 'be you.'

"Thinking of my mom, and my abuelita, and other Mexican women who suffered, and were overworked and unappreciated... I am a better woman because I saw them and knew I could change my destiny."

We are so proud to have strong, confident woman like Janette as a part of our UV family. Her accomplishments are a reminder of what's possible when we support our neighbors!

Hello UV family,

If Benny and I have seemed to be MIA it's because we've been hard at work this season recruiting students for Act Six- presenting at high schools, hosting community information nights, attending MNACC fairs, tabling at community events, and connecting with families in our community in order to ensure we have a successful season!

We are proud (and relieved) to say that our hard work has paid off!! Our goal for completed applications was 350, which would surpass last year's number of 291 by 58 applications. Well, we not only met our goal but surpassed it significantly! We have received 465 completed applications for this year! 78 of the 465 came from south Minneapolis high schools, with our neighbor Cristo Rey coming in third out of ALL schools! 63 of the 465 applications came from south Minneapolis zip codes. Act Six momentum continues to grow year by year which makes us very excited but also brings about an urgency for us to continue looking for ways to expand our capacity!

Thank you all for your continued support and an extra special shout out to Siempre Padres and Forever Parents for connecting us with your program participants and giving us the space to share. Now, Benny and I get to hibernate in the office and work through the after wave! Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Best,

“Once I started working here, I realized that it’s very different than what I had been learning in school,” shares Nathalie Lopez. She’s referring to Urban Ventures’ youth mentoring program and her role as an Urban Ventures intern. It’s not that what she’s learning is incorrect, just that the practical application hasn’t matched what she expected. Her experience working with teenagers at Urban Ventures has complemented her education as a Social Work and Psychology major at North Central University.

“Taking this role let me put things into practice. If I hadn’t been here serving these kids, I probably would have forgotten a lot of what I was learning.” Instead, each week she has the chance to apply the skills and techniques she’s discussing in the classroom. “I have a better understanding of what I’m doing and learning, way more than I would have just in a classroom.” Nathalie is one of nine students with paid internships at Urban Ventures. The internship program exists to give real-world experience to university students in their field of study. The program was  made possible by Eagle Brook Church’s “Making a Difference” campaign.

In 2022, those experiences included small business through Urban Ventures Coffee, education and  social work in academic support and youth mentoring programs, agriculture and nutrition on the farm, and development and event planning alongside the Advancement department.  

In addition to the hands-on experience, interns receive supplemental trainings on topics like professional etiquette and financial planning. “I’ve learned a lot about organization and time management,” shares Nathalie. “I’ve always liked being organized, but I’ve learned more about making a plan and creating systems to get things done.”

The program has created a win-win for interns and Urban Ventures, building confidence and improving programs at the same time. Nathalie has begun transferring even more knowledge from her schooling to her internship. “I’ve been able to use what I’m learning in class to suggest changes to our program. It’s been working really well.”