| Name | Renita |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Johnson |
| Home Address | 2506 Parkwood Ave Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404 United States |
| Organization Name | Skirts Ministry |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | Renita Johnson, Is the Founder of SKIRTS MINISTRY. In 2018, she discovered a need in the community for women who suffered abuse and childhood Trauma; they were suffering from a lack of sisterhood, family support, and education in dissolving the fallout of childhood pain. The 5013c ministry started to teach hope and help families, marriages, and single parents maintain their households through hands-on relationships through faith. Believing one could make a change and control their life and destiny, with life-changing principles, basic trades, coaching to inspire them that they can change and be the change they want to see. Mrs. Johnson, an author of the Attic and How I Water My Garden, and her well-known husband, the author of "CHA-ROOTS" Chef Lemont, has always brought change to those they have mentored, hired. They have provided second chances to many convicted felons as well. They also housed many to nurse back to health and wellness. Both Renita and Lemont are HEART people; they are teachers with life lessons ready to share and make a change in the lives of individuals. Renita Johnson, a pioneer in starting businesses and maintaining relationships, was once a struggling rape survivor of complex childhood trauma. She told her story through a book and stage play (held in Chattanooga), resulting in many individuals starting their healing journey. Home-Base would be a great start in reviving this struggling community with hope, healing, and wellness, along with getting back to the basics. |
| Organization Address | 801 Dodds Ave Chattanooga, TN 37404 United States |
| Website | https://skirtsministry.org%20%20/%20FACEBOOK%20page%20Skirts%20Ministry |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-364-6942 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 423-355-3814 |
| Email Address | ladyjcakes@yahoo.com |
| Alternate Email Address | michelewinston@live.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | 1. Describe Your Project in Detail Skirts Ministry is a non-profit community-based ministry that desires to see families function in purpose and understand their "Why." We are in the process of starting a program called "HOME-BASE." It will meet some of the community's needs and bring hope to the most impoverished people, who are often misunderstood, or maybe for a better lack of words; they may need a hand up. HOME-BASE is a Hub with programs to teach families and single parents Culinary /Basic-hair, skin, and body care, Life skills, Creative Spaces, and Arts and Wellness. We want to set up a Quad covering 4-main areas that we feel will benefit families to redirect their pathways or life skills below: 1. Basic Culinary - will be a model with a small-designed kitchen space with hands-on cooking, baking, sanitation, and meal planning. Beginners Cosmetology- will have a model with a sink station set-up like a small salon, training on hair care, skincare, and total body care with a medical influence taught by trained professionals and retirees. 2. Life Skills- Home Economics will be a model with table/chairs classroom style. This model will consist of teaching, Finances, Organizational skills, Parenting, Marriage enrichment, Counseling, and coaching: for Physical and sexual abuse, Childhood and Adult Trauma, Living after grief. 3. Creative Spaces- is a program design model for light industrial and construction. This model will teach Hands-on painting, how to redesign a space, remodeling a room in a home, Lawn-Care, decluttering your home, Organizing, refurbishing furniture, Understanding construction labor and material cost, Basic home upkeep. The automotive class will have a model to show and provide hands-on knowledge on how to change tires, oil, windshield wipers, and basic knowledge of maintaining a vehicle. 4. Arts and Wellness- this model will have a portable classroom equipped to easily transition into a clear space for activities on wellness days. Arts days will teach drawing and painting, arts and crafts, designing clothing, sewing. The model will explore all art forms, including playwriting, stage plays, drama teams, dance teams, monolog, competitions, and drawing contests. We will partner with other art programs to expand. We believe this will be a well-loved model for creative people. We will discuss and teach exercise and eating plans from the balanced food groups on Wellness days. There will be a spring and summer garden area where all students will tend and learn lite agriculture skills. We want to offer group dance/exercise classes for the community. Families will be encouraged to participate in a 1-hour course and some dinner meals will be provided for participants. Seniors class will be offered 1-hour on special days, and a lite lunch will be provided for participants. The summer art program with box lunches on-site for students in this community will be an excellent program to help parents keep children fed in the summer when food for parents is hard to provide at times. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | As a result of the negative economic impact caused by the pandemic, this program will help students move to a new job, career, or become an entrepreneur. This project will help students with better meal planning and dietary choices. A better diet will promote healthier families, communities and bring about a more vibrant city. What makes this project a success is the idea of students’ hands-on involvement; having the ability to learn a new trade or enhance their current abilities. We have experienced success in teaching tools and life experiences to many entrepreneurs. As we teach them and provide expertise, our students will be partners for other bakeries, restaurants, and other industries. We are in the process of contacting HR departments of companies that have food service departments, like Sam’s, Walmart, Publix’s, Food City, local bakeries, hospitals, and nursing homes. We will also give basic training to other industries that we partner with to ensure people are placed after training. Most of these businesses have a significant turnover and are always looking for trained employees who have been properly trained. The Home-Base Program is a group of assignments designed to teach and instruct individuals to learn a trade or job to perform the tasks with proficiency. The Program we vision is called HOME-BASE. We believe this program is needed to help people regain the ability to be proficient in the field of work they desire. We also want to allow students to make a career change in areas they never thought they could enjoy and love and could make a living doing what they love to do. This is called purpose. This is your very “WHY.” |
| Where would your project take place? | The first phase of the project will begin at 801 Dodds Avenue. It will include teaching bakery techniques and a basic culinary program. Some proceeds will be used for a weekend food program for several daycares with children ages 3-5 years old who attend selected daycares with working low-income parents who have difficulty supplying food on the weekend for their families. 801 Dodds Avenue is the building that housed the old Café Lemont Restaurant. It was always a place where people ate, gathered, and was shown southern hospitality and love in the Ridgedale community for years. The kitchen has to be slightly remodeled to make it covid safe, and some of the equipment needs repair and replacement to ensure good quality can be maintained for the life of the program. #1 Culinary/ Baking and #2 Life Skills will be in this space. The State will enforce the upgrade of the hood and the chemical system. We will possibly have to upgrade the grease trap to transfer it underground. The SKIRTS office will be a temporary office set up in the backside of the 801 Property and a classroom set up for our Lifestyle projects. To complete the Home-Base Project, we will need funding to purchase the building at 803 Dodds Avenue, next to the existing Restaurant building. We want to house the (Cosmetology/Creative Spaces /Light Automotive) Quad programs in this space. It is located next door to Lemont’s Catering LLC on Dodds Avenue and needs some tender loving care (TLC). It will be the other part of the Quad with the #-2Cosmetology and #3- Creative Spaces /Light Automotive areas needing an upgrade; with funding, we could turn this area into a Home-Base Hub that would make this entire block change from depressed to alive. This is much needed to strive and bring aid to this community. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 795000.00 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | April 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | Our program will be a 2-year program broken down into 1-year increments. Training will take six months, Manual learning six months hands-on learning. A project designed to accomplish a set goal for a particular situation. Our task is to move or motivate an individual to work toward a plan to have a better quality of life. The project first consists of getting the building set up for student cooking and classroom-ready. The following steps are supplies and curriculum for students. The final step is setting time and getting started. |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | All our programs will be evaluated monthly. Most programs have lesson plans and progress reports. Our creative programs will be hands-on involvement, so we will see how well people progress by understanding the task. What makes a successful project is student participation with hands-on instructions. We have chefs prepared to train people to work in the culinary industry that we know very well. We will produce many entrepreneurs that will start their businesses. We will teach business plans and make vision boards for students to follow. The products we sell will also help the bakery and culinary program sustain itself. They will learn how to price products. Also, some students that become advanced will put together meals to sell at lunch maybe once a week to the public and set up table settings and catering functions once we have the 2-phase project done. The student can work there and earn points. After so many points, it will be badge recognition. Training for advanced students leads to job placements. Chef Lemont worked for the school system for five years. Some of the students he previously taught are now working, and some are managing restaurants; Chef Lemont has an excellent track record of teaching and training individuals. We have other retired professionals who are willing to teach automotive skillset. After two years with the program being in place and operating, the advanced student can prepare public meals to fund the program, keep the culinary program operating, and the ability to keep students paid, we will add many students to the culinary industry. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | Accountability is most important. We will supply reports quarterly to our funder. A summary statement on how the student's progress will be prepared quarterly. Before the students are accepted into the program a questionnaire must be filled out; an assessment is needed for the student to determine their placement. After the quarters' end, a report on the Students, Supplies, and the financial statement can be sent to the funders. After the 4th quarter, a certificate of completion will be given with a ceremony, and funders invited in to witness the progress of the student. It’s very hopeful at this time; we hope to have an Employer ready to accept the student or the student will be prepared to further their education to a higher level in the field in which we gave education and hands-on experience. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | All our models in our Quads will be successful. This is set up like a trade industry. A Trade industry always worked in the community. Our program is designed to sustain itself by letting our students perform as the community supports the bakery and the culinary meals. We will put on plays with our drama department and charge a ticket price for the event. Our dance students will be partnered with other dance studios. People support children's programs. We have a retired seamstress that will teach alterations and sewing items for the public. We will do meals and bakery fundraisers. The students will come in for training, and we send them to our partners. The partners are businesses that will employ our students, that have a community interest in getting people back into the workplace. They are businesses that have a high turnover and need people who are already trained and ready for work. Our students will be trained with a high standard skill set. Professionals and professional retirees will teach them. Our students will learn meal planning, home repair, and light automotive, as well as other money-saving techniques for free. It will help households operate better because education is power—the power to change one family at a time. We will give life skills that produce change. People can’t change what they don’t know. If you know better, some will do better. Hope is everything in the community. Hope is the knowledge of something good with the expectation of obtaining it. Lemont and Renita are Trailblazers and pioneers in their field. They desire to make a difference walking alone in this community with love and patience. Home-Base Is Just What It Says. HOME-BASE. WE WINN, WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE BASIC!!! |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | The Community will buy-in by newsletters, social media, Ads, introducing our community programs and extending programs for their kids, and asking for volunteers to help it continue to sustain itself. We will offer baked goods and culinary meals to the public; this is always a drawing card. The Ridgedale and Highland Park communities are neighbors. Houses, Apartment buildings, and Townhomes are newly built and a welcoming benefit to the working class, who are Millenniums and financial stable. The Mill-town Community is also up and coming, which is a new area with 200k and up houses with a working-class community. These areas are within a 3-mile radius right off Main Street and will undoubtedly benefit the community at large. They can buy goods and be offered mentorships for their children and cooking classes for family meals. |
| Name | Renita A Johnson |
| Contact Information | 423-364-6942 |
| Name | Michele Winston |
| Contact Information | 423-544-4000 |
| Name | Latosha McLin |
| Contact Information | 423-774-6234 |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | Sustainability is our #1 goal. We will be available onsite to create community involvement. Sustain the program by selling lunch meals and desserts a few days a week. Students will be trained by our in-house Executive Chef, other Chefs, and entrepreneurs in the city. This is a significant benefit to nearby community neighborhoods because this is a food desert. With this type of training, this project will undoubtedly build or create entrepreneurs. This program will instruct individuals to learn a trade or job to perform the tasks proficiently. The Program we vision is called HOME-BASE. We believe this program is needed to help people regain the ability to return back to work and gain economic stability in the community. We also want to allow students to make a career change in areas they never thought they could enjoy and love. |