We Begin the Tumbleweed Program!

What a fabulous morning! We met with twelve Tumbleweed program managers in our first FastTrac(R) New Venture session. We are going to help them expand the Drop In Gallery and the accompanying t-shirt printing businesses safely (without risk to Tumbleweed) and train the managers to train Tumbleweed youth to intern at the DIG and start their own ventures.

One of the most exciting facets of this business is that Tumbleweed has a program for refugee youth. Many of them will not be able to stay in the United States, so the goal is to send them back to their own countries (mostly Central America) with skills to start their own businesses or create crafts that can be imported by Tumbleweed and sold at the DIG.

As usual, I feel blessed to provide some help to Tumbleweed, which helps so many others. And I’m doubly blessed because, as usual, I have the strong support of Phillip Blackerby and Ed Nusbaum, two fantastic facilitators and business counselors.

This is where, after the transient youth create the art, it is sold and 70% of the proceeds are returned to the artists.

Here are the Tumbleweed kids in their nascent t-shirt business. This is the program OTEF is helping to launch. They have many orders coming in already.