Our Last Day | Spring 2022 Mentorship

It’s here, our last day together. We are so proud of all that our mentees have accomplished throughout our 12 weeks together. It's sad to be at the end, but we are excited to see what our mentees do post-mentorship! On our last day, each mentee presented their brands to the rest of the group. Those who created websites showcased their finished sites explaining logos, color choices, photos, and when their websites will launch. Each person was then offered some advice and feedback to better their websites from our mentors and fellow mentees.

Once everyone presented their brands, we had mini graduation for our mentees. Each person was awarded a certificate of completion and the graduation song was sang via acapella from our staff and mentees. It was bitter-sweet to be here at this moment, but it was so much fun. We also recognized our staff that will be transitioning off. We want to thank Sandra, our Mentorship Coordinator, Mariah, our Mentorship Assistant, and Lu’Cretia, Our Creative Project Manager, for all that they have done for TFD.

Once everyone received their certificate, we stepped outside to hop into an Uber headed to Thai Time to celebrate an amazing cohort completion. Until next time friends!

Photo Credit: Mariah

Creating A Brand | Part 7

Well it's here, our last Wednesday of Spring 2022 Mentorship. Can you believe it?!? One more day together and we are done. To celebrate our last Wednesday we set aside time to add last-minute touches to everyone's websites. Each group got together to edit their logos and update any details on their websites. Sandra, our Mentorship Coordinator, assisted each group with turning their logos into files so they can have a copy of the digital file after the mentorship. On Saturday, we’ll have all groups present their finishing products.

After everyone finished with those updates, we transitioned into our last photo shoot of Spring 2022 Mentorship. Our mentees have grown throughout our 12 weeks together and it is amazing to show their progress through photos. Today we had many laughs, awkward moments, so much fun, and a little bit of confetti! We cannot wait to share all of the amazing photos we took from today!

Creating A Brand | Part 5

During our second to last Saturday of mentorship, each group gathered together to add last-minute details to their websites. All of our mentees have been working so hard to get their websites completed before mentorship wraps up. Jordynne and Cameron took a trip outside to get some needed headshots of Jordynne for her website, as well as adding some photos to Cameron's portfolio. They’re both in the process of creating their own photography businesses.

Inside, our other Mentees got feedback from their partners on how their websites looked and if they were missing anything. Jasmine and Jocelyn, a current mentee, took time to work on a branding project that TFD was hired to complete. They used canva to create graphics, brand boards, and used Squarespace to add to their designs. It was amazing to see Jocelyn put her new skills into practice and to help complete this project.

Photo Credit: Mariah

A Tour Of Maywood

Maywood is rich in history and it is so amazing to have our firehouse right in the middle of it! On Saturday our Co-Founder/Executive Director, Jasmine, led a dialogue on the brand of Maywood.

As a group, our mentees discussed: “What is the narrative of Maywood and how it makes us feel?” She led them through a dialogue in acknowledging that communities don’t just experience disinvestment without a reason, and she encouraged them to look at the root, and then to identify how we can come up with community-led asset based solutions. Jasmine believes to do this well, we need to look back at our history and consider the context of who and what Maywood is today.

We all hopped into a van, where Jasmine took the mentees on a tour of Maywood. This tour allowed for them to “see” Maywood’s challenges, like the lack of economic development, not having a grocery store and more. However, this tour allowed for our mentees to sit in the tension of our challenges while also seeing all the good that has happened in past decades, as well as, what is currently happening on a grassroots level. We often hear from outside communities: “Where are the leaders?” So it’s very important to Jasmine and TFD, that we dismantle this lie by sharing all of the amazing residents, organizations, faith communities, and more who are working together towards a better Maywood.

Some key highlights our mentees were able to learn about was The Freedom House, a home that was a part of the underground railroad. They visited Fred Hampton’s childhood home and they learned all about the contributions he made in Maywood as a teen. They learned about Bessie Coleman, and her flying over Maywood, during a time when in America’s history she wasn’t allowed to get her pilot license because of her skin color. We learned despite Jim Crow laws and segregation, we had a thriving Black-own business community which contributed greatly toward Maywood as a whole. And even after white flight, our Black neighbors have continued to fight and advocate for equity and equality in Maywood, which continues to remain a majority Black community since the 1970’s.

So we celebrate, honor and acknowledge all of it’s beauty here in Maywood.

Photo credit: Mariah

Coping Skills & The Basics Of Illustrator

Can you believe we are already halfway through week 4 of mentorship? On Wednesday, our mentees participated in a coping skills workshop led by Erika Luna from the Oasis Project. As mental health is one of our three pillars, it is important we incorporate it into our mentorship. Throughout this workshop, coping skills were discussed amongst our mentees and Erika Luna. Our mentees learned how to deal with stress more constructively, establishing boundaries on what you cannot control, and skills to deal with stress.

We then transitioned to our next workshop with our mentorship coordinator, Sandra. The mentees and Sandra talked about the basics of Adobe Illustrator on an Apple iPad. All through this software was challenging to use, it was rewarding to see our mentees work together to meet their goal of designing something new!