Grace Hill Women’s Business Center Celebrates Two Decades in New Location
ST. LOUIS (PRWEB) August 20, 2018 -- Grace Hill Women’s Business Center (the Center), an economic development initiative within Grace Hill Settlement House dedicated to providing micro-business development for aspiring women, announces its new location at 6722 Page Avenue in St. Louis. This new centralized location and customized build-out was made possible, in part, by a grant from The Collective Impact Network, a non-profit foundation working with businesses, churches, local governments, and other non-profit organizations in the Normandy School District as part of the 24:1 Initiative—a community development initiative designed to address the challenges facing the 24 communities that make up this district.
The Grace Hill Women’s Business Center recently relocated from 2125 Bissell St. in St. Louis for more centralized accessibility. The move comes right as the organization celebrates 20 years in business. A Grand Opening/Open House will be held at the new location on Wednesday, August 29th; the ribbon cutting will take place at 9:00 a.m. and tours and refreshments will follow throughout the remainder of the day until 6:00 p.m.
“This move is pivotal for Grace Hill Women’s Business Center,” said Alyce Herndon, Director of The Center. “We are honored and humbled to receive this grant, just as we celebrate two decades of helping entrepreneurs throughout our community. We have more space, more capacity, and more staff; we cannot wait to begin empowering more business leaders.”
Grace Hill Women’s Business Center serves clients through training and counseling regarding business creation, plans, and growth. The Center offer comprehensive services to support all stages of entrepreneurship, 1:1 business counseling, Idea Spot where new business owners can vet their ideas, a speaker series, and its flagship service, Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO)—an in-depth, 16-week business development training workshop.
“For years, everyone thought the Center was only for women or only for minorities,” said Herndon. “Today, we have male and female students of all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our primary target market is focused on women, and our alumni are some of the most diverse, accomplished professionals in the region.”
In 2017-2018, the Center graduated 80 students from the WIBO program. For the 2018-2019 year, Herndon expects that number to increase to 100. In addition to a new, more centralized location which will draw new entrepreneurs to its programs, the Center plans to add alumni and volunteers over the next 12 months to expand reach.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Herndon. “We are celebrating 20 years of history and planning for an impactful and expansive future.”
To confirm your attendance for the Grand Opening/Open House on August 29, please visit https://grandopeningwbc.eventbrite.com. For more information about the programs offered through Grace Hill Women’s Business Center, please visit http://www.gracehillwbc.org.
About Grace Hill Women’s Business Center
Grace Hill Women’s Business Center was founded in 1999 as an economic development initiative within Grace Hill Settlement House. It is a public/private partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration and is dedicated to providing micro-business development for aspiring women, with a focus on minority entrepreneurs in the community. Partnering with other institutions and community organizations, the Center is able to offer a variety of programs and services to further individuals’ aims of entrepreneurship. It offers comprehensive services to support all stages of entrepreneurship, 1:1 business counseling, Idea Spot where new business owners can vet their ideas, a speaker series, and its flagship service, Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO)—an in-depth, 16-week business development training workshop.
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S Small Business Administration, the Center also receives funding from the United Way, Collective Impact Network, and other private donors. For more information about Grace Hill Women’s Business Center, please call 314-584-6700 or visit http://www.gracehillwbc.org.
Jillian Hausmann, Grace Hill Women’s Business Center, http://www.gracehillwbc.org, +1 6187952053, [email protected]
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