With three days left to go, a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to create a food service careers job training program for teenage mothers in Evanston is just three-quarters of the way to its $50,000 goal.
The campaign is intended to launch a version for young women of the training program already underway for young men at Curt’s Cafe on Central Street in Evanston.
The campaign organizers hope to take over the Perla Cafe space on Dempster Street just east of Dodge Avenue for the new program.
The organizers hope to be able to launch the program starting in September.
A big thanks to everyone who
A big thanks to everyone who has donated so far! We have raised over $40,000 and only have a few thousand left to go in order to realize our dream of bringing Curt's Cafe to Dempster and Dodge. This will be a dynamic program to serve the teen moms in our community and offer a fabulous cafe with delicious food. Thanks for helping us help Curt's Cafe expand their services and join our fabulous neighborhood. We are grateful for every donation, the large and the small, every penny matters. Please help us meet our goal by this Sunday!! And a huge thanks to Evanston Now for posting our progress!
Fundraising Co-Chairs: Nancy Floy & Kristen Hemingway
Support for Curts-South
The possibility of the social enterprise: Curts Cafe opening on Dempster street iis being met with great enthusiasm by the local community as well as by residents city-wide. To have a cafe serving healthy choices of food in the area would be a welcomed change to the fast food restaruants which have so long "graced" the intersection of Dodge/Dempster. A non for profit enterprise which is also a business offering good food and a social mission of job training and employment for young teen mothers is commendable, but also a costly venture. It requires support on many levels from all of us who support this possibility. The 1800 Block of Dempster has for the past few years been experiencing a renaissance with the opening of the Heartwood Center, the recent purchase by Heartwood of the adjacent and long empty parking lot and two homes next to and across the street from Heartwood., And we have all seen the soon to open Starbucks on the corner of Dodge/Dempster. We may also see Valli Produce bring a grocery store back to the EvanstonPlaza and the ownership of the plaza may also soon change. Change is happening and Curts South is the right business at the right time and definitely in the right place. We all need to do what we can to make this a reality!!