INSPIRATION
MVF includes three farms across the
greater Greenville area: Sullivan Street
Farm, Serenity Farm, and Minnie’s
Farm. This organization has turned
vacant properties into hot spots for
beautiful gardens and valuable experiences,
further enhancing the city.
“With Mill Village, there’s an incredible
entrepreneurial connection or
component to what they’re doing,
and this gives us, as a community, the
opportunity to expose these children
to entrepreneurship and business, to
follow their passions and their dreams,
and to understand that there are not
just roadblocks everywhere—there is
opportunity,” explains Steve Frabitore,
owner of Tupelo Honey Cafe and
partner of Mill Village Farms.
MVF offers youth development classes,
teaching subjects including fitness,
cooking and nutrition, future planning,
personal finance, and “Powered For
Life” courses. Powered For Life classes
are 11-week courses in which participants
learn resume and application
writing, interview skills, and appropriate
behavior in the workplace. This
organization hopes to set up area
youth for success in all areas of life.
Through providing youth in at-risk
neighborhoods with first-time jobs,
MVF empowers and motivates.
“MVF got me my first actual job; it taught
me how to be more responsible. I had
to get more mature—and it especially
taught me how to be on time. I think it
helped me in the real world, too,” says
youth partner Jimmy Thompson.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a
devastating toll on low-income neighborhoods.
Individuals suddenly have
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