10 Year Anniversary

Do you love hosting parties? Do you want to have fun while helping Mi Casa raise funds to support its mission?
If so, then we invite you to become involved in the 2011 Mi Casa Es Su Casa dinner series as a host. It’s a series of small dinner parties in private homes hosted by friends of Mi Casa. While the size, menu, and date of each party will vary, the purpose of each Mi Casa Es Su Casa event is the same: raise vital funds to further our mission of advancing the economic success of Latino families.
Mi Casa Es Su Casa guests will each be invited to make a suggested donation of $50 – or the equivalent of what you might spend on a night out.
Hosting a Mi Casa dinner party is fun and easy!
1 – Pick a date.
2 – Create a guest list. Invite the people in your life who, like you, care about making a difference in our community. As a way to share the work, consider teaming up with a friend as co-hosts. All hosts and co-hosts receive a Mi Casa Es Su Casa e-vite template to help easily spread the word and invite guests.
3 – Set a fundraising goal for your event and communicate it to your guests.
4 – Plan your party to fit your lifestyle and budget. Some hosts will serve a sit-down meal while others may organize a happy hour with appetizers and drinks
5 – Finally, throw your party!
On the evening of your event, Mi Casa staff, board members and volunteers will be available to mingle with your guests and provide an overview of our programs.
Want to host a Mi Casa Es Su Casa party? Please contact Cheryl at (303) 539-5609 or cbalchunas@MiCasaResourceCenter.org.

In 1976, eight Head Start mothers living in West Denver founded what would become Mi Casa Resource Center. More than 35 years later, thousands of low-income individuals, many of them Latinas and youth, have come to Mi Casa with little more than hope and dreams: hope for a brighter tomorrow, dreams of a good job, a home of one’s own, and a child’s bright future. For many of these women their first step through Mi Casa’s front door is the beginning of a journey toward new opportunities and economic success.
Mi Casa’s mission is to advance the economic success of Latino families, through an integrated program strategy comprised of Career, Business, and Youth & Family Development services. Mi Casa believes that only when members of a family have realistic opportunities to pursue professional, educational and entrepreneurial advancement – within a culturally responsive and supportive environment – will the cycle of poverty ultimately be broken. Mi Casa offers:
Career Development Programs – that provide a practical pathway for workers who face barriers to employment to launch a promising career

• Green Construction and Energy training program
• Bilingual Bank Teller training program
• Healthcare Professionals training program
• Vocational English Language Learning (VELL) training program

Business Development Programs – to help underserved entrepreneurs and emerging businesses find success through self-employment

• 13-week entrepreneurial program
• Individual business consulting/coaching
• Many seminars on topics such as social media, technology, email marketing and networking

Youth & Family Development Programs – for Latino youth focused on positive academic, emotional and social development, with opportunities for family engagement and adult learning.

• Afterschool technology program for youth ages 14-20
• Out-of-school enrichment programs
• Intensive case management and prevention for at-risk youth

Mi Casa continues to modify and expand programs to align with community needs, economic trends, and best practice program models. Because of their drive for excellence they were considered a national model for welfare reform and were recognized and endorsed by then First Lady and now Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Proof is in the statistics:
•    54 individuals successfully completed the bilingual entrepreneurial training courses in Denver and Southern Colorado; 84 graduates submitted viable business plans
•    83 small businesses launched with Mi Casa’s assistance that created 87 jobs, obtained over $1,000,000 in capital assistance and generated nearly $3,000,000 in revenue.
•    81 individuals completed Mi Casa’s career training programs
•    44 individuals (54% of those who completed the training) have been placed in full-time jobs with average wage of $11 per hour with benefits
•    402 children were served in out-of-school time enrichment programs
•    230 family members participated in adult programming
•    53% of core students improved their academic performance based on CSAP scores
•    100% of core students advanced to next grade
See Mi Casa in action – Check out their video!

Mi Casa from Mi Casa Resource Center on Vimeo.
Learn  more about Mi Casa – www.micasadenver.org

The proof is in the pudding, or shall we say the soup, with 58% of 2011 participants graduating the program, 78% securing jobs, 66% keeping employment at 6 month check-in, 80% showing improved self-esteem and interpersonal skills, and displayed increased ability to set goals and manage finances. 80% also eliminated employment barriers like housing and tra
nsportation. With the Women’s Bean Project as a stepping stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families, and create stronger role models for future generations.
Below are just a couple of their tremendous success stories: (OR we could have this link to another page so folks don’t miss the bottom section)

Barbara
“I always felt like the black sheep in my family. My mom and I argued until I moved out of the house at 14. I was in and out of people’s houses until I graduated from high school. My mom now admits she wasn’t a good mom to me…but, it was tough for her too because she was 17 when she had me.
I started getting into meth when I was living with a friend, and her mom introduced me to it. That started a 7-year meth addiction. Both of my children were born in jail and had a slight addiction to meth themselves.
Working at the Bean Project has given me so much. The Bean Project saw me as more than just an ‘addict.’ It can be really hard when you are trying to get your life back together and people only see you a certain way. The Bean Project didn’t judge me and helped me find a way back into society.”
Update: Barbara got married, is working part time and expecting a baby.

Josephine
After her mother’s untimely death, Josephine started getting into real trouble. It began with cashing bad checks when she was 18 years old to support her daughter. Soon, she started drinking and getting high which lead to cashing more checks, stealing cars and dealing drugs.
“The bank caught me cashing checks and I was arrested and sent to jail for six months. When I got out, I found out I lost full custody of my baby.”
“I am so grateful. I didn’t even know where to start. The Bean Project helped me get my birth certificate, social security card and got me working right away.
Update: JoJo is working and living in her own apartment.

Shawna
I was born in Colorado and I have 2 siblings. My mother was an alcoholic. My parents divorced when I was 10 and all three of us kids stayed with my dad. From that point on my life was different. I started to have trouble in school. By the time I was 12 I stopping going to school, left home and was drinking everyday. At 14, I started using crystal meth. By 16 I was shooting up. My life was a mess. I didn’t have my family. I was in and out of juvenile facilities.
When I was 18 I got my first felony for forgery and went to jail for 180 days. When I got out, I met my daughter’s dad. It was first of many abusive and horrible relationships. I became pregnant but didn’t stop using drugs. After my daughter was born things got even worse. I was living in a hotel on Broadway with my daughter. My addiction forced my mother to go get sober to save her granddaughter. She took her from me because I was high and not a very good parent. I would visit maybe once a week.
My daughter was growing up and getting bigger without me. I would show up high to her birthday parties. I missed her first day of school. I missed every important first experience. My daughter wanted to see me but I was not capable of seeing her. I didn’t care about anything. And my mother had to deal with my bad judgment.
I was high nonstop for over 10 years. I was in and out of jail. I had nothing and nowhere to be. And I was writing bad checks to stay high. I eventually ended up at a community corrections program called the Haven. From there I was referred to Women’s Bean Project.
When I started work there it was awesome. I went to work every day. I was responsible. I learned skills I never had. It was like I was 16 again, going to work for the first time. My past doesn’t mean that I can’t be a normal functioning member of society.
I learned how to go into an interview and be confident. I learned to answer uncomfortable questions that employers would ask. I went Women’s Bean Project with no skills and by the time I left there was nothing there I didn’t know how to do. I could make baskets, work on the line, do shipping, answer the phones. I could do it all and it felt good. I am so appreciative of the opportunity that was given to me at the Bean Project. It was the first of many steps in the right direction. I would like to see more women who are trying to get their lives on track, be able to have this opportunity.
Contact Hoyer Law Firm for more information.
Update: Shawna is working in an optician’s office and continues to be a mom to her children.

Since 1989, Women’s Bean Project has been dedicated to helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment.
The Mission: To change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise.
The Vision: Women’s Bean Project strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities.

With this stepping stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families, and create stronger role models for future generations.
The Program:
The Women’s Bean Project is a non-profit business dedicated to helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. Our goal is to provide each program participant with a safe, accepting work environment where she can learn to identify and build upon her talents while building the skills necessary to get and keep mainstream employment. We do this by providing employment training in our gourmet food production business.
Each program participant begins her time at the Bean Project on the production line. During the initial Probationary and Stabilization period, participants focus on the basic skills needed for employment such as coming to work on time and staying on task.
As participants move into the second phase of employment, expectations increase to include individual goal setting and team leadership, and the focus broadens to include skills such as problem solving and effective communication.
Training tracks provide our program participants with the opportunity to work in various departments throughout the organization, offering them additional skills and the chance to try different kinds of work. Training tracks are offered in reception, shipping and receiving, sales and marketing, off-site sales, public speaking, and accounting.
The program has three basic components, each designed to address areas that serve as barriers to getting and keeping employment.
Meeting Basic Needs and learning Life Skills and Fundamental Job Readiness. For in-depth information about the program click here.