Last week we saw something about Drive Change, and it sounded very promising. Drive Change is a food truck social enterprise that employs, trains and empowers young people (ages 16-25) who have recently come out of jail or prison.
Jordyn Lexton, founder of Drive Change, taught adolescent incarcerated youth on Riker’s Island for 3 years. She wanted to generate channels to success for these young people by using her favorite business model in NYC: Food Trucks!
Similar programs have been enacted by others in LA (Homeboy Industries) and SF (Mission Pie), and NYC is the perfect place for an enterprise that gives troubled youth the necessary skills for a productive and fulfilling life…but they need your help.
Drive Change will provide these concrete services that are proven to reduce re-incarceration:
1. Paid, transitional, quality employment.
2. Concrete, transferable, industry-specific skills and credentials.
3. Community building and outreach.
4. Group and individual counseling with licensed social workers.
Yes, that’s awesome, but what kind of food will the truck serve?
Drive Change will have a savory and sweet menu, featuring locally produced New York State maple syrup, along with other local ingredients.
How you can make a difference!
They are in the process of buying a used truck shell. Then there will be a 3-month conversion process with Shanghai Stainless and Situ Studio in Brooklyn.
The plan is to hit the streets of NYC by September 2013.
To do this, they need your help. So far about $75,000 in private donations have been secured to buy the truck, custom-build a kitchen inside, and transform it into a modern log cabin to complement our delicious maple syrup-centered menu.
In order to complete the fabrication and launch the first truck, they are seeking an additional $40,000. That’s where you come in.
Your donation means that we will be able to pilot the food truck in the fall of 2013 and accept our first full program cohort of 10 young people by early 2014. Once we are up and running, we’ll work with 30 participants per year, per truck.
Not only is this a great cause in helping turn lives around, but the rewards are pretty good too, from bumper stickers to catering a whole party.
Click here to donate to the indiegogo campaign.
Below is a video with more info, and their twitter is here, facebook is here and their website is here.
