Gay pride shirts target
When COVID-19 hit, nearly every student at Hope Rising’s 52nd Street location left as parents were out of work and schools closed. Hope Rising provides early learning and education programs for ages 3 months to 12 years old. “It was a lifeline to help us weather the storm,” TafarI said.Įllen Bryant-Brown and volunteers via Wells Fargo via Wells FargoĪnother female business owner who faced challenges during the pandemic is Ellen Bryant-Brown, the owner of the Hope Rising Child Learning Center in Philadelphia. TafarI was able to get a $250,000 working capital loan through Wells Fargo's Open for Business Fund from grantee Access to Capital from Entrepreneurs, and it helped her keep the coffeehouse open. “I started making some products on my own as the supply chain was creating challenges-chocolate sauce, lavender sauce, our own chai,” she said.
One way she kept her business afloat was by becoming even more self-sufficient.
By trying to find some loans, some grants, or anything. “At the height of the COVID pandemic, I did everything I could, trying to figure out ways that we could sustain ourselves. As the pandemic wore on, Tarfarl felt she ran out of options to keep her business alive, but never stopped coming back to work. When the pandemic hit, the number of people in downtown Atlanta dwindled and the lack of foot traffic significantly hurt the coffeehouse’s finances. Rahel TafarI is the meticulous and hard-working owner of the coffee house who was inspired to open her business by her mother from Ethiopia.