Nourishing Employment Opportunities

In 2015, Dawn Kelly was laid off from her corporate communications job of more than 15 years. She thought she would retire as an employee of this company. Instead, she found herself at a crossroad and unsure of what to do next. In thinking about starting her own business, she consulted the York College SBDC and met with SCORE advisors to brainstorm a new plan. She came up with The Nourish Spot – an all-natural juice, wrap and salad bar in Queens, NY. With the help of her son and daughter, Dawn poured her savings into opening her small business in the neighborhood where she lives.

Dawn needed employees. Now that SCORE, the SBDC and other local resources had helped her get her company started, she needed employees. With limited startup funds, she came up with a creative solution: Dawn and her daughter, Jade, COO, partnered with local high schools with culinary programs, the Child Care Center of NY, the City of New York’s CCAP Program, Queens Connect and Pathways to Graduation to provide real life, employment opportunities where young people from her neighborhood and beyond could get their first experiences working and help Dawn, Jade and The Nourish Spot to provide fresh food and beverage options for the community.

The Nourish Spot has now been in business more than two years and employs seven  people, five of whom are students who began as interns. Dawn attributes her growing business to the different SBA Resource Partners that helped her, her family and her community. She said that without SBA and the other resources, she wouldn't be where she is today. She has plans to expand to new locations in the near future.