On Sunday, Sept. 17, local nonprofit Sweet and Thrifty 2, 18667 Dixie Highway, will open its doors for a Q&A-style information session from 10 a.m. until noon.
Founder Moneki Hall said the purpose of the session is to let people in the Homewood-Flossmoor area know what her organization has to offer.
“Sweet and Thrifty 2 provides help for youths aged 16 to 21 who are in need of assistance. We focus on job skills, training and readiness,” Hall said, “but we’re not limited in our scope. Some of our youths need help obtaining a GED. Some lack housing. Whatever the need, we meet them where they are and help them get where they’re going.”
Hall’s grassroots mission began in 2020, when she first opened the doors of the little shop where the youths she serves are able to receive hands-on job training and access other assistance.
Many of the youths she works with come from the foster system. A foster parent herself, Hall says she believes in the wisdom of community approaches to community issues.
“They say ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ and I believe that. Sweet and Thrifty 2 is part of that village, and we are welcoming the rest of our community to come see what we are doing for youth here and to be part of it,” she said.
Youths she has served as well as members of the Sweet and Thrifty 2 Board of Trustees will be present for the open house, and light refreshments will be served.