Preparing women for the job market one bean at a time
One Denver-based organization has helped nearly 8001 Denver women learn valuable job and life skills to help them stay employed and move towards self-reliance—creating a future for themselves, their family, our community and our economy. And it all started with beans.
While working in a shelter for homeless women and children, Women’s Bean Project founder Jossy Eyre realized that education and a powerful support network were the keys to helping residents build a future. She spent $500 on beans and hired two women from the shelter to package them in soup mixes.
Today, Women’s Bean Project is a nationally recognized social enterprise serving approximately 70 women annually. Participants earn a steady wage as they learn basic job readiness skills like attendance, teamwork, attention to detail, problem solving and a positive attitude. Women also attend weekly life skills classes on goal setting, budgeting and empowerment that promote self-confidence and responsibility. Their training also includes computer workshops, mock interviews and job search techniques that are crucial to becoming gainfully employed.
Senior vice president Steve D., who joined the nonprofit’s board in 2004, recalled, “Right off the bat, I could see they were approaching unemployment in a unique way. And it works. The impact they have on their participants is truly life changing.”
When JPMorgan Chase Foundation presented the organization with a grant in 2010, Women’s Bean CEO Tamra Ryan noted that the company’s continued financial and technical support had played a key role in the success of Women’s Bean Project. “JPMorgan Chase has invested in technology infrastructure for us, and in other capacity-building projects that allow us to sell more products,” Ryan said. “Sales create jobs.”
In 2013, Women’s Bean Project was one of six nonprofits chosen by popular vote to receive $25,000 from the Chase Community Giving program. The program recognized Denver-based organizations with exceptional commitment to innovation, education and entrepreneurism. With its 25-year history of providing support and guidance to hundreds of women in the Denver area, Women’s Bean Project was an easy favorite.
Now in its third decade, Women’s Bean Project continues to impact the lives of hundreds of women and their families. Its soup and salsa mixes, organic fair trade coffee and handcrafted, limited-edition jewelry can be ordered online at WomensBeanProject.com, and are available in over 500 stores around the country.
Whatever the future holds for Women’s Bean Project, its mission remains the same. “We are about changing women’s lives through employment,” Ryan said, which amounts to far more than a hill of beans.
After living abroad for 19 years, Donna returned to the U.S. and is settled in Denver. She has written for AP, CBS, The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe.
For more information about the Women’s Bean Project, visit: www.womensbeanproject.com or learn more at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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