Meet the Empresarias Soñadoras, also known as the Corona A cohort of The Child Center of NY’s groundbreaking Cash+Community Works initiative.
Meaning “dreaming entrepreneurs,” the name Empresarias Soñadoras embodies the spirit of Cash+Community Works, a movement grounded in the concept of peer-driven change and defined by direct investment in under-resourced families, trusting them with power, and connecting them with peers in an effort to uplift whole communities. It works on the premise that families are the experts on what they need to achieve their goals, and our job is to act as investors, advocates, and partners.
The initiative, which launched this spring, already has enrolled 300 families in Queens and Manhattan over the course of its three-year pilot phase.
The Empresarias Soñadoras was one of our first cohorts. Most of them have children enrolled in a Child Center early childhood education program. The group has a vibrant, positive energy, and participants immediately connected with each other and their businesses, which range from baking to piñata making. They are quick to share resources and ideas on business development or their children’s education. Many connect on the fact that they are immigrants beginning a new life in the United States. They encourage each other not to limit themselves or keep their heads down the way they say they instinctively do.
“This group has sparked many ideas for new businesses, and the meetings provide a space for the participants to learn from their peers and have support in everything they do,” says Alyssa Murillo, the program’s family and community liaison. “I know they are going to soar to new heights—and bring their community with them. It’s what Cash+Community Works is all about.”
