12 From 2023

You've heard the saying, "But first, coffee."  For Ashtyn Leinbach, of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, that phrase will take on a whole new meaning.  Ashtyn owns Perisseia Coffeehouse, LLC, and will soon start her mornings by brewing coffee for the community. The new coffee shop caters to the students of John Brown University and the busy traffic corridor of Highway 412, a major highway that runs through the middle of town. Ashtyn worked with Communities Unlimited on a small business loan to open up her coffee shop.

Arkansas Entrepreneur Chris Pearson has long dreamed of owning a candy store and with help from Communities Unlimited, her dream is still alive. Chris owns The Candy Event, a small candy store located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Just like Willy Wonka, from the movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chris loves making people happy with her sweet treats. She is working with the Entrepreneurship Team at Communities Unlimited to make sure her business continues to make customers happy for a long time.

Lucy Ray from Booneville, AR partnered with Healthy Foods at Communities Unlimited to start a pilot project that brought fresh, healthy produce to her school system and the execution was flawless. The successful program grew to include the sharing of recipes, nutrition tips and even a cookbook using healthy produce purchased through the program.

A local Arkansas pig farm and the North Little Rock School District partnered to bring local products to their school lunch menu. The story of how one school district is teaming up with a local farmer to provide high-quality pork to their student's lunch menu.

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Overconsumption of processed foods has been linked to the rising rates of diabetes, hypertension and other chronic health conditions. Access and cost are the major barriers. To address these barriers and help improve the physical and economic health of Jefferson County, Communities Unlimited was recently awarded an “Access to Local Foods”’ grant from Arkansas Community Foundation to launch a “Food Farmacy” pilot program. A partnership with local growers, this health clinic will provide families with healthy, locally-sourced foods.

Military Highway Water Supply (MHWSC) is in southeastern Hidalgo County, TX. La Feria borders it to the west by Weslaco and to the east in Cameron County. Situated between the towns of Mercedes and Progreso, the water supply corporation is located in a small rural community called Relampago on US Highway 281.

Memphis entrepreneur Shalonna Burnett-Haynes wanted the best for her and her two daughters so there was only one “option” when creating a vision for the family’s future, building onto what she knew best.

The train depot in Crockett, TX was chartered as the Houston County Visitors Center and Museum (HCVCM) in 1993 and is home to some of Crockett’s finest historical artifacts. The museum is an independent not-for-profit historical organization, and after being converted, the museum became known locally as the Train Depot Museum. The Community Sustainability Team at Communities Unlimited is working with them to assist digitizing and preserving the community's history.

Justine McCall owns Beautifully Blessed, a Beauty Salon in Delhi, Louisiana. She has always loved doing hair. As a little girl, she enjoyed trying different hairstyles and changing up the look, which led her to want to experiment with other people’s hair. Justine believed that when you look good, you feel good, so she made that her motto. A small business loan from Communities Unlimited helped her move from operating an online business to opening a new 6,000 sq. ft. full-service salon.

The City of Winslow began working with CU’s Arkansas State Coordinator, Brad Jarrett. They started discussing pre-development loans and asset management opportunities to assist them with engineering costs. CU’s Community Environmental Management Specialist, Cherub Alford, spoke with the city regarding a list of documents needed for the loan application to assist the city with engineering costs required to connect them to a water system with adequate, quality, potable water.

To say that Melody Davis has a “sweet” job would be true. However, the journey to get there required a little dough. Melody Davis owns Melody’s Macarons, a gourmet bakery store that offers French-style baked products such as macarons, cookies, cupcakes, and cakes in Lufkin, Texas. A small business loan from Communities Unlimited helped her open a new location in a much busier location for her growing business.