Believing, Doing, Giving...A little extra
Lagniappe Center
The Lagniappe* Center is an employment skills and community development initiative whose mission is to mobilize children out of poverty by surrounding low-income parents with a transformative, vocational community. At Lagniappe, this means that a trainee is paid $18.50/hr while she or he learns several different skill sets from volunteers and professionals. In our paid-to-learn model 60% of participants’ paid full-time workweek is spent in direct manufacturing and acquiring hard skills and 40% is invested in individualized, supportive programming that will help make the participant more independent and stable in the long-term. This results in job offers for full-time, benefitted employment at which point trainees leave our program for their new career.
*pronounced "lan-yap", a term popular in the New Orleans region, meaning “a little extra" or "an unexpected gift"
Sponsor a Belonging Bag for Local Foster Children
Lagniappe trainees create attractive, sturdy canvas bags to assist the Sheridan Foster Parent Exchange in their aim to ensure that no child entering foster care carries their belongings in a trash bag. When you sponsor a Belonging Bag, Lagniappe trainees create and give these bags to the SFPE team who fills it with what kids need.
Sponsor a Child's Gardening Apron
Your sponsorship supports a Lagniappe parent in paid job training while providing sturdy, handmade gardening aprons for local children. These aprons are sewn by our trainees and used in community gardens and learning spaces, helping kids explore, create, and grow while parents gain valuable skills and confidence.
