Center for women of color debuts this week
A resource center for women of color opens this week in San Bernardino. It will offer a host of programs for residents looking to start or enhance their small businesses.
The Black and Brown Opportunities for Profit (BBOP) Center opens at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The center was built by Time for Change Foundation, a nonprofit created by Kim Carter aimed at bringing the innovative ideas of Silicon Valley to San Bernardino.
B-BOP will provide opportunities and resources for women of color with the goal of changing the trajectory of their lives.
Services at the center include:
• Extended business hours (16 hours daily) to accommodate those who have a 9-to-5 job.
• A child care center to help mothers while they use the center.
• A cafeteria for those who have limited access to food.
• Fourteen offices and shared workspaces where women can network and share ideas.
• Pitching practice and investor events to help with professional skills and provide access to funds to get small businesses off the ground.
The 10,000-square-foot center also will offer the B-BOP Build Program, a six-month training course that will provide strategies and knowledge on how to grow a business and advance a product or service.
Carter, aka “Auntie Kim,” launched the foundation to help previously incarcerated homeless women, like herself, with resources to get their lives on a positive track. Her efforts would soon grow, creating housing opportunities for women of color and their children. The foundation services include three emergency shelters, 13 permanent supportive housing units and an affordable housing project called Phoenix Square.
The address is 599 N. Arrowhead Ave.