This crystal has gained popularity among spiritual enthusiasts and collectors with its gentle and tranquil energy. FLINT, Michigan-James Shuttleworth is hustling to organize the tables lined with electric slow cookers filled with hot soup.Green Aventurine Crystal, also known as dark green aventurine, crystal green aventurine, or light green aventurine, is a mesmerizing gemstone that captivates with its soothing hues of Green. The crowd is filing into The Church of the Harvest International on Dartmouth Street in Flint and a heavy snowfall is complicating a normally precision-run evening. This is the first Flint SOUP of 2018.īecause of this event-and many others like it over the last five years-there are new businesses growing in Flint, businesses that otherwise might not have ever gotten a chance.įlint SOUP is a full-time, but grassroots, organization that has given out more than $25,000 in microgrants. Tonight, like all other meeting nights, someone will walk away with a cash prize and new fuel for their business dreams. Once a month or so, Flint SOUP hosts an event that gives entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their business idea and potentially win funding for it. In return for their meal, everyone tosses $5 into the “taco bowl of fate” that is passed through the crowd and votes for their favorite business presentation. Typically, four or five pre-selected presenters offer a sales pitch of their business and the winner takes home that evening’s donations. Former winners have taken home anywhere from a few hundred dollars to well over $1000. “Originally, I just saw the need,” says founder Adrian Montague. “This is a way I can serve the community. I love dreams and I love seeing dreams come to reality. It’s really devastating for me to see dreams die, because I’m a dreamer. There are so many people with dreams but they are just on auto pilot.” Related story: Inside Flint SOUP: $800 win funds kitchen, licensing for Chef Tellyįlint SOUP is a name that causes the unfamiliar to pause from lack of understanding. It was brought here by Montague and follows the format of the Detroit organization of a similar name. The origin of the “SOUP” label is unknown-but it does inspire the homemade dishes that always greet attendees. Shuttleworth made three batches of the soup for this evening, Montague supplied two, and Shuttleworth’s mother contributed another-all of which is paired with salad, bread, and business sales pitches.Īccording to Shuttleworth, Flint SOUP is designed to launch creative ideas to advance individual business owners but to also benefit the Flint community. “We want to highlight, to draw out, and honor the innovators within the flint community that want to use entrepreneurism to raise themselves out of poverty to change their situation, to change the broken systems they are a part of.”īeyond the microgrants themselves, winners also receive mentorship from Montague and Shuttleworth. Montague worked for Detroit Soup for five years before bringing it to Flint. “I approached the Detroit group and they gave me the blessing to launch.” “I want this in my own community,” she thought. Montague started with a grant from the Greater Flint Arts Council. “Pulling the community together over a shared meal is an artistic expression of what is happening in the community. So it was the event as a physical art piece. They loved the idea,” she says.įlint SOUP, now in its fifth year, is funded by the Ruth Mott and Charles Stewart Mott foundations.
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