Original Show Notes: Helping the homeless

Shreya Bhargava is a local neighbor to us here in Washington D.C. and has started an incredible cause to help the homeless community.

It is a nonprofit called District Mugs. 

District Mugs introduces entrepreneurship to the homeless and low-income individuals in D.C. by teaching the homeless and low-income participants how to paint, market, and sell coffee mugs.

Their mission is to empower economically disadvantaged segments of our population by providing them with the opportunity to earn a small income while learning transferable skills.

Shreya, it is an honor to have you on the show, welcome!

[2:11] Tell us a little about yourself.
·      Grew up in India
·      Loads of people struggled to make ends meet
·      Studied economics at Brown University
·      Been volunteering in a shelter for the last year and started District Mugs shortly thereafter
·      Helped over 20 people today

[3:33] What is the difference between a nonprofit business and a “regular” business?
·      Purpose ownership & public support are the indicators
·      The mission is to benefit society and not to make profits
·      Public ownership – no one person holds all the ownership
·      Income must never be distributed to any owners

[4:54] How did the idea for District Mugs occur?
·      When working at the shelter, realized there was a massive gap between the services and what people actually needed
·      Identified a serious gap to get these people employed by providing transferrable skills
·      The goal is to teach entrepreneurship and business skills, the mugs are a byproduct.

[6:38] What are the main obstacles that stand between you and your mission, and how do you plan to overcome them?
·      Time – relies on passionate volunteers, people are working free of cost
·      Transient homeless individuals- need to incentivize people to come to class & get them paid faster

[8:23] What is a long term goal you have for District Mugs?
·      Help participants run their own successful businesses
·      2 people currently selling on Etsy, another person at the Eastern Market
·      Goals is to help people learn knowledge on business so they can start their own businesses
·      Provide a full time income

[9:26] How has the company changed over time?
·      Started really small scale, the idea has evolved significantly from creating mugs to entrepreneurship.
·      Popup sales have worked great lately
·      Great support from the DC community
·      Frugal innovation- producing goods and services with as little cost as possible

[11:22] Where does most of your funding come from?
·      Started with a $800 donation from a corporate donation
·      Actively participating to get grants and donations
·      Recently won the Beacon DC grant.

[12:22] What percentage of your budget comes from private donations, and what do private donations help you to do that your other sources of funding don’t cover?
·      80% grants from corporate donations
·      20% private donations from website or mug sales

[13:50] Do you meet at the same location every month?
·      Columbia Heights in DC
·      Meet on Thursdays
·      Professional art teachers provide lessons
·      Business workshop after the painting
·      Working on getting more locations

[15:7] If I wanted to get to know the organization better, what are the best ways to learn more? Are you accepting new employees/ volunteers?
·      Website: districtmugs.org
·      Facebook
·      Instagram
·      Email: [email protected]

Sponsors

[16:9] Sponsors: Chain of Wealth – Learn how to save money in everyday living, head over to chainofwealth.com/moneytips to find out more!

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Value Link Round (VLR)

[16:45] Why do you think that people fail at achieving their dreams?
·      It takes persistence and dedication, don’t give up!
·      People are not organized enough, work and life.

[17:31] What other books or podcasts can you recommend?
·      Ted Talks: How great leaders inspire action and why good leaders make you feel safe
·      Ted Talks: Creative problem solving in the face of extreme limits
·      Book: Pivot by Jenny Blake
·      Book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

[18:48] What is the best advice someone has ever given you?
·      Being confident in my own abilities

[20:0] What is a quote that you try to live by?
·      “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Einstein

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