Paul Dribin Joins Justine PETERSEN in Volunteer Capacity as Small Business Advisor
Seasoned small business counselor Paul Dribin has offered his services in a volunteer capacity with Justine PETERSEN. Building on his past experiences with SCORE, Service Corps of Retired Executives, which partnered with JP on providing direct counsel to small business on site weekly at the JP office, Paul will meet with both current small business owners as well as aspiring entrepreneurs to review, vet and discuss their business model, and where necessary, offer direction on areas for improvement. JP is excited and grateful to welcome Paul aboard.
Justine PETERSEN Staff Along with STL Contingent Attend NCRC Just Economy Conference in D.C.
Many local St. Louis area community development practitioners attended NCRC’s (National Community Reinvestment Coalition) annual conference, this year entitled The Just Economy, earlier this week in Washington D.C. The national conference convenes community, policy, government, business and banking leaders who strive for fairness in lending, housing and business. Elisabeth Risch of the St. Louis Metropolitan Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC) is an NCRC board member; John Taylor, President and CEO of NCRC, will be a featured speaker at EHOC’s upcoming Fair Housing Conference, entitled Facing Segregation: Building Strategies in Every Neighborhood, April 12 in St. Louis.
Microloans Taste Good!
Patricia Lowe has good taste – literally. Her catering business, Mississippi Southern Style, serves up the best in Mississippian regional cuisine. Patricia recently closed on a microloan through Justine PETERSEN, which will enable her to not only grow her business, but grow her credit score. Patricia is aiming to become a homeowner in the coming year.
JP Office Celebrates VISTA Appreciation Week
Where would we be without our AmericorpsVISTA volunteer Daniel Koslovsky? Our office would be acutely deprived of his steadfast spirit and seemingly omnipresent smile. The JP office is full of AmericorpsVISTA alums, including Chief Operating Officer Sheri Flanigan-Vazquez and Chief Communications Officer Galen Gondolfi. We at JP are indebted to the service of AmericorpsVISTAs, and Daniel personifies on a daily basis the reason why. Thank you Daniel!
JP Office Celebrates VISTA Appreciation Week
Today’s blog is authored by Ke-La Harris, returning student intern at Justine PETERSEN. We thank Ke-La for spending some of her spring break with us, and wish her the best this semester at Southeast Missouri State.
As a young adult, I’ve always heard the word credit floating around my house, work, and classroom. I never knew how much of an impact credit and having good credit was until I interned at JP over the past summer and winter break. Sitting in staff meetings, participating in site visits, and working in payment support have showed me how important credit is. Having good credit can help me in the future when I want to buy a house or a new car.
As a college student, there comes many challenges – including financial in nature. One of which is choosing the right credit card. This can be problematic: how do you decipher a good credit card company from a bad one?
Most college students aren’t responsible as it pertains to credit cards and end up in a great amount of debt. With the help of JP, I have not fallen victim to those groups of college students. Instead, I have been educated by some of the best people about credit: how to build credit and what makes up my credit score.
Though I am still enrolled as a full-time college student, I have strategically started planning and thinking of ways to pay off my student loans in the future after graduation. It will help increase my credit score, and I will be able to start my successful journey as a middle school math teacher. JP has been a teacher to me in multiple ways as I will be in the future to my students.