My First Day at Sweet Inde

When I got up early on Saturday, I was ready for a special day. I went to the farmers market in Scottsdale to work at the grand opening for Sweet Inde. I got to use my mobile phone to get directions to get there. It was cold outside. I got to bring my jacket just in case I got cold. At the farmers market we sold out of the brownies. There were a lot of people there. I was kind of nervous, but I was getting better and better experience for my job skills and learning about living on my own. I was shy for a second, but I am not anymore. My boss Kristen and I said “hi” to the people when they passed our booth. When they came to our booth, we told them about this company and then after that we asked them if they wanted some treats. When I got home from the farmers market I got to taste the brownie and it was good and delicious.

Before the Grand Opening

Hi. This is your new author Ronald Jones. I think that Sweet Inde is a good organization, because I can get some job skills and learn more about my interests. I would like to get more involved helping out with the farmers market. I would like to have this be an amazing company. Sweet Inde can get to know me. They can do their daily routine stuff. I want Sweet Inde to have a good time baking cupcakes and other good stuff. Sweet Inde inspires me to be a hard worker and be a good role model for others. I can't wait to help out with the grand opening at the farmers market.

New Author of Sweet Inde Blog

Dear Readers,

I would like to announce a new author of the Sweet Inde Blog, "Sweet Independence". Our new author will be Ronald Jones. I hope you enjoy his blogging!

Sincerely,
Kristen Bean
Sweet Inde's Executive Director

Recruiting Participants and Volunteers

I would like to introduce you to a new nonprofit corporation in Arizona that provides job training for people with disabilities. Kristen Bean (Executive Director), Jolene De Tiege (Assistant Director), and Michael Cline (Marketing and Creative Director) have founded Sweet Inde and will begin providing services for people with disabilities in September 2010. Sweet Inde’s Board of Directors include: Jay Dashefksy, David Carey, Alicia Cybulski, Anthony Pinto, and George Garcia. Kristen Bean has received a Masters in Social Service Administration and has eight years of experience supporting people with disabilities to live independently. Jolene De Tiege has supported people with disabilities in Arizona through volunteer efforts in several programs. Michael Cline is a local television producer and editor and is passionate about supporting his community.
Participants of the Sweet Inde program will receive job experience while baking and/or selling baked goods at farmers markets. Sweet Inde Bakery will provide an opportunity for participants to work in the community. Participants will also receive professional development training, such as resume development, interview training, and support in finding employment in the community. Participants will be assigned a job coach, who will be trained on supporting individuals with professional development and networking to connect with community employers. We are recruiting participants and volunteers to become job coaches.

Participant Requirements
• Diagnosed with a disability
• 18 years old and over
• Desires employment in the community
• Needs support on building skills to find employment in the community
• Availability on evenings and/or weekends

Volunteer Requirements- Looking for Job Coaches and Bakers
• Passion to support people to learn new skills
• A belief that all people can learn and become independent
• Availability on evenings and/or weekends
• Recommended
o Experience supporting people with disabilities and baking

If you are interested in becoming a participant to receive job training or volunteering as a job coach and/or baker, please e-mail a cover letter and resume (if applicable) including your name, contact information, job experience and education to Kristen Bean at sweetindebakery@gmail.com. Each participant and volunteer will be required to receive a food worker’s permit. Sweet Inde will reimburse you for the cost of the permit. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Kristen Bean
Sweet Inde
Executive Director
Cell: (480)-455-2122
E-mail: Sweetindebakery@gmail.com

Vegan Cornbread Mini-Muffins with Real Corn

In preparation for Sweet Inde Bakery's first event at the Women with Disabilities: A Healthcare Workshop at the Disability Empowerment Center on June 3rd, 2010 from 1-8pm, I have created a new vegan cornbread mini-muffin recipe. I will be facilitating a baking demonstration from 4:15-5:15 of the cornbread to complement a mexican meal. I was asked to create a healthy and easy to make recipe.

Here is the recipe:

Pre-heat oven for 450 degrees

1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup of whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup naturally sweetened whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tablespoons of water
1 cup of soy milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 sugar (optional)

Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a different small bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix ingredients with a spoon. Prepare mini-muffin pans with mini-muffin liners. Pour the ingredients into the mini-muffin liners and fill the liners almost full. Bake for 10 minutes. To see if the muffins are done, stick a knife into the middle of one. If the knife comes out clean, then they are done!

Tips on Making an Easy Piano Cake and a Bit About Sweet Inde

Michael suggested that I begin to write about my baking adventures...that makes sense I suppose since we are starting a nonprofit bakery. In writing about baking, I will also update you about Sweet Inde!
So..Michael hosted our friend Paul's birthday party yesterday. Paul is a pianist, so Michael suggested that I bake a cake and find some kind of a piano and music themed sculpture to place on top of the cake. I failed on finding a piano sculpture, so I googled "piano cake". I found so many pictures, but it seemed that all of them used fondant..and that seemed like too much work for a PhD student to do during finals week. So, I thought, "why not just use white and dark chocolate for the piano keys?" I bought two types of dark and white chocolate bars, Ghiradelli and Lindt. I learned that Lindt chocolate is smoother for shaping into piano keys. I cut long thin pieces of the white chocolate for the white piano keys and cut 1/2 size pieces of black chocolate for the smaller black piano keys. I used a chocolate frosting for the cake on two round cakes. I frosted one of the cakes for the bottom half of the cake, then cut the top round cake in half and placed it on the frosted round cake. I prepared the piano keys and used frosting to hold the white and black keys together. I then placed the prepared piano keys on the bottom cake layer (as seen in the picture). Easy as pie! It's simple, but quite elegant and appreciated by the birthday boy! So, I learned that baking "fancy" cakes does not need to be as complicated as fondant! ;0)

A bit about Sweet Inde.. I learned today that the logistical issues of starting a nonprofit are quite complicated. We need an attorney to consult with as we prepare our application. We must also become an organized "corporation" in the state of Arizona (which can take a month) before applying for 501(c)3 status. It's exhausting. If you read this and you know an attorney who might be able to support Sweet Inde in this process for pro-bono or a reduced rate, please contact us. Thank you!

Sweet News

It has been a while since I have written, but it is because the Sweet Inde team has been very busy and productive..

I am so excited to announce that Sweet Inde Bakery has been chosen for an ASU Challenge Innovator grant for $2000.00, which will provide us with enough funding to achieve nonprofit status and start Sweet Inde this summer. I found out Friday night while driving to Michael's house via the email function on my blackberry.. the email included a list of 10 winners of the grant and Sweet Inde Bakery was the 8th of the list! I screamed in my car when I found out and screamed again when I informed Michael at his doorstep!

Sweet Inde has also been chosen to be highlighted in an ASU newsletter, Pulse. Please read "My Story: Everyone Can Learn and Become Independent" at: http://entrepreneurship.asu.edu/newsletter/2010/04/29/my-story-everyone-can-learn-and-become-independent. This was an amazing opportunity to tell the story of what inspired the creation of Sweet Inde Bakery!

These two amazing advances that Sweet Inde has made are a dream come true. I am still taking it all in, but at the same time, I know that there is still so much to do and am excited to get started! Sweet Inde will now begin applying for nonprofit status, develop bylaws and choose a Board of Directors. Keep following the Sweet Inde story, as there will be a lot of exciting news and baked goods on sale soon!

"See You Later, Inde"

I do not know how to express my gratitude for being able to feel a part of the community of people with disabilities again. It feels amazing! Today really reminded me why I decided to get my Ph.D and specifically concentrate on disability. People with disabilities inspire me. I know that I have the same passion that my mom has for the students that she works with. She taught me that everyone can learn and the joy that it can bring you to be a part of someone's accomplishments, no matter how small.

Sweet Inde Bakery...The Idea

Hello World! I, your blog author, am a struggling PhD student in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. I am not only struggling financially like most Americans these days, but I am struggling to use my creativity that has been sucked out of me as a Masters student at University of Chicago and now research paper writing PhD student. I bake at least once a week, if not twice. For a full-time PhD student, who has a Research Assistantship for 20 hours per week, a Teaching Assistantship for 6 hours per week, independent research, a family, a supportive boyfriend and many amazing friends, baking once or twice a week is quite a bit. It's been my sweet escape into a creative world. I have been craving to transform my recent found talent as a baker into something that could bolster my other passion: people with disabilities. As a social worker, I have worked with people who struggle to overcome their physical, mental, and intellectual challenges. These people have inspired me and changed my life in more ways than they will ever know. I believe that all people have the right and ability to be independent. So, I have decided to open a non-profit bakery. The Sweet Inde (which is short for Sweet Independence) Bakery will provide job opportunities and training to people with disabilities. Proceeds of bakery sales will go into a grant fund to annual provide grants for individual people with disabilities to increase their independence. Individuals will present proposals for their needs, such as electronic wheel chairs, to the Board of Directors of Sweet Inde Bakery annually. Grants will be provided based on proceeds available and need.

In order to begin this idea, I will need volunteers that believe in the idea and $750 to apply for 501(c)3 status. My advisor, Damien Salamone, told me that determination is what makes ideas become reality. This blog will follow my determination in making my idea of Sweet Inde Bakery come true..