The Favor Story

 At this point I am sure that some of you have a few questions about who I am and what I am doing. I jumped right into the devotional text and didn’t really bring home the goal and vision of the blog.  The last several days were an exercise to push me into another level personally, professionally, and spiritually. The abrupt start was to just get the job done, to tear the band aid off so to speak.

I am a mom, business owner, advocate, teacher and now writer!!!

The official story as stated on my company’s website, www.favorcaters.com is:

In April of 2013, Ashley Evans began a new catering company, Favor Catering LLC (Favor). Favor is a social and corporate catering company. Our menu offers rustic soups, casseroles and desserts. Favor seeks to create a unique culinary experience and is committed to offering fresh better for you meals. Favor is driven by its mission, to enrich the lives of teenage mothers and other at risk young women, by using a portion of its proceeds to create programming that will help them envision a vibrant productive future for their families.
Favor was created because of its founder’s, Ashley Evans, personal passion for the community and food.   “The winter before our official launch I spent some time asking myself, “What’s next for you?” “What will you do that will leave a mark on the world?”  I realized I had a strong desire to take the time out to create. My greatest creative expression was in the kitchen.  However, I also wanted to stay rooted in the community. After doing some research, I decided that a social entrepreneurial venture would be best. The mission is my story. “, says Ashley.
As a mother of a now 17-year-old daughter.  Ashley relates to other teen women who have struggles seeing she had her daughter when she was only 15.  Ashley understands, “For most young women pregnancy is a major setback. Statistics surrounding teen motherhood are startling. Stories of teenage mothers are riddled with messages that regulate the parents and their children to a life of poverty, delinquency, abuse and ultimately hopelessness.  Our children become burdens and not the “bundles of joy” they are meant to be. My goal is to change that narrative. Although scary, motherhood was not a tragedy for me, it simply redirected my steps. As a mother, I recognized that my daughter’s future was inherently grounded in them.  This far we have grown together and have defied all odds.  While not advocating for teens to become pregnant the reality is that it has happened and it will happen. In facing this reality, we should instill hope, inspire and lift these women up. “
Favor is positioning itself to be a mechanism that provides or supports flexible employment opportunities and training, health and nutrition education, and life skill development programs. “Through Favor I am determined to produce a measurable impact in the Northeast Ohio area. To date I have focused our business development efforts on grassroots marketing through, word of mouth, social media, and vending opportunities. Our greatest accomplishment was being a Bad Girl Ventures-Cleveland Finalist in the May 2013 class.  This was the period where I finally put pen to papers and fleshed out a tangible business plan and had the necessary tools to stand in front of people and get started.  But I am most proud of the start of our mentorship group “Heart to Table.”   In February of 2014 we began this program in conjunction with the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority.  (CMHA) Every week we host 12 ladies in this community. During this time we come together to prepare a wholesome meal then sit to have our conversation over dinner.
Each event you book with Favor provides you with a satisfying and memorable experience. You also help positively affect the quality of life of local teenage women who are often overlooked.
 “By looking forward with joy today, we create the kind of joy you expect tomorrow” ~Eleesha 

I chose to name the business Favor after reflecting on the word. Most of the time when we think about the word Favor it is in relationship to God’s Favor. We are most accustomed to hearing it in church and become excited about what God has done for us.  But I wanted to take this a step further. Working with the denotation (dictionary definitions) rather than connotation (the understood meaning or association given to the word) I realized we can give Favor also.   I decided that this that directly illustrated what I wanted to do as a social entrepreneur.  My desire is to create a space and place that moms, teen moms in particular, and other woman and girls felt as if people close to them also looked favorably on them.

¹fa·vor

: friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior

archaic

: gracious kindness ; also : an act of such kindness

 The blog Grant Favor is a mechanism to expand our reach in the community using social media.  In the coming days and week more direction will be developed for this specific portion of our plan. My sincerest hope is for it to become a repository for information and a mechanism of support to mothers everywhere.  It is my belief that mothering at any age is the greatest challenge and blessing that can come to a woman. With that we need a place where we can express ourselves without fear of reprisal, knowing we are not alone.  I hope to bring awareness to issues that are important to us. I welcome you to the blog and look forward to sharing with you.

Be Blessed, Be Well, Grant Favor,

Ashley