Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two Celtics stars are giving a game-changing boost to local small business owners.
Jaylen Brown and Jrue and Lauren Holiday named ten Boston-area entrepreneurs to receive up to $100,000 in grant funding over the next three years.
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The accelerator program is the first from Brown's Boston XChange, a non-profit aimed at creating generational wealth in Boston's communities of color.
One of the ten entrepreneurs selected was Tracy Skelly, founder of the Little Bean Cocoa Co. in Jamaica Plain.
"Surprised, delighted, grateful, unbelievably grateful for the opportunity," Skelly told WBZ NewsRadio Friday.
1 of 2 Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
2 of 2 Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
Skelly started Little Bean Cocoa Co. in 2019 after struggling to find culturally diverse, healthy foods for her infant daughter. Today, the company operates a "tot cafe" on South Street.
"We make food that kids like to eat, but the healthful version of those things, and then we often incorporate what we call heritage ingredients," Skelly said. "This is community building work. It looks like food, but food really has been the vehicle for health and wellness, but really for community building."
For Skelly and the other small business owners, the BXC funding means opened doors and a team that has each other's backs.
"The point of the program is to really grow our businesses," Skelly said. "It’s a family, already a family. We’re very invested in each other’s success."
Skelly's next goal is working toward her dream of opening next to Boston Children's Museum.
WBZ's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.
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