Three Southwest Florida Entrepreneurs Receive Startup Grants from MicroEnterprise project

Feb. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- Two graduates of the Southwest Florida MicroEnterprise project have received grants to help support their fledgling small businesses, and a third has been selected for grant assistance.  Christa Lemonakis of Cape Coral and Mark Pasek of Estero have each been awarded $2,500 from Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida (http://www.goodwillswfl.org) and Lee County Human Services.  Cape Coral’s Raquel Mendoza will receive a grant in the coming weeks.

Lemonakis is the founder of Extend & Mend International, a wig and hair extension distributor.  Pasek, an inventor, created the Tag Along Dolly, a transportable hand truck that mounts on trailer hitches.  Mendoza is preparing to open a yet-unnamed massage and spa practice.

In the year and a half since the Southwest Florida MicroEnterprise project began, 71 entrepreneurs have graduated from the program with certificates symbolizing their completion of First Step FastTrac classes.  FastTrac is a training program, designed by the Kauffman foundation, to help emerging entrepreneurs, start new ventures and grow small businesses.

Two spring sessions of MicroEnterprise courses begin February 27 in Fort Myers and February 28 in LaBelle.  Fort Myers classes will meet Monday and Thursday evenings for six weeks at the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center (3903 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.).  LaBelle classes will meet Tuesday evenings at the Southwest Florida Works Office (921 Anvil Circle).

Seats are still available for both spring sessions.  Registration information is available at http://www.goodwillswfl.org/microenterprise or by calling 239-995-2106, ext. 219.

The SWFL MicroEnterprise Project is administered by Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc. (http://www.goodwillswfl.org) through partnerships with the Lee County Department of Human Services, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center, Fifth Third Bank, Florida Community Bank, and the Edison State College Hendry/Glades Center.

# # #

About Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc.:
Goodwill operates 25 thrift stores in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties to support its mission of removing barriers to independence. Programs include income-sensitive housing, career placement assistance, the L.I.F.E. Academy Charter School, Four Wheels for Work, and others.