In June, the nonprofit To Walk in My Shoes soft launched its Nelson Mandela Community Center. Now, the nonprofit is holding its first classes at the center.
Weekly classes at the community center will teach attendees about business and Microsoft Office. People can come to classes on a week-by-week basis and work at their own pace.
“We offer a lot of programs. We’re not just a one-stop shop,” said Shrone Conaway, co-founder of To Walk in My Shoes and a lifelong resident of the Austin-West Garfield Park area.
Business classes are on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For $60, participants will learn about business planning, market research, financial management, marketing strategies and legal requirements over two months or so.
“If you want to open a not-for-profit organization or if you want to make a profit organization, I can help with both,” said Conaway, who developed the class herself so that she could cater it to each participant’s business. “You have to meet people where they are.”
To Walk in My Shoes is also offering a weekly class to learn Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The class is $25 for a Microsoft account and supplies and takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from either 10:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m.
Conaway said the class is through Microsoft Office. The company generates a certificate once participants have completed the class, which Conaway said takes six-to-eight weeks to finish.
Those who complete the business class will also receive a certificate of completion.
The Nelson Mandela Community Center provides laptops for class use, printers and even a small kitchen stocked with sandwich ingredients, chips and soda.
“I don’t want anyone to walk past here and be hungry, and I’m not able to feed them,” Conaway said.
The Nelson Mandela Community Center also has baskets filled with games from the recently wrapped summer camp it hosted. It will also serve those who sign up for after-school care.
To Walk in My Shoes’ after-school program runs from 2:45 to 6 p.m. and will provide homework help, arts and crafts, outdoor play, snacks, games and activities. It is designed for kindergarteners through eighth graders for $30 a week.
“I’ll take as many that want to come in,” Conaway said. “They are more than welcome. I wouldn’t turn a child away.”
To Walk in My Shoes
Conaway worked in banking for over 20 years before co-founding To Walk in My Shoes in 2016 to offer free programs that connect locals with resources.
Conaway, along with brothers Marnell and Malcolm Brown, launched the nonprofit to help their community, specifically with HIV/AIDS testing and violence prevention resources.
For the resources it can’t offer, To Walk in My Shoes refers people to other nearby facilities.
“We all kind of work together in this area,” Conaway said.
Last year, Conaway and the Browns bought the building for the Nelson Mandela Community Center with about $500,000 of their own savings to expand their services. The building is down to block from 3 N. Cicero Ave., where To Walk in My Shoes provides programs for substance abuse, money management and violence prevention.
“It’s growing a lot faster than I anticipated,” Conaway said of To Walk in My Shoes. “But it’s growing, and I’m thankful.”
To Walk in My Shoes also hosts outside events over the summer. Its last one on Sept. 1 at Garfield Park attracted over 200 people, Conaway said.
In June, Conaway launched Girl Get Up, an organization to provide motivation to local women. Conaway hopes to support all women in the area, from those who are getting poor grades in school to those struggling with mental health or addiction.
In addition to connecting these women with resources, Conaway holds get-togethers for them, most recently, a hibachi grill meal.
“It’s a resource center, and we have to take care of the community,” Conaway said.
To register for To Walk in My Shoes’ classes or after-school care, call (312) 315-2109. The Nelson Mandela Community Center is located at 17 N. Cicero Ave.