listen to this articleA new nonprofit organization aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and innovators has awarded its first round of grants to two women with a passion for helping others, according to a news release.
Greer Moves announced the winners at Greer's May huddle event, “The Platform,” the release states. Occupational therapist Connie O'Neill, founder of Big Play in a Box, will receive a $15,000 grant. CAIRS Shoes founder LaShonn Edmunds will be awarded his $10,000 grant.
Graduates of The Platform's bootcamp program are eligible to apply for the grant.
“Both grant recipients have great business ideas that contribute to worthy causes and inspire us with their potential to make a big impact,” said Greer Move's Philip Barrow in a release. “There is,” he said. “By providing seed funding, we are investing in the bright future of Greer entrepreneurship.”
Big Play in a Box offers subscriptions and gifts for children ages 3 to 8, according to the release. The box is filled with carefully selected items and activities that provide tangible alternatives to screens.
O'Neill said that by joining communities like Greer's platform, dreams can become reality.
“I have built relationships that have guided me, forced me to face some hard truths, encouraged me, and most importantly, become my friends,” O'Neill said. stated in the release. “Thank you, Mr. Greer, for making even the smallest company feel like a big deal.”
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Lashawn Edmunds has an incurable disease called lymphedema, which causes chronic swelling in his legs, according to the release. She couldn't find fashionable shoes on her market that would stretch to fit her own feet, so Edmunds invented her stretch shoes. The CAIRS shoe was officially launched this spring on World Lymphedema Day.
“I am so grateful to be part of such an amazing business community that cares, supports and creates solutions every step of the way,” Edmunds said in the release. “Having the love and support from other entrepreneurs who have walked this path really gives me hope and lets me know that I am not on this journey alone. .”
BMW, County Bank and Michelin are sponsors of the Greer Moves initiative.
Kevin Duncan is a Greer Market Executive at County Bank and a member of the Greer Move Board of Directors.
“County Bank’s grant contribution to The Platform at Greers Bootcamp demonstrates our dedication to local entrepreneurs,” Duncan said in the release. ”
