TenderLove Fashions
Helping homeless, near homeless and low income women achieve
stable, self-supporting lives for themselves and their families.
By: Carolyn Andrea Marie
Debbie Johnson, who is the Founder and Executive
Director of TenderLove Community Center, developed a
passion for homeless people due to her own experience.
She was one time in her life homeless. She realized that
not all homeless people are suffering from any kind of
addiction.
Debbie then brought like-minded individuals together
to a board that incorporated and created TenderLove
Community Center as a non-profit (501c3) organization.
It is our mission to reduce poverty, social exclusion and
homelessness and to make a lasting improvement to our
clients’ quality of life. TenderLove Community Center is
a non-profit business organized to teach sewing and life
skills to homeless, near homeless and low-income women
in the Albuquerque
area.
The Annual Fashion
Show celebrates the
accomplishments and
creativity of the women
in the program by
honoring the diversity of
cultures enrolled. Over
thirty models presented
a variety of fashions from
many cultures: Hispanic,
including
Mexican
and
Puerto
Rican;
European,
including
German, Belgian, Irish and Italian; Middle
Eastern, including Afghanistan; Asian,
including Japanese; and North American,
including Cherokee, Navajo, Zuni and
Euro-American. Although the event is
free, donations are strongly encouraged.
TenderLove is supported entirely through
grants and donations.
We developed a 12-month program
to teach women skills that will change
their lives and assist them to secure a
job within 3 months of graduation. This
provides a practical solution to a barrier
these women face when looking for a
successful job. The twelve-month program
follows a structured syllabus that covers
sewing instruction, basic financial skills
from a trained financial advisor, resume
writing, and basic employment etiquette.
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NM CliQ Magazine | September 2015