Here are some brief words from our graduates
27 years old, San Franciscan Resident
I am a 27 year-old San Francisco native with roots in Guanajuato, Mexico. I became a teen mother at 19 years old and upon my daughter’s birth, my interest in sewing grew. A counselor at Horizons Unlimited linked me up with Turning Heads to explore economic empowerment through Sweet Dreams. My favorite job at Sweet Dreams was hand and machine sewing the lavender eye pillows. I am currently a Case Manager who works with teen parents to graduate from Hill Top high school. Thanks to Turning Heads in providing a sewing program for teen moms, I now support my community by referring many interested young women to the sewing program.
25 years old, San Franciscan
Hey all, I was part of Turning Heads/Sweet Dreams for four years, and had a great growth process. Sweet Dreams gave me skills I didn’t know I had, and created an avenue for me to express my creativity. I am from a disadvantaged background, the resources available to me were slim. I believe Turning Heads gave me the support that helped me get to the place I’m in today. Sweet Dreams is a love of mine which involved working with young women from all over the city, and developing products that everyone can use. I enjoyed business the most and calculating our gain and growth. Also as a struggling college student, the profit we shared helped me tremendously. I invite you to come on this journey with the Sweet Dreamers in the busy world of craft fairs, holidays, and the day-to-day.
Orisa Fonseca24 years old, Native San Franciscan
I currently attend SFSU for fashion merchandising and I attribute my career goal to Sweet Dreams Co-op. I first took note of Sweet Dreams when I was in high school. I quickly realized the program really emphasized positively building young women and giving them the tools to be successful entrepreneurs, which resonated with me. In learning various skills at the coop and with the environment they provided, it became important for me to recognize that fashion is what I want to be doing in the future. Thus in a year I will be graduating from the fashion merchandising program at SFSU.
24 years old, San Francisco Resident
I learned about Sweet Dreams through a friend. She raved about a program that taught young women how to sew and I was immediately excited about learning a new skill. Through Sweet Dreams I learned COGS, labor, overhead utilities, how to manage social media accounts, and customer service outreach. I realized I was capable of anything if I set my mind to it. Before i had difficulties in math, but while in the program i was presented with real life experiences which i then applied in school. Sweet Dreams gave me the tools to be a successful woman and entrepreneur. The mentors were not only teachers but life long friends, and should i need any help in the future, they will be there.