One Way Every Day: December 5 - Sweet Miss Giving's

Warning! Reading this post could cause a sugar rush! This is one sweet way to make a difference...

Sweet Miss Giving’s is a social enterprise bakery and jobs program that offers rich, decadent baked goods while providing a new reason to feel good about sweet indulgences: over 50% of all profits go to help the formerly homeless and HIV/AIDS-affected men, women, and children of Chicago House. The bakery provides all natural, made-from-scratch baked goods delivered straight to your office or home, and is the perfect choice for business meetings, parties and gifts. Our specialty items include fabulous muffins and scones for breakfast and indulgent brownies, cookies, and cupcakes to satisfy your sweet tooth. With SMG you know you are getting the highest quality product for the price, with the added benefit of knowing your purchase is positively impacting hundreds of families throughout Chicago.

Sweet Miss Giving’s was founded by Rev. Stan Sloan, an Episcopal priest and long-time CEO of Chicago House, the first provider of AIDS housing in the Midwest. Sweet Miss Giving’s is Stan’s vision for how to create a pathway to jobs for the homeless – while also helping to fund Chicago House’s support services. Stan’s sweet tooth and enterprising spirit helped rally the best bakers, businessmen, and builders around the idea, and on October 23, 2008, Mayor Daley cut the ribbon on this new endeavor. Since opening, Stan has organized his team around this simple idea: to build a company that is “Unquestionably Kind” and “Unreasonably Good.”

Unquestionably Kind means that we are driven by our social mission. Over 50% of our profits go directly to Chicago House and the bakery doubles as a comprehensive jobs program. At any given time, more than a dozen disabled adults are getting real-world training and experience in our kitchen – as bakers, delivery assistants, packaging specialists and customer service representatives.

Unreasonably Good means you will get delicious product and attentive and friendly service every time. Our all natural, preservative-free menu is the result of a year-long testing and tasting process including input from some of Chicago’s most prominent bakers and pastry chefs. Baked fresh from scratch every day, we promise to provide the very best baked goods in Chicago.

In 2001, Senator Dick Durbin asked Reverend Stan Sloan about the most desperate needs of the homeless and disabled men, woman and children that Stan has served for over a decade in his role as CEO of Chicago House. Stan responded immediately: “we need an employment system that helps people move from entitlement programs to self sufficiency…thus creating room for others in our system.” Less than a year later, Senator Durbin located the initial funding for the Chicago House Employment Program. Since its founding, over 500 men and women have benefitted from its training and placement services. Despite the success of the program, there were still graduates who were not able to obtain initial employment due to lack of work experience. This situation set the stage for a new kind of social enterprise – Sweet Miss Giving’s.

Reverend Sloan worked with the Kellogg School of Business and over 100 local businesses that had helped support his work at Chicago House to determine the optimal business model to provide training and preparation for ongoing careers. The model combined fantastic bakery product, unparalleled customer service, and real and relevant job training.

The job training program includes a 4-week unpaid training period followed by a 6-month paid internship focused on all aspects of the bakery operation. Interns learn basic baking, packaging, delivery and customer service with a goal of finding permanent employment upon completion of the program. Throughout the training program, the interns are an integral part of the Sweet Miss Giving’s team.

Why not give yourself a break this holiday season and order some delicious baked goods. Give them as gifts or serve them to guests... all the while making a difference! Give them a try and place an order for your next meeting, party, or event!

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Place an order with Sweet Miss Giving's.