MEMPHIS, Tennessee — "There are no limits. There are no boundaries to it. We are here to connect with 38127," Porsche Stevens said.
Stevens is buzzing these days as she reflects on the potential at a former Frayser church, now reborn and transformed as the multi-purpose Frayser Connect.
"It has organically turned into a community resource hub," Stevens said.
Stevens gave Local 24 News a tour Thursday afternoon, shortly after she updated the Frayser Exchange Club on its recent launch.
"Right now we are getting the word out through flyers, word of mouth," Stevens said.
With meeting spaces, a sanctuary for Sunday services, and a place for business start-ups, Stevens said Frayser Connect compliments the area's broader momentum, including a new Ed Rice Community Center, newly built homes - and new hope.
"There's over $100 million being invested in the community, right, so this will be another one of the jewels that residents can take advantage of," Stevens said.
"I'm excited that we get to write a new story for Frayser," Shandria Carter added.
Carter is also involved with Frayser Connect. She's now recruiting and alerting entrepreneurs in Frayser about available work spaces for business start-ups and collaboration.
"I am empowering people to write a story their own way," Carter said.
A 10-week program will also begin in September to help those in Frayser get their ideas off the ground and create and expand new jobs within the community.
"Sometimes people don't know, what they don't know, so we are really exposing them to new things and expanding their brain in terms of what it means to be a business owner," Carter.
Starting next Friday, Frayser Connect's outdoor space will host the first of a monthly concert series.
Frayser Connect plans to hold a business mixer July 20th and a one-day business crash course July 29th.
For more information, go to: fraysercdc.org/the-frayser-connect.