Forge News and Updates |
Over several months Forge has been working with some awesome coworking spaces to build the Birmingham Coworking Collective! The BCC officially launched this week and even though the launch is much different than we expected (thanks COVID), we are still excited to strengthen the coworking community in our city.
Birmingham Coworking Collective is part of a beta program through the Global Workspace Association. GWA is the connection-based resource for shared space operators, workplace strategists, real estate investors and service providers to stay connected, current and competitive in the flexible office industry.
With the launch of the collective, we’re also launching a Coworking Passport as well! This gives you a chance to schedule one day of work at each of the participating spaces. You can learn more about the space, see what kind of perks there are and how it works for you.
What’s the mission of Birmingham Coworking Collective?
- Build and strengthen the coworking community in Birmingham by growing awareness of coworking in our city
- Empower those starting out coworking
- Enrich the experience of those currently coworking
- Connecting the creative engines behind each space into a diverse, vibrant network committed to good work
- Provide resources to new coworkers
- Promote collaboration and cross-programming among our spaces
- Learn from one another as unique community spaces, we will make Birmingham a better place to work.
So besides Forge, who is part of the Birmingham Coworking Collective?
Worx : a workspace with 2 locations in the Birmingham area- offering over 40 private office suites and best in class amenities!
MAKEbhm: a community space, celebrating the passion to create. Rent space, access equipment or enroll in a class at MAKE!
Practice Works: working solutions for your wellness practice, coworking for all with option to drop in or rent a dedicated office!
The Hub: a close-knit coworking community in the centrally located West Homewood
Innovation Depot: 140,000 square feet of amazing office, lab, and coworking space – all designed for your startup
Social Venture: co-working space, meeting space and change-making space in the heart of Woodlawn that supports REV Birmingham’s work creating vibrant places across the city
If you or someone else you know are looking for coworking space, contact Birmingham Coworking Collective to claim your passport! The passport gives you access to seven coworking spaces in the greater Birmingham area, allowing you to experience each community and find out which space is best for you before committing to a membership.
Forge News and Updates |
We love Birmingham. We are committed to supporting our black community, black businesses and black entrepreneurs, and standing together against racism. We are sharing a few Birmingham-based resources that elevate black voices in our city.
Journey Through Black History at These Key Places in Birmingham
Bham Now has written so many helpful articles like this one for those of us who are seeking to help and support our black friends.
I Create Birmingham : Blog Series on the Create Birmingham Website
Create Birmingham plays a unique role in growing the creative sector, including performing arts, visual arts and crafts, culture and heritage, media and film, design, and culinary arts. The “I Create Birmingham” blog series started months ago but we love reading about the various creators in Birmingham. Read these posts and support black artists and creators in Birmingham!
10 Insightful Quotes from Southern Black Women
Like Style Blueprint said, “much of the journey starts with active listening.” Active listening can be the beginning of change! We were inspired by this list of insightful quotes from southern black women.
Support 17 Black-owned Birmingham Retail Shops + Creative Services NOW
Let’s be intentional about where we spend our money right now. A primary way to support the black community is to spend money at black-owned businesses. Thank you Bham Now for sharing this article!
And here are some organizations truly making a difference for POC in Birmingham and beyond:
Be Bhm
Be Bhm is a 20-week program designed to empower Black entrepreneurs with the business knowledge, encouragement, social networks and resources needed to be competitive in Birmingham’s changing and expanding marketplace.
blkLSTed
Be Bhm’s newest initiative is blkLSTed– a community building initiative and economic empowerment strategy for Birmingham that utilizes an open-source, collaborative, living and unapologetic entrepreneurial directory for Black-owned, Black-led businesses and organizations in Birmingham.
Woke Vote
Woke Vote believes organizing for turnout is most effective when you execute a series of tactics, in a targeted universe, with a consistent presence. Since their inception Woke Vote has drastically increased the percentage rate of turnout (in some targets by more than 45% and in all of targeted communities by at least 5%).
Urban Impact
Urban Impact‘s mission is to preserve the physical structure of the 4th Avenue Historical Business District, the only intact African-American Business District in the State of Alabama.
Jefferson County Memorial Project
The mission of JCMP is to memorialize victims of racial terror violence and expand our county’s understanding of past and present issues of racial injustice. JCMP is currently composed of over 40 community partners and a multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-sector, and multi-generational group of committed volunteers.
In conclusion, we hope these resources are just a starting point for you. We hope you will research resources on anti-racism, read more, listen more, support social justice organizations and also buy from black brands and businesses. We will seek out ways to continually amplify black voices.
Member Spotlight |
During the COVID crisis, CareHealth is providing meals to healthcare professionals across Birmingham. By utilizing local restaurants as their food providers, CareHealth is pouring resources back into the Birmingham small business community. CareHealth is an initiative of Urban Avenues and we love having Madison Kerns, Director of Operations at Urban Avenues, as part of the Forge community! Read on for our Q&A about how they are serving Birmingham during this pandemic!
How did you get the inspiration for the idea?
Our venture Five Loaves is focused on uniting communities through food, so we’ve always had a heart for the restaurant community in this city. While we were trying to think of ways to support our friends in the industry, we were seeing groups in cities like San Francisco and New York feeding healthcare teams with food from local restaurants.
We hit the ground running, formed the idea into a model that worked well for our organization, and worked with restaurant owners and healthcare professionals to make sure we had a system that prioritized safety and maximized our impact. In two days, we had a full list of restaurant partners, a website, and team of volunteer drivers!
What kind of response have you gotten from the healthcare community, local restaurant owners and donors about your efforts?
The response has been so overwhelmingly positive. The community has been incredibly supportive and are truly the only reason we can do what we do. They’re eager to serve Birmingham while maintaining safety, and CareHealth has created an easy way to do both.
Healthcare teams are sending thank you emails, photos, and cards daily. They’re feeling the support of the community and have expressed how it fuels them to face COVID-19 every day. Our restaurant partners have been wonderful throughout this entire pandemic!
It’s a difficult time for their industry, but their main focus has been giving back to the healthcare teams. It’s such an honor to support them and create a space for them to serve the healthcare communities.
So far, how many meals have been served? And how many departments have received food?
We’ve served over 2,500 meals across 65 departments thus far! We’re working over 15 hospitals and healthcare facilities across the Greater Birmingham Area to deliver meals to their teams and show the community’s support.
How long do you think the CareHealth initiative will last? Do you plan to continue the efforts post COVID?
Even as we hear plans to reopen states, we are still, unfortunately, far from normal. CareHealth was created to be a community response for those fighting COVID-19, and we plan to follow through on that mission until it is no longer needed. We’re open to the possibility that our model may change in the coming months to include other types of first responders and are beginning to plan for potential shifts in how we operate. Until then, we’re excited to increase our meals served each week!
We love seeing members of the Forge community out serving Birmingham- especially during a time like this!
