one by one® story: Urban Roots
Imagine being a 17-year-old who wants to get a good start in life but has never had a job and doesn’t know where to start. Writing a resume is confusing, and job hunting is overwhelming. That’s where Urban Roots steps in. Urban Roots provides paid internships to young people (mostly teenagers but some in their early twenties) who live on the east side of St. Paul. These youths are usually from low-income families or have some sort of barrier that makes it more difficult for them to get a job. Reusable cutlery giveaways play a small part.
Digging into dirt—and real-life job skills 
With three programs—Conservation, Market Garden and Cook Fresh—Urban Roots provides job experience and specific training. Interns in Conservation learn about and care for green spaces throughout St. Paul while interns in Market Garden tend to six urban gardens that grow a variety of vegetables and fruits. Participants are allowed to take some of the produce home while the rest is sold. Interns in Cook Fresh gain cooking and food entrepreneurship skills.
For many youths, this is the first job they’ve ever had. Besides learning specific skills related to their program, they also work on resume writing, hone job skills and participate in courses like public speaking. Urban Roots also hosts career panels, where professionals share their experiences with the interns.
Some youths have been so impacted during their internship that they’ve come back to work for Urban Roots as a staff member.
Reusable giveaways that slice through the noise—every day
This summer, Urban Roots will have a display at the Minnesota State Fair. They wanted an extra-special giveaway to help attract attention. Thanks to a one by one® grant, they were able to order reusable cutlery to be used as giveaways.
“We chose the cutlery in the color green because green is one of our primary brand colors. The reusable cutlery fits really well for several reasons. For one, it’s food related, which correlates with our garden and Cook Fresh program. We also like that it’s reusable because that touches on our conversation program and sustainability,” said Sara Johnson, staff member.
A note from Cheryl
It’s amazing to see the difference Urban Roots is making in countless youths to prepare them for real life. 4imprint is honored to play a small part by providing reusable cutlery giveaways. If you’re interested in learning more about a one by one® grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.com.