Pinky Cole, owner of Atlanta’s popular plant-based burger chain Slutty Vegan, is offering scholarships to 30 juvenile offenders.
Cole has partnered with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) through the Pinky Cole Foundation. She founded the organization to help “generations of color win in life, financially, and in pursuit of their entrepreneurship dreams.”
The DJJ youth will receive paid employment, training, and a ServSafe certification at Slutty Vegan’s restaurants and food trucks.
The Pinky Cole Foundation will also provide those with a High School Diploma or G.E.D. with a $10,000 annual scholarship towards college or technical school.
“Being able to partner with the DJJ to help kids in our community is what we are about at Slutty Vegan and the Pinky Cole Foundation,” Cole said in a statement.
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‘Giving Young People Better Opportunity to Succeed in Life’
The new partnership is part of DJJ’s F.R.E.S.H (Focusing Resources Effectively to Sustain Hope) Start Youth Initiative. The aim is to ensure that young people receive everything they need to make a fresh start in life. The Slutty Vegan scholarships will help those who want a career in the restaurant industry.
Slutty Vegan is a popular, thriving business. Last year, it opened its first permanent location. Customers waited in line for seven hours to get their hands on its vegan burgers.
Celebrity fans of the chain include Snoop Dogg and Tyler Perry. When Perry first tried a Slutty Vegan burger, he said: “This is too good to be vegan.”
Two more permanent locations of the restaurant are planned for the future.
DJJ Commissioner Tyrone Oliver is “excited” about the DJJ’s new partnership with the chain.
“[It] will strengthen our efforts to provide job-related services for our youth once released from our custody,” he said in a statement. “The Pinky Cole Foundation is giving these young people a better opportunity to succeed in life and be productive workers in their community.”
Cole added: “I am thankful for the leadership of Commissioner Oliver for thinking outside of the box to ensure Georgia youth are given the tools necessary to thrive. We are excited about this partnership.”
