Janet Santana
Written by: Daksh Siroki and Katherine Sutton
Janet Santana is the Program Manager of SPARK, which is a program aimed at helping people turn their business concepts into reality, by linking them to the right local resources to get on the path to success.
Janet Crespo-Santana was recognized for her work in Holyoke with the Connections After School Program and also her many years as a school bus driver. She has devoted her life to volunteering in her community working with youth and their families. She thanked her children for the sacrifices they have made so that she could serve the community.
“For many years I was working in the community and going to school and they were so patient not to have a mom for many days. I always tell my children, don’t pretend to be something you’re not. I’m humbled by this experience”.
Background
SPARK is formally a program of the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation and represents a partnership of over ten community partners who collaborated to establish the framework for entrepreneurship education in Holyoke. The goal of SPARK is to strengthen and grow the Holyoke economy from within its own residents, which are often under-represented and have untapped potential to increase business and social ventures in the City and region.
A secondary goal is to strengthen the role of Holyoke and the Holyoke Innovation District in the larger entrepreneur ecosystem of Western Mass.
Mission
Recruit and stimulate Holyoke residents to move their innovative projects or business proposals from concept to reality.
Vision
Create a whole-community approach to entrepreneurism, individual learning, and leadership training.
About SPARK
SPARK was launched in April of 2015, and is formally a program of the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation, representing a partnership of over ten community partners who collaborated to establish the framework for entrepreneurship education in Holyoke. The goal of SPARK is to strengthen and grow the Holyoke economy from within its own residents, which are often under-represented and have untapped potential to increase business and social ventures in the City and region. A secondary goal is to strengthen the role of Holyoke and the Holyoke Innovation District in the larger entrepreneur ecosystem of Western Mass.
Holyoke received a $250,000 three-year implementation award for its SPARK Initiative (Stimulating Potential, Accessing Resource Knowledge) through the Working Cities Challenge program. SSPARK aims to link the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center and Holyoke’s innovation economy strategy to its residents with an eye towards being inclusive and welcoming to the entire diversity of Holyoke’s demographic. The initiative is being led by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation, and is further supported by partners across multiple sectors within the public, private, and nonprofit realm.
The Working Cities Challenge is a groundbreaking effort to support leaders who are reaching across sectors to ensure that smaller cities in Massachusetts are places of opportunity and prosperity for all their residents. The competition is led by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, with funding and strategic partners from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
The SPARK initiative will develop a system that supports entrepreneurs by coordinating existing services and providing a community of entrepreneurs which can provide mentorship and further support.
SPARK Launch
Using curriculum from Co-starters, the SPARK Launch Program helps people develop their ideas into a business model. This nine-week business development course will allow its students to define their business and get it up and running. They will get to meet and work with other aspiring entrepreneurs who are facing similar challenges with their start-ups; develop relationships with mentors who have already experienced the pains of starting a business; and walk away with a new perspective on how to launch their business idea into a reality.
Contact information
Janet Santana
(413) 534-3376
SPARK
177 High St
Holyoke, Ma 01040
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