Hank's Mini Market Transformation!
Donation protected
"Long live the rose that grew from concrete..." - Tupac Shakur
Our own rose is emerging through the concrete at Hank's. Help fund our transformation into a healthy market and community hub for food demos, panel discussions, and a place where local artists and entrepreneurs can share their stories with the neighborhood. We are almost there — we need to raise just a little more money to finish the transformation. The future is bright.
MORE INFO ABOUT OUR PROJECT:
I'm Kelli Jackson and I'm the second generation of our family-owned business, Hank's Mini Market. My dad Hank has lived in the South Los Angeles area of Hyde Park for 40 years, and he opened Hank’s Mini Market in 1997. Since then, he’s helped to clean up our corner and create a safer space in our community. My dad is a friendly, smart, hardworking man who gave his all to our business, customers, and neighbors. I watched him help so many people and families over the years with his generous heart and listening ear that provide advice and encouragement when needed. Hank’s isn’t just a corner market — it’s a gathering place for the community and a bright spot in the neighborhood.
Having grown up here and seen the impact my parents have had on the community, I’ve often wondered why our part of town never seems to grow and change like other parts of the city. It feels like we’ve been forgotten. A few years ago, I started to realize that change starts with me. As Barack Obama said, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we our waiting for." We all can get involved in creating change in our corners of the world in many different ways.
I knew that turning Hank’s into something more is how I’m supposed to make an impact. So I started reading and studying how to better our business and community. I began developing my vision to take our store into a new creative and innovative direction. I started connecting with the right people. And now we are here.
We are embarking on a new journey to turn Hank’s into something bigger. We want to make sure our mom-and-pop store is able to successfully compete with the ever-changing dynamics of our community, competitors, and industry. To date, we’ve partnered with the LA Food Policy Council and sweetgreen, who’ve helped us grow our capacity to provide access to fresh and healthy food. But Hank’s is — and will continue to be — about more than food. We want to build a healthy community at Hank’s and create a space that can better impact our community and meet their needs.
We have had weekly pop-ups providing free blood pressure screenings with Nursing Students from Charles Drew University. We have provided a resource table with information on jobs, free events, health and wellness tips, and more. We also have a monthly art community board that empowers our community to share their voices and ideas on various topics in our participatory art projects. Our vision is to create an ongoing calendar of events that promote art, community engagement, and health and wellness. It's our mission to uplift and inspire our community. It’ll be a home away from home in a neighborhood with nothing else like it.
We are almost there with the help of partners like the LA Food Policy Council and sweetgreen. We're also so grateful to recieve support from the Park Mesa Heights Neighborhood Council and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The rest of the money raised through this GoFundMe page will ensure we can cover:
Community Table
Community Library
Interactive board
Open Air Refrigeration Unit
LED Lighting Exterior / Interior
Energy Efficient Equipment
Healthier Food Selections Inventory
Improve Store Front Curb Appeal
Bicycle Parking
Landscaping
Pet Friendly Hydration Station
We would love for you to be a part of our story and #WeAreStrongerTogether journey. This project is a testament that ALL things are possible when you believe, do the work, and surround yourself with an awesome team that is loving, supportive, talented, and dedicated to the bigger mission. Please donate and help us get to complete this amazing project. No amount is too small. Everything counts. Thank you so much.
-Kelli
@hanksminimarket
#WeAreStrongerTogether
Our own rose is emerging through the concrete at Hank's. Help fund our transformation into a healthy market and community hub for food demos, panel discussions, and a place where local artists and entrepreneurs can share their stories with the neighborhood. We are almost there — we need to raise just a little more money to finish the transformation. The future is bright.
MORE INFO ABOUT OUR PROJECT:
I'm Kelli Jackson and I'm the second generation of our family-owned business, Hank's Mini Market. My dad Hank has lived in the South Los Angeles area of Hyde Park for 40 years, and he opened Hank’s Mini Market in 1997. Since then, he’s helped to clean up our corner and create a safer space in our community. My dad is a friendly, smart, hardworking man who gave his all to our business, customers, and neighbors. I watched him help so many people and families over the years with his generous heart and listening ear that provide advice and encouragement when needed. Hank’s isn’t just a corner market — it’s a gathering place for the community and a bright spot in the neighborhood.
Having grown up here and seen the impact my parents have had on the community, I’ve often wondered why our part of town never seems to grow and change like other parts of the city. It feels like we’ve been forgotten. A few years ago, I started to realize that change starts with me. As Barack Obama said, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we our waiting for." We all can get involved in creating change in our corners of the world in many different ways.
I knew that turning Hank’s into something more is how I’m supposed to make an impact. So I started reading and studying how to better our business and community. I began developing my vision to take our store into a new creative and innovative direction. I started connecting with the right people. And now we are here.
We are embarking on a new journey to turn Hank’s into something bigger. We want to make sure our mom-and-pop store is able to successfully compete with the ever-changing dynamics of our community, competitors, and industry. To date, we’ve partnered with the LA Food Policy Council and sweetgreen, who’ve helped us grow our capacity to provide access to fresh and healthy food. But Hank’s is — and will continue to be — about more than food. We want to build a healthy community at Hank’s and create a space that can better impact our community and meet their needs.
We have had weekly pop-ups providing free blood pressure screenings with Nursing Students from Charles Drew University. We have provided a resource table with information on jobs, free events, health and wellness tips, and more. We also have a monthly art community board that empowers our community to share their voices and ideas on various topics in our participatory art projects. Our vision is to create an ongoing calendar of events that promote art, community engagement, and health and wellness. It's our mission to uplift and inspire our community. It’ll be a home away from home in a neighborhood with nothing else like it.
We are almost there with the help of partners like the LA Food Policy Council and sweetgreen. We're also so grateful to recieve support from the Park Mesa Heights Neighborhood Council and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The rest of the money raised through this GoFundMe page will ensure we can cover:
Community Table
Community Library
Interactive board
Open Air Refrigeration Unit
LED Lighting Exterior / Interior
Energy Efficient Equipment
Healthier Food Selections Inventory
Improve Store Front Curb Appeal
Bicycle Parking
Landscaping
Pet Friendly Hydration Station
We would love for you to be a part of our story and #WeAreStrongerTogether journey. This project is a testament that ALL things are possible when you believe, do the work, and surround yourself with an awesome team that is loving, supportive, talented, and dedicated to the bigger mission. Please donate and help us get to complete this amazing project. No amount is too small. Everything counts. Thank you so much.
-Kelli
@hanksminimarket
#WeAreStrongerTogether
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelli Jackson
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Dolores Aguirre
Beneficiary
