The Story Behind Project Shine
Project Shine is the heart of everything Colorized Community Friends does. It is not a slogan. It is a real program, built on family land, funded by community commerce, and dedicated to one mission: developing, employing, and housing battered women with children.
Where It Comes From
Founder Patrick James Cooks Sr. grew up on Fillmore Street in San Francisco's Western Edition Jazz District — one of the most historically significant Black cultural corridors in the country. His mother, the late Mrs. Bettye Cooks, and her sister Mrs. Barbara Topps donated family land to support the CCF mission.
That land donation is the physical foundation of Project Shine. The mission is not just inspired by the community — it is literally built on it.
The Four Pillars of Project Shine
Housing — Transitional and permanent housing for battered women and their children, anchored by family-donated land in Alabama and Arkansas
Employment — Workforce training and job placement through CCF's seminar curriculum and community partnerships
Education — Pre-recorded seminars covering housing access, financial rebuilding, rights awareness, and community development
Community — Partnerships with SF venues and organizations, community events, and direct outreach in neighborhoods that need it most
How Your Purchase Funds the Mission
Every product sold on the Colorized Community Friends store — every comic, seminar, hoodie, and tee — generates revenue that funds Project Shine operations. We built the store intentionally: community commerce as the engine of community change.
The CCF tagline says it plainly: Community. Commerce. Culture.
Commerce is in the middle because without it, there is no mission. When you shop here, you are not just buying something — you are contributing to housing, training, and employing people who need it most.
Support the Mission
Visit the Colorized Community Friends store at colorizedcommunityfriends.store to shop the full catalog — comics, seminars, streetwear, and more. Every purchase goes directly to work.
Every purchase supports Project Shine — Develop. Employ. House.
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