Delicacies from Rosebud Coffee (Photo – Brenda Lynch)
Imagine how you would feel if your daily cup of java provided more than just a jolt of caffeine and empty calories. What if it offered a pathway to a career? Or the chance to start over? Possibly even the opportunity to learn skills that will serve a young person the rest of their lives.
By Brian Biery
When Dan Davidson realized that learning how to be a barista could be a game changer for youth, he renovated his church’s mobile coffee cart and began hiring it out for private events. He staffed it with local youth who were experiencing homelessness. Within a few months he had trained a crack team of young baristas who needed more time behind the counter than just a couple of events a week.
Thus was born Rosebud Coffee cafe in East Pasadena (2302 E Colorado Blvd.). Right from the start it had a vision for being a business that was not only providing its clients with delicious beverages and snacks, but also training future entrepreneurs and business leaders. As a firm believer in social enterprises, Davidson hopes to set an example for others: “I believe we all have a role to play in caring for our neighbors in need, and social enterprises provide sustainable solutions. Whether you are a small business or a large corporation, we are all part of a local community with the ability to make an impact.”
The program has evolved to provide job training and internships for youth (16-24) who have experienced foster care, homelessness, or have been involved in the justice system. A new nonprofit called ‘Coffee With A Cause’ was created to provide the infrastructure needed to train and supervise these young apprentices.
The internship opportunities have expanded dramatically into other valuable career fields, as has support for the vision of the organization. Learning to professionally serve coffee still is a feature of CWAC; in addition, youth are now able to gain real world experience in personal fitness training, computer service/repair, landscape maintenance/design, construction, and customer service.
Rosebud Coffee interns (Photo – Brenda Lynch)
Partnership with community partners has grown significantly as well with nine other nonprofit organizations and businesses now hosting CWAC interns, providing them with foundational knowledge and skills to use in future employment opportunities. Internship site hosts include Ultimate Fitness Breakthrough and Micro-Trends computer services – each of which provides the opportunity for youth to earn valuable certificates in personal training and CompTIA A+.
One of the key components of the program is to assist in the tricky, complicated process of landing one’s first ‘real’ job. Davidson and his team recognized early that it wouldn’t be enough to provide youth solely with job training, but that they would need emotional support in order to successfully obtain and maintain a quality job. To that end, the program developed the mentorship component of CWAC. After completing three months of an internship, youth participants are paired with a volunteer mentor who walks with them for a year through the job search and retention process.
Melissa Spolar, Operations Manager for CWAC, is thrilled with the impact of the program, “The most satisfying part of my job is seeing the growth in our youth participants. They often come into their interviews nervous and shy. I get to see them slowly come out of their shell and gain confidence throughout our program. Nothing beats walking into the shop seeing one of our barista interns confidently communicating with a customer or proudly pouring great latte art.”
The success of the initiative can be observed in the experience of an internship and by the percentage of youth who have been placed in quality jobs. In 2023, 100% of CWAC’s job-seeking graduates were hired by local companies and organizations, including Rosebud Coffee and Starbuck’s Coffee. And one of CWAC’s graduates, Trinity Casey, was recently welcomed as a board member of the organization.
Often where we shop demonstrates our values as much as what we buy. The concepts of social entrepreneurship and triple-bottom line are on display locally through Rosebud Coffee and Coffee With A Cause. Your next latte might just well be a part of the developmental process of a young person who could one day be on your company’s team or organization’s board of directors.
Rosebud Coffee 2302 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 817-3461 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Daily RosebudCoffee.com
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