Once upon a time, at Pasadena’s Rose City Church, there was a little coffee cart called Rosebud. Seeing it as more than just a java station, the church’s visionary Pastor, Dan Davidson, took it on the road. His goal: to help youth who are homeless or transitioning out of foster care master basic job skills.
It worked. In 2017, the program got a real cafe, Rosebud Coffee in Pasadena. Coffee with a Cause was born, and Davidson becomes its Executive Director.
Today, transitioning and at-risk youths get “soft training” in professionalism, hospitality, communication and other key workplace skills at Rosebud Cafe, then move to hard-skills training and hands-on experience at an array of partner businesses (coffee and otherwise). 90% of interns graduate and land jobs.
This spring, as the organization prepared to apply for a key grant, Davidson turned to Jericho Road Pasadena for help in drafting a strong Strategic Plan. JRP didn’t have to look far for the ideal volunteer: they went straight to Ashok Boghani, a member of their board.
Ashok has over 35 years of experience providing management consulting services to both public and private organizations. After retiring in 2013, he joined ESC of New England, where he provided pro bono consulting services to an array of distinguished nonprofit organizations and later served on its board.
For Coffee with a Cause, Ashok designed and conducted a three-hour strategic planning workshop focused on creating a future vision, developing a pathway to strategy, and increasing the number of youth involved in the program. Landing grant funding, including which foundations to approach, was another key topic. A number of post-workshop assessments kept the process on track.
As its life-shaping program grows, the Coffee with a Cause team is keeping its eye firmly on a central goal: maintaining an active support system that creates a safe space for participants to make mistakes, fail and grow in the experience. “They bring all these skills,” says Program Manager Melissa Spolar. “Our role is helping give that little bit of guidance they might be missing, and opening doors that may not have been open to them.”
Thanks to volunteer Linda Taubenreuther for writing JRP social media posts!
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