2010 Annual Report - Friends of the Children

CAFE FRIENDS
Brew one shot of espresso, top it with frothy steamed milk, and you’re ready to enjoy
a delicious latte. What happens when you add a spoonful of teamwork and a dash of
leadership It goes by the name of Café Friends, and it’s a fast growing youth-run caféstart-up
located in the Friends of the Children office.
Café Friends began 18 months ago when mentor Mike received an espresso machine
as a gift. “I started making way too many mochas at home, and my wife told me I
needed to get rid of it,” Mike said. “I mentioned it to one of my youth, and he begged
me to bring it in to the office.” Over winter break 2009, Mike and two of his adolescent
mentees opened Café Friends in the kitchen of the Friends of the Children offices for
the first time.
“Some kids find it terrifying to talk with and take orders from people they don’t
know. Luckily, these are the kids that make the fastest drinks! By the same token,
some youth are natural salesmen, but struggle with the technical aspect. Everyone’s
seemed to find their place.”
For many youth, Café Friends presents an opportunity for their leadership traits to
flourish. One of Mike’s youth, Matthew, has grown from a near-paralyzing fear of taking
orders from staff he didn’t know to peddling new Café Friends menu items throughout
the office.
Café Friends has expanded at an astonishing pace. Beginning with a few espresso drinks,
the café’s offerings have expanded to include Italian sodas and flavorings, home-baked
cookies and cakes, milk alternatives and even seasonal drink specials. All that growth
has originated with the youth. “At the end of the morning, they go home with
$10-$15 from the tips they’ve earned, they start to think about how to make the
café more successful. I try to give them as much freedom as possible to do that.”
The Café is managed by a Friends of the Children program graduate and staffed by
current youth on school in-service days and holidays. The Café’s staff has gone from a
staff of two to a rotating staff of 12, with new youth eager to sign up every week. Youth
do all of the shopping for the café at real business supply stores like Cash & Carry,
learning valuable accounting skills in the process.
Mike is confident that participation in Café Friends will help his young men develop key
employment skills, like customer service, teamwork and communication, which will set
them apart from their peers in future job interviews.
“Ultimately, what we’re doing with Café Friends is an expansion of what we want to do
with our youth all of the time: create opportunities, be available when they need it, and
when they take off in pursuit of their passion, try to get the heck out of the way.”
* Names have been changed to protect the program’s youth.
FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN PORTLAND | 2010 ANNUAL REPORT | PAGE 5