By Michele Steeb, Executive Director
Plates Café provides St. John's graduates with an opportunity to develop marketable skills, a work ethic and the ability to succeed in the work place -- all in the setting of a Cafe... an 11,000 square foot Cafe that is!
The goal is that once our graduates complete this program, we will place them in jobs where, as single mothers, they can be successful. We chose the restaurant industry for several reasons:
- The restaurant industry is growing in the Sacramento region: There are more restaurants and more jobs today than there were in 2007.
- The skills you learn in the restaurant industry will oftentimes translate into positions in other industries, such as retail and hospitality.
- Jobs are more flexible in these industries, a crucial issue for single mothers. Not only is there flexibility in the number of hours someone works in these industries, but the days and times they work are flexible as well. Moreover, it is not uncommon for employees to find someone to cover a shift if their child becomes sick.
- You can sustain a family on the wages earned in these industries. We are not saying it is easy to do, but it can be done.
So many people in this community have stepped up to help make this happen. From the Depot Park management, our landlords, who are providing the space to us lease free for one year; to Food Link, which has provided us with $30,000 worth of catering equipment; to Bobbin and Patrick Mulvaney, who have shared countless hours of expertise with us to get this up and running and for training our women; to Kurt Spataro and Paragary's, who also provided training; to Louis Biggers and Ilesh Patel of Intel and Sac State's MBA program -- all of whom helped construct the business plan for the venture; to Scot Crocker for guiding us through the naming process and assisting with the general marketing of the business; to Robert Ruggiero, who designed our logo and marketing materials; to Brenda Bisharat for the wonderful photography of the women in the program and the Cafe; to Cari Cowan and Western Contract, who provided the Interior Design services; to Stephanie Gaiser and Home Depot, who donated much of the paint and lumber required; to Michael Mervine, Jason Beck, Shawn Eldredge and L-19, who provided hundreds of volunteers to help complete the renovation; to Mark Johnson, who designed much of the art; to Ken Plumlee and Don Wolfe of Lumens, who donated the lighting; to Gary Johnson and Anderson AV, who helped enormously with the AV needs; to Mosaic Salon, which provided makeovers for our 18 trainees; to Russell Austin and Murphy Austin for the tremendous donation of legal services for the venture; to the hundreds of our volunteers who have helped us with painting, practice lunches and... well, you name it! It has truly been a community-wide effort to get Plates up and running!!
I would be remiss if I didn't thank our Board of Directors for giving us the support and encouragement to take such a big step. The St. John's staff has also been instrumental in getting us to a place where taking a step like this is even feasible.
Most importantly, I'd like to thank you, our supporters, as well as our 20 graduates who are participating in this program. All of you are what will make Plates Café a success. I hope at this point you are asking how you can help...
If you are looking for a place to have breakfast or lunch, if you are in need of a place to host a private meeting for up to 80 people, and/or if you are looking for catering services, PLEASE call us! You will not be disappointed in the food, nor in the service, and you will be doing so much more than filling your tummy... You will be filling the tummies of hundreds of homeless and formerly homeless women and children each year, since any income derived from the program will help to fuel St. John's Shelter.
Plates Cafe is the first of several businesses we would like to launch, each with the dual purpose of helping our clients and our organization become self-sustaining. In these times, when government resources are increasingly scarce, and when the need for our services is at an all time high, it is paramount that we look at ways to do more with less... to look at ways we can transform tax-consumers (including ourselves) into tax payers.
Thank you SO VERY MUCH for the investment you have made in St. John's! It means so much to the women and children we serve, and so much to the health and the strength of our Community.
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