3320 Thomasville Road
Suite 200
Tallahassee, FL 32308
850-224-4493 Voice or TDD
850-224-4496 Fax
Email:info@abletrust.org
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The Able Trust: Grove House started the grant-funded program in January of 2001 however the planning that went into the project began well before then. Can you tell us how such an enterprising model of coffee-cart retailing was chosen and what kind of business planning you already had or developed for the concept?
Grove House: The idea of opening the coffee cart did not come from us. We received a call from our former partner in this initiative, Brooks Rehabilitation. This outpatient clinic works with people with brain injuries and several staff members had the vision of opening a cart. They were aware that this had been done in another state with great success and felt that the diverse activities of operating a cart would lend itself to the process of evaluating and training individuals with brain injuries who hoped to return to the workplace. They wanted us to work with them in this endeavor since Grove House was currently providing residential support for many people who seemed appropriate for the cart. We met with them and our enthusiasm grew as we discussed the many strong points of opening a cart. Strong points such as: It takes up only a small area (which they could readily offer in their lobby), is a self-contained, real-life small business, is interesting to most people, and would be value added to the people who came to their site. It took us many months to get this going. We met, shared research, brought in business consultants from the private sector and from the University to help us and planned very carefully (we thought!). Truthfully, we underestimated the complexity of the task before us relating to the myriad details: equipment purchase, plumbing, electric, product selection and pricing, hours of operation, marketing, accounting, etc. etc. And none of these latter issues had anything to do with the real task at hand, evaluating and training individuals for potential return to the competitive workplace.
AT: In developing the grant proposal, can you share about the writing process? Specifically, can you discuss how you addressed the employment program and the business angle of what you were proposing?
GH: This was a challenge, to say the least. In a sense we were torn between emphasis on the business and on the employment program. While the latter was certainly our “raison d’être,” without operating a successful business we knew we would not be able to evaluate and train. In writing the grant we focussed on our mission, but knew we had to demonstrate that we would be capable of handling a real world business.
AT: This program was developed knowing that participants would be people with brain injury. How did this specialization come about and how has this been a good fit?
GH: Grove House has been working with individuals with brain injuries for several years and we have developed a competence in this area. We are committed to helping these people improve their quality of life as members of their community, living in the least restrictive environment possible. We jumped at the chance to expand our support to include assistance with return to the workplace. It has been a very good fit, because people with brain injuries are underserved and, unfortunately, often written off as difficult to work with and unemployable. The coffee cart has given us the wonderful opportunity to reach this population and focus on their abilities and dreams.
AT: Tell us about the process that Grove House went through in getting the coffee cart up and running as a setting for employment skills training. There were several problems that came about? How did Grove House solve those?
GH: This was not a lot of fun and met the criteria of anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The first cart that we used was assembled by the previous owner and had multiple electrical and plumbing problems. Fortunately, we were able to return it without financial loss. We had to be extremely careful about containing costs and were astounded by some of the set-up charges. We tried to be calm and take the time to fully explore our options with different vendors. I think the most important thing that we did was educating the businesses about our mission. While some could not have cared less, others were willing to reduce their prices. This was a tremendous help.
AT: With all your experience in creating this since 2001, do you have any tips on dealing with vendors of the business supplies needed?
GH: Explain your purpose. Speak to them honestly showing the reason you need their help and how this will make a difference. Prepare a great letter to send to them that details who you are, what you are doing, and why you need their help to make the community a better place.
AT: This project has been a collaboration effort of multiple funders and collaboration with the local community in the placement of the actual coffee-carts in the community. Can you tell us about important skills that you learned through the collaboration experience?
GH: We learned that collaboration can be a difficult thing. Unfortunately, we found it necessary to dissolve our first partnership because of various difficulties. In general, we have found that each partner brings certain things to the table and it is critical to communicate and compromise. We understand that our carts are located on someone else’s turf and we do not take this for granted. The current partners that we have are working out well and we have great relationships with both. We meet periodically to go over any issues that require discussion.
AT: Tell us about the employment skill training that has occurred on the job site of the coffee cart. What skills were learned through the training period?
GH: The advantage of the coffee carts is that there are so many diverse skills that can be taught. We have grouped the skills into specific categories and sequenced them in order of difficulty. We have some people at the carts who can only be trained on the lower level skills while others can go through the entire hierarchy. Results of our evaluation enable us to determine the scope of training. We are especially interested in maximizing the social skills of the program participants during training. This is such a critical determinant of job success.
AT: What were some of the evaluation tools developed for marking the progression through the training program?
GH: We developed our own evaluation tool. It is designed to correlate with specific training goals at the cart and is formatted to take people through a hierarchical sequence until their frustration level is reached. We would be glad to share our evaluation with anyone that would like to see it.
AT: How do you acknowledge graduation from the cart?
GH: We are holding small ceremonies marking this passage. Each individual is given a plaque.
AT: Does everyone who graduates have a job?
GH: No. There have been individuals who are not interested in competitive employment, have behaviors that contraindicate job placement or in some cases people who would rather volunteer. We just graduated six people--- four are employed. The other two are going to do volunteer work.
AT: When participants completed their training on the coffee-cart setting what sort of competitive employment did they transition to in the community?
GH: The program is person-centered and we prioritize the interests of the participants. Jobs are diverse and include clerical work, fast food, an assistant at a vet’s office, working in a nursing home and working at our coffee cart.
AT: How have the participants felt about their employment skills training with the coffee cart?
GH: Reaction is very positive. Many do not want to leave.
AT: If anyone is in the Jacksonville area and would like to stop by to purchase a cup of coffee from the Grove House program where can they find these coffee carts?
GH: We currently have two carts: one is at the DePaul Building at St. Vincent’s Hospital on Barrs St. and the other at the Jewish Community Alliance on San Jose Blvd. on the southside.
AT: And Grove House has gift baskets of orange-products to go with that coffee, don’t they?
GH: We are always thinking of ways to fund-raise. We have an orange grove behind one of our properties and sell and ship oranges (the best ever) during the holidays. Since this is season-limited, we began making a variety of baskets to sell year round. Some are orange themed with jams, cookies and jellies, but we make golf baskets, beauty baskets or any custom idea. The baskets are beautiful, and since you asked and we are shameless, please get in touch with us at (904) 730-3811 for any basket needs. We will be most grateful.
AT: Thanks for sharing your Coffee-Cart business success!
