Coffee for Good

Everyone enjoyed Teddy Bear Story Hour this morning! For the first story hour after summer break, Jenny aptly chose stories about teddy bears.
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September is a month to catch up after a busy summer. It was nice to hear French conversations yesterday with the Alliance Francaise Greenwich group!

Customers AND volunteers, thank you Eunice, Shelby and Hortulus for the beautiful fall planters! We all ❤️them!

Teddy Bear Story hour is this Saturday, September 28 from 8 to 9. Roll out of bed and join Jenny! Pajamas are acceptable!!

The Coffee for Good Teen Board hosted its first social event of the 2024-25 school year today! It was a perfect day to hang out with friends next to the coffee shop and paint rocks! We will post photos of the finished art work once it dries! As one of our graduates said today, “it is nice to make new friends”.

September is a BIG birthday month at Coffee for Good! Today we celebrated 4 birthdays; a job coach, manager, board member and our executive director! Happy birthday Lakeisha, Bryn, Sofia and Deb!

Coffee for Good trainee, Ethan, was thrilled to show his uncle from NJ where he works. Our trainees are excited to work and take pride in their jobs! Stop in for coffee, tea, breakfast or lunch and help us create a more diverse workforce.

What Our Trainees Do Outside of Work! Celine traveled with her family to Nashville for vacation. They went to the Grand Ole Opry for a concert and went to some fabulous restaurants, including some yummy BBQ.

Everyone thrives on direct social connection and combined with some physical activity in a beautiful setting … that is just about perfect. Thank you to all the volunteers with Greenwich Special Olympics and at the Stanwich Club for a wonderful summer of golf! Coffee for Good trainees, graduates and Teen Board members all enjoyed their time each Wednesday evening! Just look at those smiles!

A team from Coffee for Good will be presenting at the Do Good Business conference at The Prospector Theatre on Thursday, October 17th. Coffee for Good Executive Director, Deb Rogan, will interview graduate Danny Clarke and employers, Suzanne Lio and Felipe Rodriguez of The Bruce Museum. The focus of our presentation will be benefits to of hiring a diverse workforce.
John and Mark Cronin, founders of John’s Crazy Socks, will also be presenting; Hiring People with Differing Abilities is Not Altruism. It is Good Business.

What Our Trainees Do Outside of Work! Tim traveled to England for a family wedding. The highlight of his trip was visiting Windsor Castle!
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Zac Jones, a New York Rangers defenseman ( #6), stopped in today to get a cold brew. Let’s Go Rangers!

Deb Rogan, Executive Director of Coffee for Good, was in VT this weekend for the wonderful Markowitz/White wedding and had the pleasure of meeting Kate. Kate maintains a busy schedule of two jobs and appearances on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum! Kate works at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee and at The Therapy Place where she works with young children. Kate also told us that she and Tanner are just good friends! Congratulations to Abby and Bailey, we all had so much fun!

Happy Birthday to our trainee Jimmy!!!🎂🎈🎈🎈

Happy birthday to our trainee Mike!

Coffee for Good trainees and graduates have been enjoying Greenwich Special Olympics golf at The Stanwich Club this summer. Thank you to all the volunteers with Special Olympics and all the staff at The Stanwich Club who make this weekly important athletic and social event possible.

One of our volunteers has apple trees at her home in Vermont and donated a bag of apples. So we made a Farm to Table Apple cake! It is yummy so stop in for a slice!

With a heavy heart we want to share that our manager Katie has lost her sister Monica.
Due to complications at birth, Monica was born with developmental disabilities; doctors told her parents to “take her home and love her but she would never walk and talk”. But walk and talk she did reciting every pop and R&B song ever recorded in the sixties and seventies. Monica had 8 siblings and Katie has told us that Monica was the glue that kept all the siblings close. Katie was initially inspired to volunteer at Coffee for Good by Monica and after understanding her lifelong knowledge of people with disabilities we offered her a manager role.
Part of Katie’s eulogy reflects her gratitude for having Monica in her life. “I am so lucky to have a job working with this wonderful population. I’m so lucky I had Monica as a sister and witnessed how she made everyone around her a better person. In a family of nine she is our greatest success story. She has come the farthest. She did all of that because she was lucky to have parents who showed her unconditional love, patience and the tools to be her best self. Monica had the special gift to make others around her their best selves. It’s amazing how many lives Monica touched and improved throughout her life. So let’s go forward and keep Monica’s spirit going. Let’s all go out into our worlds and connect with those who have developmental disabilities and we will discover that they have much more to give us than we can ever give them.”

Happy National Dog Day from everyone at Coffee for Good! A special shoutout to all the service dogs in our life, Denise, Maverick, Honey and Foxy!
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We have been playing and having fun but now our summer break is over and everyone is looking forward to seeing our wonderful customers! Coffee for Good reopens on Monday, August 26 at 7:30am!

Big congrats to Ariana! She’s now working at The Glenna’s Café & Market Coffee Shop at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich. We’re so proud of her, she has been doing an amazing job and we can’t wait to come visit. Be sure to stop by at some point to say hi and grab a drink or a bite! We’re wishing Ariana all the best from the Coffee For Good team! 💙🤎

Everyone at Coffee for Good is sad to hear of the passing of Alan Gunzburg’s guide dog Kili. Alan is the co-leader of our Inclusive Employer Team and Kili was his guide dog during our first year of operation. In fact, Coffee for Good hosted Kili’s retirement party (scroll to see).
Alan tells us, “Kili exemplified the qualities of a true guide dog: patience, strength, and an unbeakable bond with her handler (Alan). Her presence made everyday challenges more manageable and transformed obstacles into opportunities.” Kili was the cornerstone of Alan’s independence for almost 10 years.
Kili, you will be greatly missed by your Coffee for Good family! Rest in peace.

“What Our Trainees Do Outside of Work.”
Our trainee, Aiden, recently traveled with his family to Cape Cod and visited the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and Wyydah Pirate Museum. Aiden loved visiting both and enjoyed some mini golf and of course ice cream! Looks like a great vacation!

Coffee for Good Teen Board members George and Katie are at the Williams Syndrome camp this week at Camp Twin Lakes! George as a camper and Katie as a counselor! The camp run by the William Syndrome Association offers a variety of activities such as band, chorus, dance, drama, musical theatre, songwriting, improvisation and composition along with archery, biking, boating, swimming, rock climbing and more! And of course campfires and s’mores!
Looks like SO much fun!

Everyone at Coffee for Good is thrilled when our trainees become friends and socialize at the coffee shop! Our graduate, Ariana, came in today with our trainee Celine! It was great to see Ariana in her new uniform!!