Cafe Voca offers vocational training and employment opportunities while serving coffee to patrons

Oct. 11—The North Suburban YMCA has opened Café Voca, a new coffee bar that provides vocational training and employment experience for individuals with intellectual and developmental challenges.

Café Voca was developed in partnership with the Rotary Club of Chicagoland Korean-Northbrook (RCCKN) through a global grant from Rotary International, and partnerships with Autism Workforce, Healthy Choice Vending, and the Wheat Mission, a community organization that provides recreation to individuals with special needs in the Korean Community, according to a news release. Grants and community donations will sustain the program for the future.

"We felt the NSYMCA was the ideal partner given the breadth and success of their special services programming," Dr. John Kim, RCCKN former Grant Committee Chair, said in the release.

Kim started the project with Howard Schultz, former NSYMCA CEO, and Ellen Mirochnick, NSYMCA Special Services Coordinator. Rev. Sunju Choi Chong, the new Grant Committee Chair for the RCKKN, will oversee the grant process from now on, according to the release.

Café Voca, which opened on Sept. 20, is located in the Y's lobby, serves coffee and hot chocolate from 9-11 a.m., Monday through Fridays. The beverages are free and donations are accepted.

A ribbon cutting was held on Oct 6, and was attended by the Café partners and supporters including: the RCCKN, Northbrook Rotary Club and Rotary district leaders, Rotary International, and local legislators, including State Sen. Laura Fine.

Café Voca's trainees are recruited from the Wheat Mission and the TruNorth transition program, formerly NSSED, with plans to expand employment opportunities as well as the cafe offerings, officials said.

"This project is so much more than just serving coffee. For many of these individuals, this is their first job and experience in the workforce, and our ultimate goal will be to achieve gainful employment for our participants," Mirochnick said.

The hands-on training is provided by Autism Workforce, the employment training arm of the Exercise Connection, according to the news release. The Korean Rotary Club of Northbrook will help with translation services, mentorship, and job placement within the community.

"We are so proud of Nathan being able to follow the directions and do so well on the first day," Hyeok Choi, mother of one of the participants, said. "It was so wonderful to see him motivated and proud of himself as well. Today was my birthday. I feel like I just received the greatest birthday present ever in my life."

"We are so grateful to the many people who helped make this project possible including John Kim and Justin Lee from the Korean Rotary Club, the many people at Rotary International, Rev. Nam from the Wheat Mission, and the Y staff for making this program come to life," Kathy Fielding, North Suburban YMCA's CEO, said in a statement. "The Northbrook Rotary Club has already committed some funding for the sustainability of the project and we look forward to engaging additional partners to sustain this project for its long-term success."

Ron Knight, President of the Northbrook Rotary Club said the NSYMCA is a wonderful organization and the club loves supporting it with grants for programs like Café Voca.

"We felt sustainable funding was a perfect way to keep this amazing program strong through the years, " Knight said in a statement. "What the Y does for the community is in-line with the mission of the Rotary Club and we are proud to support it."

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