Jessie's House Residents Serve Up Coffee and Pastries at Smith College Café

This summer during the Smith College School for Social Work's 10-week term, residents of Jessie's House, a local shelter for homeless families and individuals, are getting hands-on experience in business, food service and customer relations as they operate and work in the Beanstalk Café.

The Beanstalk Café, located in the basement of Lilly Hall on the Smith campus, is a coffee house serving pastries, bagels and fruit as well as several flavored coffees and an assortment of other beverages. The café is open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon weekdays through Friday, August 13. Faculty and staff from the School for Social Work, which is housed in Lilly Hall, comprise many of the café's patrons.

Jessie's House residents, after having participated in a grant-funded training program called "Transition to Work" devised to teach them business operating, entrepreneurial and food service skills, function as the café's servers and bakers. All sales proceeds from the café will benefit residents of Jessie's House and other local services for homeless people. Space for the café is donated by Smith College.

"This is a win-win situation," says Carolyn Jacobs, associate dean of the Smith College School for Social Work and a board member for the homeless shelter. "These people are learning some skills. Jessie's House has a long connection with Smith College in many ways" through students volunteering at the shelter, which is located on West Street, and Smith employees' participation on its board in the past.

For more information regarding the Beanstalk Café contact manager Mona Jones during café hours at (413) 585-4982 or Eric Weld in the Smith College Office of College Relations, (413) 585-2190.

July 16, 1999