A Gift to the College that Gave Her Independence
In 2017 Community State Bank had the wonderful opportunity of partnering with Shepherds College, a post-secondary school for students with intellectual disabilities, to create Shepherds Community Café. Shepherds Community Café is located inside of CSB's Union Grove location and provides training and work opportunity for students and alumni of Shepherds College.
For this special #Gift2Giving story, CSB sat down with Leah, an alumni of Shepherds College and current barista at Shepherds Community Café. Leah, and the 3 other employees of Shepherds Community Café, had the opportunity to be a part of CSB's #Gift2Giving program in which CSB gives each employee $150 to donate to a local non-profit organization of their choice. Leah chose Shepherds College for her donation and here's why...
Interviewer: Leah, why did you choose Shepherds College as your donation for #Gift2Giving?
Leah: I enjoyed going to school there. They taught me how to live on my own and meet friends. We learned about things like cooking. One of my favorite teachers was Ms. Kolkman. She's funny. I also learned about Shepherds Community Café there too.
Interviewer: What is it like working in the café?
Leah: I love working here. I love making different drinks and seeing the people that come in.
Interviewer: So in addition to your $150 donation... You had two other Community State Bank employees donate personal donations. Your donation total was $400! What did that mean to you?
Leah: I'm happy. I feel like my friends at the bank support me. It means a lot.
Leah was able to present her donation to Alicia Miklavicic-Franz, Corporate & Community Development Officer; Kevin Phillips, Ministry & Donor Engagement Officer; Leah; Bryan Tomczak, Vice President of Finance; Brian Canright, Vice President of Expansion of Shepherds College on December 14th at Shepherds Community Café. To learn more about Shepherds College, please visit them online at ShepherdsCollege.edu.
We also thank everyone that has come in to support Shepherds Community Café in 2023! To learn more or make a visit of your own, please visit MySCCafe.com!