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Caffe Vita supports community through donations, training

Business Matters, presented by Umpqua Bank, is a running series showcasing the positive impact local businesses have on their communities beyond just financial support. If you know a business working to enhance our community, tell us about them here so we can share their story. It doesn't take a coffee enthusiast to know the importance cafes play in Seattle. The Evergreen City has a reputation to maintain, after all, as the home to Starbucks. But as neighborhoods have coffee houses and roasteries a plenty, there's at least one independently owned cafe that's making its mission to go beyond serving residents their daily caffeine jolt. CEO of Caffe Vita Deming Maclise and his team are working to better the community through partnerships, donation programs and trainings for low-income communities and those facing barriers to entering the job market. 'The part that I love about the hospitality industry, especially the coffee business, is it's really good at aggregating and creating community,' Maclise said. And through this work, Maclise and his team hope to act like 'beacons' of the neighborhood. FareStart FareStart has served about 15,000 youth and adults in job training programs since 1992, including more than 1,000 students who have graduated from the free Barista and Customer Service Program. For its part, Caffe Vita donates coffee, trains FareStart students and trainers in the Caffe Vita 500-square-foot Capitol Hill roasting facility and training center. The training center has espresso machines, grinders and coffee brewing equipment so the students are well-versed and suited for any cafe's setup, Maclise said. Caffe Vita, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has been working with FareStart for nearly as long. Maclise says they do it to contribute to Seattle for the better of its residents and community. expand Transferable skills Through the FareStart-Caffe Vita program, students learn how to interact with people, developing critical communication and customer service skills, in addition to technical skills. 'Communication skills are going to be valuable in any job you have or really any aspect of life,' Maclise said. 'Relationships and how you interact with people is an incredibly valuable skill and something that can make you feel more connected in your life and as well as navigating different job situations.' Other important skills include teamwork and conflict resolution. An ability to adapt to situations, time management and handling multiple tasks at once are all transferable skills to other markets and life situations. By completing the program, which takes place over nine weeks, students are better suited to join the community in a productive and adjusted way, Maclise said. Community Passageways In addition to FareStart, Caffe Vita partners with Community Passageways, a nonprofit that provides support and guidance to young people as alternatives to incarceration. Its programming is based on the principles that guidance and support are more effective tools for inspiring positive change in people. Caffe Vita and Maclise agree, which is why every year during the holidays, Maclise creates a donation program in all of the coffee shops and on the company's website. 'Their mission, to restore the community and rebuild it, is something that's needed,' Maclise said. So, whether it's through neighborhood unification or providing skills and lifelong teachings to the youth through partnerships like FareStart or Community Passageways, Caffe Vita puts everything it has into bettering the people who walk through or pass by their doors.