by Harvest Hands ministry, founded by Courtney and Brian Hicks, has discovered a way to teach teenagers job skills and responsibility through coffee and soap.
It all began in a renovated old church in an under-resourced neighborhood in South Nashville with the goal of establishing after-school programs that would provide children in the area with positive role models while receiving support in school and healthy spiritual development.
Harvest Hands ministry, founded by Courtney and Brian Hicks, has discovered a way to teach teenagers job skills and responsibility through coffee and soap.
It all began in a renovated old church in an under-resourced neighborhood in South Nashville with the goal of establishing after-school programs that would provide children in the area with positive role models while receiving support in school and healthy spiritual development.
Harvest Hands’ mission is to develop young men and women into responsible leaders. With this comes the need for jobs. Instead of just telling the teenagers to get off the street and get a job, Harvest Hands’ staff worked alongside the teens to learn and to establish an acumen in roasting coffee beans and making soap.
Today, Humphreys Street Coffee, located in the old Humphreys Street Methodist Church, is a self-sustainable business that enables young men to learn the artisan trade of roasting coffee. On a typical day, anywhere between five and ten teenagers can be seen bagging the whole-roasted beans into bags specially designed for their own company and delivering them to local restaurants and businesses. One seventeen-year-old named Ruben has become the Head Roaster, learning which beans are in season in different regions throughout the year, how long to roast them, and how much fair-trade coffee costs. This knowledge and experience has given Ruben a business acumen that far exceeds his seventeen years.
“Harvest Hands’ mission is to develop young men and women into responsible leaders.”
Young women at Harvest Hands are mentored through the making of WOW! (Women of Wisdom) Soap. WOW! students learn the art of making, marketing and selling all-natural, handmade soap all while being mentored spiritually, academically and relationally.
Four years after their start-up, Humphreys Street Coffee and WOW! Soap have sold over $200,000 in product and have employed and mentored over 25 youth. One hundred percent of the profits are reinvested into the work of Harvest Hands.
Don’t miss their amazing story at the 2013 National Conference in New Orleans!
You can hear more of the Harvest Hands story at this year’s National Conference in their workshop titled “Drink Good Coffee for a Change.” Some of the students from Harvest Hands will be sharing stories of their challenges and lessons learned. Harvest Hands staff will share how you can start a similar business in your community. This is one of a series of ministry stories we will be sharing to highlight workshops at this year’s National Conference. Watch for workshop descriptions and schedule coming soon to the website.
Coffee made from Humphreys Street Coffee grounds, roasted and bagged by the students, will be available for purchase at the coffee kiosk in Stage II.
