Strawberry Fields Wins $100,000 Grant for Coffee Shop Idea

Strawberry Fields’ proposal for a coffee shop that employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been awarded this year’s $100,000 Centre Inspires grant through Centre Foundation.

The State College-based nonprofit provider of community support services was announced as the grant recipient on Wednesday night at Centre Foundation‘s annual dinner.

‘The Centre Inspires granting program encourages innovative programs to create transformation for our community,’ said Molly Kunkel, Centre Foundation executive director. ‘Strawberry Fields’ coffee shop idea is brand new to our area, and has the potential to truly change the lives of everyone involved.’ 

Strawberry Fields is finalizing the location for the coffee shop, which has not yet been named, and expects to open it in late spring 2018.

The shop will be modeled after Bitty & Beau’s Coffee in Wilmington, N.C., which Dr. Roy Love of Nittany Valley Chiropractic experienced when visiting his daughter.

‘And I kept going back. I don’t even drink coffee, but it was the experience and warm feeling that I got from the employees that kept taking me back,” Love said. “I knew that a coffee shop like this would be well-received in State College, so I proposed the concept to Strawberry Fields.”

Last year’s recipient of the Centre Inspires grant was Centred Outdoors, proposed by ClearWater Conservancy. The program, designed to connect people with nature in Centre County through guided adventures, saw nearly 2,000 residents take part in nine tours this past summer.

The Centre Inspires grant, is designed to be transformative on a county-wide scale by creating positive change through community engagement,’ according to Centre Foundation. ‘Centre Inspires is a vehicle to enable the continued growth and strengthening of Centre County on a broad scale.