Emma's Torch Ltd
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We seek to combat the fundamental challenge that refugees face in finding long-term, gainful employment after arriving in the United States. Refugees and survivors of human trafficking who settle in the New York City metro area live largely below the poverty line, earning an average of $10,000 per year. Some individuals stay in shelters. According to employment projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food preparation and service are among the professions that will see the most job growth through 2026. Despite the fact that many refugees come to the United States with rich culinary experience, limited training opportunities— particularly those that incorporate workforce preparedness training— have kept the culinary industry, and its social and economic benefits, inaccessible for many of them. Xenophobia and anti-refugee rhetoric also prevent students from accessing resources and feeling welcomed into their communities.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emma's Torch Classroom Cafe
Emma's Torch Classroom Cafe serves American cuisine with an international twist. Our culinary training program students use the space as a classroom for both their practical studies and their English language classes.
We are open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and are located at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.
Culinary Training
Emma’s Torch’s five-week, paid apprenticeship culinary training program provides refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking with 100 hours of culinary training and licensing. Our students also gain work experience at Emma's Torch Classroom Cafe and participate in our English language classes program.
Each cohort is comprised of six to seven students. Our curriculum is designed in consultation with some of New York’s most renowned chefs, industry leaders and restaurant groups, ensuring that our students master all of the critical skills needed to work in a restaurant kitchen upon graduation from the program.
English Language Classes
We provide accelerated English language classes tailored towards the culinary industry for refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking. Our students attend daily classes alongside the other members of their cohort.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Emma’s Torch Culinary Apprenticeship prepares students for long-term success and economic security. By fostering refugees and survivors of human trafficking with training, mentorship, and resources, our program incorporates their backgrounds as valuable assets, thereby affirming our students’ innate value and power. We believe that when our students thrive, it not only positively impacts them and their families, it has the ability to dramatically change the narrative around refugee resettlement. Ultimately, we believe that our community as a whole is strengthened by the success of our students. Welcoming refugees is not just good for "them"; it is - and always has been - what truly makes America great.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Each month, a cohort of six students joins our program and embarks on a 600 hour fully-paid culinary training program. Over the course of three months, they learn the basic skills necessary to access the culinary industry, gain vital work experience in our restaurant, and begin new careers.
Our students train 35-40 hours/week at 5 days/week and are paid $15/hour. Receiving payment in this manner helps to acclimate the student to employment and begins a social security and tax record for them. Each student earns $9,000 (pre-tax) during the course of the program.
Over the course of the program, 500 hours are spent developing Hard Skills, which are culinary skills (cooking techniques, cleaning standards, prep work, station management, line cooking, etc.), with the remaining 100 hours spent on Soft Skills. The breakdown for Soft Skills development over the course of the program is thus: 35 hours of accelerated English and communication classes; 30 hours of job readiness development, including interview preparation, career planning, computer literacy (editing their own resume with Word, accessing online culinary employment notices, producing thank you letters), mock interviews, and mock trails (a trail is an activity where a prospective employee “trails” a chef in the kitchen, demonstrating technique and the ability to follow instructions); 15 hours of involvement with partners, including field trips, chef demos, and masterclasses; 10 hours of customer service-oriented Soft Skills development; and 10 hours of structured mentorship with weekly evaluations and check-ins.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our curriculum is informed by the growing needs of the culinary industry. We rely on our Culinary Council to advise us on the types of skills our students need to enter the industry and thrive. Beyond this, our culinary director, sous chefs, and executive director, all have experience in the culinary industry. Alexander Harris, our culinary director, was a Chef De Cuisine at Union Square Hospitality Group, where he built his career mentoring and training new chefs. Through this wealth of knowledge we are able to ensure that our students are ready to meet the needs of the evolving culinary industry.
A key part of our job-readiness strategy is to engage our students with partner organizations in the culinary world through a series of guest lectures, demonstrations, mock trails, and field trips to other commercial kitchens. We provide all our students with a suite of culinary tools including chef knives, shoes, aprons, uniform shirts, and chef coats so they are equipped to begin their culinary careers.
Having both the restaurant and library café locations allows us to train our students on further skills, including barista training, customer service, and commissary production. We are growing our catering operations as well, which exposes our students to even more opportunities.
Our collaboration with the Brooklyn Public Library also enables Emma’s Torch students to attend the library’s diverse range of free classes, enhancing the range of educational and service offerings for program participants. Every student receives a library card upon entry into the program. During the program, they attend Computer Literacy classes at the library’s Business & Career Center. The Outreach Department’s Immigrant Services staff offer English conversation groups and other free programs, which the students are encouraged to attend.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Through our partners in the culinary industry, we have been able to place 98% of job-seeking graduates and 91% of all of our program graduates in culinary jobs. After graduation from our paid apprenticeship program, our trainees earn an average of $31,720/year (compared to $10,000 before the program) and are able to move into more permanent housing.
Over the next 1-3 years, our goal is to solidify the Emma’s Torch program and to ensure its sustainability. In part, this will be achieved by strengthening our donor support as well as our restaurant, library cafe, and catering revenue streams. We plan to collect enough qualitative and quantitative data on the program to be able to analyze our success and determine if the model is reproducible or scalable. We have gotten inquiries from other organizations and municipalities to expand into their regions. Emma’s Torch wants to be able to make the most effective impact possible, so it is important to have an investigative phase to determine next steps in growth to ensure the success of an expanded model.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Emma's Torch Ltd
Board of directorsas of 11/09/2022
Ms. Melissa Glass
Richard Fields
Allen & Company LLC
Hilary Brandenburg
ApCo
Julie Chang
Blackstone
Aaron Kaplowitz
Lede Global
Irene Hamburger
Michelle Jewett
Mayer Brown LLP
Sarah Rosen
Away
Dino Lavorini
Union Square Hospitality Group
Saara Hafeez
Shopify
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data