Esteamed Coffee, Inc. is the dream of Co-Founder and Executive Director, Angie Hudson, who has been legally blind since college. Angie has a passion for giving people with disabilities a respected place in our local community. Esteamed Coffee is also the dream of Co-Founder and Board Chairman Tamara Lapsley, a Speech Language Pathologist and Head of Esteamed Coffee’s Training Program. Together with their Board of Directors, Angie and Tamara will use their customized Workforce Development Program to hire and train twelve paid employees and twelve volunteers to do several different jobs at Esteamed Coffee. These above minimum wage paid positions include Cashier, Hot Barista and Cold Barista. The volunteer workforce training will include greeting customers, clearing and cleaning tables, stocking inventory,social skills/communicating with customers, and many other basic job skills. Our training program will prepare our paid and volunteer employees to enter the workforce by offering on-site training before we open our shop, thus making them more comfortable and confident when we open to the public! Our four week, on-site training will necessitate paying rent and payroll for four weeks before we ever make a sale, so the cost of this program is estimated at $15,000. This total includes uniforms, start up inventory, above minimum wage payroll, utilities, rent, etc. This program is critical in our special employee’s job preparation! Esteamed Coffee has already been awarded a $5,000 grant from Duke Energy, however, due to COVID-19, we have lost the opportunity to raise the other needed program funds. During March and April 2020, we had to cancel 4 fundraisers totaling over $10,000 in lost program funds. Any one time or recurring donations to our Workforce Development and New Employee Training Program would be greatly appreciated. Donations can easily and securely be made at https://www.esteamedcoffee.com/donate. By donating, you are having a direct impact on the lives of people with disabilities by helping lower the unemployment rate for those who need this opportunity!