A Texas coffee shop is being praised for building its business around hiring young workers who have aged out of the foster car system.
The La La Land Kindness Café in Dallas has gone out of its way to hire 9 former foster kids who were facing troubled times after turning 18 years old.
Since many foster kids are left without a support system once they age out of the system, many of them can end up on the streets—but not if Francois Reihani has anything to say about it.
The 24-year-old entrepreneur says that he was first inspired to launch the La La Land business model after he attended an informational meeting for a local nonprofit serving foster kids in Texas. Not only has the restaurant served as a place of employment for the at-risk youth, it has also become a safe haven and community support system for all of the employees.
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“We’re not in the business of coffee, we just serve coffee—we’re definitely in the business of kindness,” Reihani told CBS News.
Reihani now hopes that his café will inspire other small businesses to adopt similar initiatives. For 20-year-old employee Ciara Morton who overcame homeless and depression after joining the La La Land workforce last year, the experience has been life-changing.
“I have people to believe in me and support me. I’ve never had that kind of support in my life,” she told CBSDFW. “So I’ve been able to believe in myself, and realize what I want in life and chase after it.”
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