Success Story of an SEIC Winner: One World Neighborhood Cafe

One World Neighorhood Cafe Serves Menu Choices from Five Continents

St. Louis, Missouri , November 21, 2007 -

When you think of women ex-offenders and refugees, you may not envision people with similar needs.   They seem worlds apart.

The issue for Georgia Walker, of the Center for Women in Transition, was how to create a charitable social venture that would provide jobs with benefits for the ex-offenders in her program.  “The ex-offenders have difficulty getting hired and being paid a decent wage”, says Georgia.  “We needed a source of employment for them that has an ongoing career track and offers benefits for them and for their children.”

Not knowing exactly what the answer would be, she found the Taylor Foundation Consulting Group at Washington University.  They assigned six MBA students to work on her project for a semester and delivered a feasibility study which recommended a food service venture.  The faculty suggested she and her team attend the SEIC, the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, sponsored by YouthBridge Association and Washington University.  She attended the first session “to see what it was about”, and, as they say, the rest is history. 

During the SEIC process, Georgia and her team forged a relationship with the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program and the Refugee Ministry of Provident.  Realizing both groups had the same set of problems, their collaboration resulted in the development of the One World Café.  They define themselves as a “social venture enterprise designed to enhance the lives of socially and economically marginalized women and their families by promoting and celebrating diversity and by creating access to meaningful jobs which pay a living wage and benefits.”

What role did the SEIC play in Georgia’s success?  Through collaboration with the other participants, she met her future business partners and together they formed a new enterprise.  She learned the importance of having strong executive and board support, how to write a business plan and the value of having a mentor.  Her efforts paid off when she and her team were awarded a $30,000 grant in the competition, an additional $30,000 from the Incarnate Word Foundation and later applied for, and received, a $65,000 grant from Ameren UE.   This funding allowed the One World Café to become a reality.

Today, there are 18 jobs in the One World Café, six of whom are women in transition or immigrant women from five continents, four religions and three racial backgrounds.   The Executive Chef, Katie Boyne, formerly of Cardwell’s, leads the kitchen team as they create international box lunches to be catered to St. Louis consumers.  Box lunches are only the beginning, as Georgia has plans to grow this social venture into a full service restaurant with an import shop that sells products from micro businesses from around the world.  This growth will result in fifty jobs for these women within the next five years. 

“Last year, the St. Louis Center for Women in Transition served 184 women and over 500 children,” says Georgia.    “Ninety-seven percent of people who go to prison are released back into society and the recidivism rate nationally is 68% to 70%.   By giving these women and children a safe place to live, mentoring, a job with benefits, clothing and education, the Center’s recidivism is less than six percent.” 

Georgia Walker and the women of the One World Café illustrate the value of the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition sponsored by the YouthBridge Association and Washington University as they celebrate their diversity and their success.  By helping these immigrant and ex-offender women, the One World Café also helps their children so they will have a better future.   And that is quite an accomplishment.

If you would like to sponsor a family for Christmas, contact Georgia Walker at 314-771-5207 or by email at georgia@cwitstl.org.  International box lunches can be ordered by visiting the One World Cafe website at oneworld@cwitstl.org.  If you'd like more information about the Women in Transition Program or how you can help, please visit cwitstl.org.