I've been having an amazing time at the High School Journalism Institute this week at Indiana University in Bloomington, and just finished my feature story. So, here it is :) I put a lot of hard work into this!
Also, I had a total moment the other day. After an interview at Pourhouse Cafe, I was sitting at a little table sipping an iced coffee waiting for the rain to let up so I could walk the 20 minute walk back to Teter. It was raining hard, and I left my umbrella in my dorm room. So, I was just sitting there, looking out the window, and realized that this (as in, journalism) is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can't wait for newspaper to start up in the fall!
By the way, West Palm pics will be up as soon as I get home.
The employees at Pourhouse Cafe help create an inviting environment for their customers to enjoy. Photo by Brad Pontius
At first glance, Pourhouse Café may look like the average college coffee shop. The apple green and coca brown walls felt warm and inviting.
“Viva la Vida” by Coldplay played through the speakers.
Three men sat on the plush, black leather chairs and couches while they looked intently into the bright screens of their MacBook Airs and clacked away on the smooth keyboards.
But beyond the first glance, it is so much more than just a place to write last minute papers and grab a quick coffee.
Thanks to Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, located in Bloomington, Ind., and John Robertson, College Minister at Sherwood Oaks, Pourhouse Café opened in February 2008. They have been donating 100 percent of their tips to missions around the world ever since.
According to Lyne Brown, manager of Pourhouse Café, the coffee shop has donated somewhere between $30,000-$35,000 to missions from tips collected in the four years it has been open.
Brad Pontius, the Global Outreach Minister at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, said that although they have not become profitable yet because of other expenses, they plan to give their profits to missions as well.
Posters of the countries they aid adorn the walls. These posters include pictures of children from Uganda in school clothes and smiling kids from Burma.
The Burma poster reads, “Your tips helped to provide education for children in hurricane ravaged delta of Myanmar.”
The tables in the café have photographs of children from countries in which the café has donated to; Pontius took all of these photographs.
“These photos are real photos of the people we helped,” Pontius said as he looked down at the pictures. He pointed out that the specific pictures on the table were from India and Africa.
Pourhouse Café also aids missions in places such as Haiti, Honduras and Ethiopia. Some of the programs include hospitals for cleft-palate surgeries and free eye clinics.
“The more people [who] come in here, the more profit we make and give to missions,” employee Ali Matte said between making specialty coffees for customers.
During the month of July, when customers ordered their iced coffees or vanilla lattes “with no whip, please,” they saw a giant tip jar full of crisp dollar bills with a sign on it that said the “tips will go to buying backpacks for local children.”
Pontius said, “[Pourhouse Café] was started not only to help out countries and people in need, but to be a safe place where students can socialize and unwind.”
The café also features bands to keep students interested, and has four rooms downstairs for students to meet in during the school year to hold discussions.
“Our goal wasn’t to be a money making business,” Brown said. “It was to be a social presence.
The café is all about giving back and having an inviting place to relax and hang with friends. “It stands for something more than just a non-profit organization.”
Pontius agrees.
“It has grown from our first idea as a hangout place for college students to so much more than that,” he said.
Pourhouse Café has become a favorite hangout among community members as well. A dad sat close by with his young daughter eating cookies. He explained to her that one plus two equals three, not four, while showing her how to count on her fingers.
Pontius said people come here “because they believe the Pourhouse Café [is] a good place.”
The door opened and let in the loud sound of rain pounding on the concrete outside. In walked two hipster guys who were hanging outside the Café. The first ordered a hot coffee and the second ordered a refill on his water.
They paid for the hot coffee and Matte handed back a quarter in change. The second guy said, “Oh, keep it,” as he dropped it into the tip jar.
