Our Story
Kyle's story starts with community, not a complaint.
Years ago, Kyle's mom went looking for a place where he could build real work skills and real friendships, somewhere that felt like his. She found it at St. Vincent's One Nineteen. Kyle became a familiar face there, showing up as a volunteer, building relationships with the people and associates who came to know him well.
But Kyle wanted more than a volunteer badge. He wanted his own business, and a real wage to go with it.
One Nineteen didn't just allow that next step. They championed it. When Kyle brought them the idea of serving coffee to guests and associates, leadership backed it immediately, and a Foundation board member helped fund the startup themselves. What started as a cart, four mornings a week, grew because the people around Kyle believed in him before anyone else did.
That belief is baked into every bag we sell. Kyle's Cool Beans is USDA Certified Organic, fair trade, carbon neutral, and plastic free, sourced and roasted the way good coffee should be, not cut corners to hit a price point. If we were going to put Kyle's name and face on a bag, it had to be coffee that earns its place on your shelf, not just your sympathy.
OUR MISSION
Good coffee is the product. Opportunity is the point.
Kyle got his chance because a community believed in him before he'd proven anything, and backed him when he decided to build something of his own. We exist to make sure people with significant disabilities get that same chance.
Every bag sold helps create real opportunities for people with disabilities, employment, housing, and the chance to build something of their own, the same kind of belief that One Nineteen and Kyle's own community showed him. We're not asking you to donate. We're asking you to buy coffee you'd want anyway, organic, clean, carbon neutral, and let that support someone else's opportunity.
