It’s 9 a.m. on a Saturday and inside Avondale High School is a group of teens, not pouring over books in the library, but they’re in the cafeteria making coffee. It’s roast day for the students participating in Beans to Bags.
Beans to Bags is a nonprofit started in 2016 by Bonnie and Wayne Kakuda and their partner Jeff Lau, as a part of their larger gift of giving to charity. As Wayne explained, when his kids started going to school, he and his wife noticed some families were in need of some extra assistance. They started small with the giving tree around the holidays, but eventually started their charity, The Gift of Giving. The idea behind the charity is they wanted kids to be able to participate in providing goods and services in the community, give back to the community, and also earn money for themselves.
So instead of asking for money, they came up with the idea of roasting coffee, a product with a good profit margin. At first, they had no idea how to roast coffee and started with a small one-pound roaster, but over time as they got more clients, they got a big, 12-pound commercial roaster.
All three of their sons participated in Beans to Bags, and their youngest son, Liam, is in the program currently.
“It’s kind of like hanging out with my friends almost, but working at the same time,” explains Liam. “That’s what I like about it. Even though I have to get up early and come here, I get to see my friends, and it is just a fun time overall.”
The coffee they make supplies local businesses, including two restaurants, Family Table and Haus of Brunch. The students are actually the ones to pitch their coffee to new businesses, giving them invaluable real-world experience.
“It’s just an amazing way to learn how business works,” says Isabelle Bahorski, a Sophomore in Beans to Bags. “Not a lot of 15-year-olds get to do that.”
The best part is all the profits go to a good cause. Half of the profits go into scholarships for the kids who are participating, and the other half goes to those in need in the community.
Many of the teens involved, Liam included, said shopping for the kids in need around the holidays is one of their favorite parts of the program.
“It’s cool to see that our work is really benefiting the kids in our community that need the help,” says Liam.
To date, Beans to Bags has raised more than $85,000, which has all been given away to families in the Avondale School District. The general public can purchase their coffee by the pound on their website.
For the full story and to see what a roast day entails, watch the video above.