The Thinkubator Cafe

Hector Castillo Carvajal, Don Carvajal Coffee

“The Thinkubator seek funds to support Bronx Youth & to build a Cafe/Training Center that prepare youth for careers in hospitality and entrepreneurship”

BRONX, NY, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Thinkubator, a Bronx-based innovation and workforce development nonprofit organization has announced the launch of an intense funding campaign during the Giving Season to support youth internships and the opening of a Cafe/Training Center in the burgeoning Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Since its inception, The Thinkubator has provided more than 300 paid internships to young adults aged 14-24 from the Bronx, Poughkeepsie, New York, and the rest of New York City. The organization launched a Youth Council that hosted a Bronx Borough President’s candidate forum in the Spring and has a research department that has produced policy briefs, research reports and consultancy to nonprofits and higher education institutions. The organization is committed to supporting youth and the community by providing applied work-based learning experiences that directly connect them to the labor market and/or post-secondary opportunities.

To further its mission, The Thinkubator would like to build The Thinkubator Cafe, a training facility that teaches program participants about the hospitality industry, business operations, and entrepreneurship. The Cafe/Training Center would be located at 128 Alexander Avenue in the Bronx and would also have a food pantry, host community events such as resume review and job connection days, and public conversations/talks about the state of the Bronx. The organization has partnered with Hector Castillo Carvajal of Don Carvajal Coffee to provide the coffee and help with teaching young adults about the coffee industry. The proposed model is similar to Reconcile Cafe in New Orleans and La Tiendita, the entrepreneurial training program of The Lower Eastside Girls Club in New York City. Both programs are replicable models that The Thinkubator is looking to borrow from its successes to support Bronx youth and local employers in the hospitality industry and related industries. The Thinkubator recognizes the gap between theoretical training programs and those that actually connect theory and practice. The Thinkubator Cafe will fill the gap and provide the practical, applied experiences for young adults seeking careers in the hospitality industry, business operations, and entrepreneurship.

“As a Bronx native, born and raised in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, we did not have internship experiences available to us. We did not have the intense economic investment in our community instead we had acres of debris from burnt down buildings. We now have an amazing opportunity to ensure that Bronx youth are included in the intense revitalization and economic investment in the South Bronx. I’d like nothing but to see this vision come to fruition and we hope the community is able to support our organization, which is fighting to keep Bronxites in the Bronx and included in a local economy that is quickly moving past Bronxites” said Dr. Edward Summers, President and CEO of The Thinkubator.

In pursuit of this vision to support Bronx youth and build The Thinkubator Cafe, the organization is seeking financial support from the community, investors, friends, and family to train and support more youth and to open the Cafe by January 2022. COVID-19 has posed some challenges to investors and funders who initially committed to funding The Cafe. The Thinkubator is looking to fill the void left by investors but raising sufficient funds to support the vision of the organization. The Thinkubator has launched an intense funding campaign to support the initiatives. For more information, contact The Thinkubator team at contact@thethinkubator.org, www.thethinkubator.org, or check out the organization’s GoFundMe Campaign at https://gofund.me/4214dfca. The organization is also grateful for The Lit Bar (Bookstore) who have been an advocate for the creation of The Thinkubator Cafe.

About The Thinkubator

The Thinkubator is a Bronx-based innovation and workforce development nonprofit organization. We craft innovative strategies to complex local challenges that have global implications. The Thinkubator approaches our work with a racial and economic equity lens through three major areas: education, research, and community.

The Thinkubator Education provides education, career, and work-based learning opportunities for young adults. We seek to prepare diverse, low-income youth from the Bronx and similar communities to succeed in the workplace and the world.
The Thinkubator Research conducts research, analysis and creates policy solutions to complex challenges. It leverages its data collection and strong analytical skill set to provide strategic consultancy to education, nonprofit, public, and private sectors.

The Thinkubator Community concentrates on the intersection of issues that inhibit communal growth, development, and productivity and tackles them head on with the communities we serve.

Collectively, The Thinkubator provides a systematic approach to workforce, economic and community development, educational attainment, and combating poverty.

The organization’s vision states that The Thinkubator aspires to a world where young people from the Bronx and similar communities are trained, educated, and powered to bring their voice to business, organizational, societal, and world challenges.

Edward Summers
The Thinkubator
+1 347-468-6621
email us here