What a World-Changing Community Looks Like: A Photo Journey (and Video!)

– May 5, 2017 –

 

The 20th Year Anniversary Party last Friday celebrated a lot of milestones:

  • An organization that grew from a dedicated family to 65 paid staff
  • Thousands of youth whose lives were changed by hope and love
  • The fulfillment of 20-year old dreams like a youth shelter and youth centers
  • The development of a coffee business that gives back in this community and the coffee farmers’ communities
  • A community that changes the world around it

That last one was so beautiful to see. Community can seem very elusive. What does a community of people tied together by compassion and purpose look like? Rather than try to describe it, let’s walk through some photos from the party. Because on that evening, a true community gathered. A community composed of kids and adults, well-off and not so well-off, housed and not-housed. But all together, it was a community that is changing the world around it.

A world-changing community is diverse…

…and loves spending time together!

They share meals together,

 and of course coffee!

They care about the story that has come before,

and are eager to get involved to move the mission forward.

They step into the lives of those they want to help, looking at life through the eyes of someone else, willing to share in their hurt.

They respond with compassion and intent, wanting to do something about the brokenness that they see, not just pass it by.

They have hope. Mike J., Mike Y., and Eric (left to right) all came as youth to The Coffee Oasis Teen Night 20 years ago. Today, they can say that because the CO showed them there was a life beyond drugs and incarceration, their lives were forever changed.

A world-changing community is family!

* Photo credit to Hannah Faye Photography

That’s our community, the community YOU are a part of! That is what a group of people who are changing the world looks like. Thank you for being a part, whether it’s been 20 years or 20 days. You ARE making a difference.

Are you wondering, “How did all this begin?” Watch the beautiful video below, full of interviews and pictures, sharing how the Coffee Oasis grew from a couple who had no business experience but wanted to care for homeless kids, to the organization the now successful businesses that supports a host of youth programs.

The Coffee Oasis 20th Anniversary from The Coffee Oasis on Vimeo.